Alain Ducasse to Open Restaurant, Hotel at Palace of Versailles

The reigning king of French cuisine is coming home to roost with the Sun King: Visitors from around the world will soon be able to stay and dine on the grounds of France's Palace of Versailles. According to CTV news, the many Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse has been chosen to lead a team that will turn part of the Palace into a hotel and restaurant. For the first time in the property's history tourists will be able to sleep in the same building that Louis XIV ruled France from and Marie Antoinette frolicked about.

The LOV Hotel Collection, a luxury hotel group based in Savoie, France, will build out a 20-room hotel within three buildings on the royal grounds. A fine dining restaurant from Alain Ducasse is planned for one of the buildings, which are all located on the southeast area of the property and once served as the king's Ministry of Finance and a military building. The structures — which encompass over 30,000 square feet — have been empty since 2008. Renovations are expected to cost over $15 million. CTV writes that the "decor will remain faithful to the opulent, lavish style of the 18th century." Expect gilding, tapestries, mirrors, marble, decorative statues, and overflowing goblets of fresh flowers.

The hotel has an opening date of sometime in 2018.

Though hotels like the Waldorf Astoria Hotel Trianon Palace Versailles edge right up to the property upon which Marie Antoinette once roamed, tourists have never actually been able to spend the night at the Palace. Until now.