Domaine Royal de Marly museum

Discover the Domaine Royal de Marly Museum: Louis XIV’s intimate residence where only a few officials were privileged enough to be received.

The museum tells the story of this chateau with unusual architecture and 12 pavilions around a 13th (which was, of course, the king's), while the different works on display, furniture, paintings and models explain the symbolism of the buildings and the layout of the gardens in relation to the remains visible in the park.

This hunting residence was also a “water palace”: the garden fountains were fed by the Marly Machine, which was at that time considered to be the “8th wonder of the world”. The tour reveals the secrets behind how this machine operated. It had a gigantic wooden mechanism that pumped water from the Seine and transported it almost two kilometres further to supply water to the Marly gardens and then to Versailles. A technical feat like no other!

The rest of the tour is devoted to the intimate atmosphere of Marly, its unique way of life, what it was used for and the great historic figures who made their mark here such as the Dauphin, Princess Palatine, Madame de Maintenon and the Duke of Orléans.
The tour also examines what happened to the estate from the death of Louis XIV in 1715 to the present day.

Investigation in Marly, the secret of the machine": a game in the heart of the collections!

Become investigators because the real inventor of the Marly machine remains a mystery… Through a booklet of enigmas, the explorers observe the works and solve each mystery one by one!

Step by step, you progress through the museum, get answers and find a code that allows you to open the safe and verify their conclusions!

End your visit with a virtual reality experience and relive the solar eclipse of 6 May 1715 which Louis XIV attended in Marly. You’ll feel like you were there!