Bosquet des Rocailles, Historic garden in Versailles, France

The Bosquet des Rocailles is a garden grove in the gardens of Versailles, built around an elliptical clearing edged with marble steps and rock formations from the Languedoc region. The space is arranged around a central open area shaped like an Italian-style theater, with tiered cascades lining its edges.

André Le Nôtre designed this grove between 1680 and 1683 as part of the royal gardens of Versailles. It opened in 1685 with a banquet hosted by the Grand Dauphin.

The name Rocailles refers to the rockwork of the tiered cascade, built of meulière, flint, Fontainebleau gogottes and shells from Madagascar, with fragments of lapis lazuli still visible. The grove is also called salle du Bal: the oval clearing served as a dance floor, and in 1980 the company Ris & Danceries performed dances by Louis Guillaume Pécourt there, reconstructed by Francine Lancelot from Feuillet notation.

The bosquet sits in the southeastern part of the gardens, near the Latone parterre, and can be reached from several surrounding paths. The ground includes steps and uneven surfaces, so sturdy footwear makes the visit easier.

The word "rocaille" originally referred to small shell-shaped stone ornaments that were considered a fashionable novelty in the Baroque period. Here, this technique was used not just as a decorative detail but as the organizing idea behind the entire space.