Lost History Of Versailles Revealed In VR Experience

Now open through January 4, 2026, an immersive experience at the Château de Versailles revives for the first time three historically significant lost spaces of Versailles' gardens built under Louis XIV, the “Sun King.” Versailles: Lost Gardens of the Sun King offers a collective and interactive virtual reality (VR) location-based experience (LBE) of these vanished sites and allows visitors to engage closely with this under-explored aspect of French royal history and Louis XIV's legacy. The landmark experience is co-produced by VIVE Arts, the global arts and technology initiative that supports artistic experimentation with nascent technologies, GEDEON Experiences, the innovation branch of GEDEON Media Group and narrative, immersive experiences creator with Small Creative and the Château de Versailles.

Developed through the meticulous mining of archival documents, expert testimony, and archaeological remains, and brought to life with cutting-edge technology and HTC's VIVE Focus Vision mobile headsets, this immersive LBE transports users to the first gardens of the Château de Versailles at the height of its royal influence in 1682. Through the scientific, historical, and artistic reconstruction of three emblematic sites—the Royal Menagerie, the Labyrinth Grove, and the Grotto of Tethys—visitors can investigate the role these spaces played in shaping the Sun King's historical legacy.

Guided by André Le Nôtre, the architect of the gardens, the free-roaming, multi-user experience invites users to rediscover a Versailles where entertainment and nature became instruments of power and splendor, bearing witness to the royal ambitions of Louis XIV, and illustrating the complex relationship between art, architecture, and royal power. The experience's interactivity capabilities enable users to engage with the historically accurate environment, enhancing the possibilities for self-guided exploration and the extent to which visitors can learn from this virtual recreation. 

Celina Yeh, Executive Director of VIVE Arts, said, “This landmark project builds on VIVE Arts' many years of partnering with leading cultural institutions around the globe to create innovative immersive projects that expand the ways culture can be experienced. This collaboration with the Château de Versailles is a testament to the transformative possibilities of VR. Through the power of immersive tech, we can bring to life previously inaccessible culture and history for contemporary audiences.”

Christophe Leribault, President of the Château de Versailles, said, “Scientific innovation has always been part of the history of Versailles, from the most precise clocks to the first hot air balloons flights. Now, the introduction of virtual reality not only seamlessly continues this legacy but it also allows us to explore a part of Versailles that was thought to be lost forever.”

Agnès Garaudel, General Manager - Producer at GEDEON Experiences, said, “Today, our aim is to use virtual reality to take visitors on a journey back in time, to share with them the moments of history that enhance our heritage. It's a new way of transmitting knowledge, as much through the story we tell as through the emotion we arouse in the public. It's fascinating to imagine how the evolution of technology will enable us, in the future, to go even further in our modes of storytelling.”

Vincent Guttmann, Producer and Studio Manager of Small Creative, said, “It's fascinating to see how a lived, shared experience marks minds and memories more easily and durably than passive information. At Small Creative, we don't just tell stories, we bring them to life. We aim to make technology invisible behind compelling storytelling and authentic emotions, making the experience feel natural. Sharing these experiences with family or friends makes them even more memorable, as people continue to discuss long after they've left the venue, reflecting on what they've just experienced together.”

The partnership with Château de Versailles, GEDEON Experiences, and Small Creative builds on VIVE Arts' wide-ranging program of commissions and institutional collaborations that brings together artists, creators, and cultural organizations with cutting-edge, immersive technologies—driving innovation in the way culture is shared and experienced. VIVE Arts' recent projects include La Palette de Van Gogh at the Musée d'Orsay, an opportunity to experience a paint palette used by Vincent van Gogh through interactive and immersive virtual reality on view as part of the museum's Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise exhibition (2024); Heartbreak & Magic (2024), a virtual reality artwork and physical installation by artist and quantum physicist Dr. Libby Heaney commissioned to reopen Somerset House Studios' G31 project space; and the inaugural virtual reality projects of groundbreaking contemporary artists including Ryan Gander's first AI VR work, Ryan Waiting (2024), at Esther Schipper Gallery in Berlin and Xavier Veilhan's debut VR experience, Sculpture Park (2024), at Perrotin Shanghai. Previous institutional partners have included the Venice Biennale, Serpentine Galleries, the Triennale Milano, the Tate Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Musée du Louvre, among many others.

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