Marie-Antoinette Luxury Picnic
How would you like to spend an afternoon bathed in the spirit of Marie-Antoinette?
Imagine a warm, summer’s day. At arm’s reach are strawberries and cream, an elegant spread of sweet and savoury dishes, flowers, silver, and antique porcelain. You’re sipping chilled hot chocolate as your eyes wander to the château across the garden. A peacock passes by. You return to the conversation with your fellow picnickers.
Vendôme Circle invites you to do just that and more on this Marie-Antoinette Luxury Picnic.
Simplicity as authentic luxury
We would wager that when you think of Marie-Antoinette, simplicity is not the first word that comes to mind. But just how well do you know Antonia, the young Austrian archduchess who became Queen of France?
Did you know that she abhorred the rigid etiquette of the French Court and that she preferred a simpler life? She went so far as to create a bubble for herself at Trianon (across the park from the Château of Versailles) where she set the rules. There she and her guests could dress as they liked and enjoy a more informal and personal environment.
It was in the hamlet at Trianon (pictured above) where she would organise picnics with friends that would include fresh fruit and vegetables from her kitchen gardens.
For the reasons above we almost resisted calling this a luxury picnic, but, for one, simplicity is relative, and, two, isn’t simplicity authentic luxury?
At Vendôme Circle we invite you to pull back the curtain and discover something of the real Marie-Antoinette on one of our unique picnic experiences.
What does this unique experience look like?
- You will be greeted at your hotel and transported to an 18th-century château and gardens in Paris.
- There you will get settled in the gardens that haven’t changed since the time Marie-Antoinette knew them. The views are impossibly picturesque!
- We will prepare a beautiful spread of fruit, nibbles and flowers served on antique silver and porcelain and decorated with toile de Jouy.
- You will enjoy a curated menu of savoury and sweet dishes inspired by foods Marie-Antoinette liked the most, all the while enjoying the scenery and good company.
- Dishes served on historic porcelain from Maison Rouard. Read more about this service here.
- When we’ve finished eating, we can take a stroll through the unique 18th-century gardens which will leave you breathless as you move from one beautiful location to another.
- You will return to your hotel uplifted and, we hope, transformed by this incredible experience.
