Water Walk facts for kids
The Water Walk (also known as the Infants Walk) is a special area at the famous Palace of Versailles in France. It features 14 beautiful fountains. These fountains show sculptures of children holding up small water basins. The Water Walk gently slopes down from the Parterre du Nord area towards the exciting Dragon Fountain and the grand Neptune Fountain.
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Discovering the Water Walk
The Water Walk is also called the Allée d'Eau or Allée des Marmousets in French. It is a charming part of the vast gardens at Versailles. This area was designed to be a peaceful and artistic pathway.
How the Walk is Designed
The Water Walk has three main paths. These paths are separated by two large, green lawns. On each of these two lawns, you will find seven fountains. This makes a total of 14 fountains in this main section. Later, eight more fountains were added in a half-circle shape near the end of the walk.
When Was It Built?
The Water Walk was created a long time ago, in the year 1670. The main idea for this beautiful design came from a clever person named Claude Perrault. He helped plan how the fountains would look and fit into the gardens.
The Sculptures of Children
The children you see in the fountains were sculpted by several talented artists. These sculptors included Buirette, Le Hongre, Lerambert, and Mazeline. They worked from drawings made by another famous artist, Le Brun.
Originally, these child figures were made from lead. They were then painted to look very real, using natural colors. These early sculptures held baskets filled with fruits and flowers. Later, in 1688, the lead figures were replaced. New sculptures made of shiny gilded bronze were put in their place. The basins that held the water were also changed to beautiful marble.
Images for kids
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View along Addison's Walk.
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Joseph Addison (c. 1703–1712), by Godfrey Kneller.
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Plaque along Addison's walk, featuring a poem by C.S. Lewis, which mentions the walk by name.
