Having tired of the pace of life at the château, the queen decided to create a peaceful haven in which she could welcome her own guests, and teach her children about nature and animals.
She also invited local people to the farm, and brought in real farmyard animals to live in the surroundings.
Although located in the grounds of the famous château, the hamlet has never before been open to the public, and in its heyday was only accessible to members of the court.
It has now been entirely restored, after three years of work, and expects to receive up to seven million visitors per year. Jérémie Benoit, head of restoration of the hamlet, said: "We had a building that was in a real state of decrepitude. So we absolutely needed to start with everything [from the ground up]; including the foundations and the beams."Visitors can now explore the lake and grounds, the rustic exterior buildings, and the sumptuous interior designs, the latter of which demonstrate the same attention to detail and royal style as that seen at Versailles itself. This is because, although Marie-Antoinette desired a farm, she still wanted it to offer similar levels of style and comfort as the main château, especially indoors.
As well as the exterior and interior of the place, the exhibition will also explain the queen's use of the hamlet, and shed light on the huge parties she held there.
Comment: This certainly does provide an intriguing perspective on who queen Marie-Antoinette was. Perhaps the selfish, decadent and debauched image of her isn't as accurate as mainstream history would have us think?
See also: A short history of the 'humane' guillotine