Versailles is a city in the department of the Yvelines, Île-de-France, renowned worldwide for the Château de Versailles and the gardens of Versailles, designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Located in the western suburbs of the French capital, 17.1 km from the centre of Paris, Versailles is in the 21st century a wealthy suburb of Paris with a service-based economy, as well as a major tourist destination. According to the 2017 census, the population of the city is 85,862 inhabitants, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975.
A new town founded at the will of King Louis XIV, Versailles was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of royal city, it became the préfecture of the Seine-et-Oise département in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968. It is also a Roman Catholic diocese.
Versailles is historically known for numerous treaties such as the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution, and the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I.