EN´-fuh-layd
An enfilade is a series of aligned internal doorways that forms
a long vista when the doors are open.
Enfilades were an important feature of palace architecture in
the Baroque period (17th century), when they were often used
instead of corridors, even in bedroom wings.
This arrangement meant residents and visitors often had to
traipse through occupied salons and bedchambers to reach particular
parts of a palace.
To minimize interruptions, the aligned doorways were generally
placed to the front of rooms, near window walls, and
beds were equipped with draperies for privacy.
Versailles Palace, outside Paris, and Catherine Palace, outside
St. Petersburg, have especially fine enfilades.