Google has created a virtual reality tour of the palace of Versailles, allowing people to explore the architecture, artworks and history of the former home of French royalty wherever they are in the world.

The Versailles: The Palace is Yours exhibit takes visitors on a tour of rooms including the Royal Grand Apartments, the Chapel and the Opera. It was created using a technique called photogrammetry, via which 3D models of spaces and objects are created from 2D photographs.

In what was the largest photogrammetry capture ever at the Palace of Versailles, 130,000 pictures were taken of 24 rooms and 36,000sq m (388,000sq ft) of internal surfaces using cameras and drones. This has been used to digitally reconstruct 7,000sq m (75,000sq ft) of indoor rooms and 500,000sq m (5,400,000sq ft) of gardens and outdoor space.

In addition to being able to move around the palace using virtual reality devices, users can look at more than 100 paintings, sculptures and artefacts in detail. Google has also created curated, 360-degree 3D tours with audio narration to guide users through six of the Palace’s most impressive rooms, including the Royal Opera House and Coronation Chamber, and has also utilised its Art Camera ultra-resolution scanning technology to digitise several of the famous artworks hanging on the walls.

Google and the Palace of Versailles have worked together since 2013, when the palace was mapped using Google's Street View technology.