During his reign, Louis XIV turned his family hunting lodge into one of the most opulent Palaces of its time. Then the Sun King brought all the important nobles to Versailles so he could keep a closer eye on them. He kept them all busy with gambling, feasts, and lavish parties. It was the place to be… that is until the French Revolution.
The Palace and gardens are now a museum open to the public. When my daughter and I began planning our recent trip to Paris, it was one of the first things we added to our itinerary.
There are many things to consider when planning a visit to the Palace of Versailles. Even after extensive research beforehand, I still made a few mistakes when creating our game plan. I want to share some facts, links, and tips to help you plan the perfect visit.
The Chateau de Versailles App provides some handy information
- Dates and availability for special shows and attractions
- Links to buy tickets
- Maps of the palace and grounds
- A time schedule for the various fountain shows
- Details about limited-time exhibits
Navigating the gardens so that you are in the right place at the right time to see the musical fountain displays is much easier if you use the Chareau de Versailles app. It has a complete list of the shows, times, and a map.
Timing, Tours, and Tickets
Decide the length and type of visit that you want. You can book a Tour, take a Day Trip, or plan an overnight stay in Versailles with enough time to enjoy all the evening events at the Palace.
Whether you book a tour or plan your own trip, you will need to decide what you want to see during your visit and how much time you have to spend there. Then you can choose your tickets or tour accordingly.
The Palace of Versailles is currently closed on Mondays. Therefore, it can be bustling on Tuesdays. Some exhibits and shows are only offered on Saturdays so they can be quite crowded too.
I recommend carefully checking the Palace of Versailles website for dates on shows with Seasonal Availability or for Special Events that may affect the normal scheduling. We planned to visit on a Saturday to see the Fountain Shows, visit the Carriage House, and stay late enough to enjoy the Illuminations. Had I checked the site more closely I would have noticed two things. The seasonal Illuminations show didn’t start until 2 weeks after our trip and there was a concert the night of our visit so some attractions closed early.
Option 1 – Book A Tour
Companies like Viator or Tripadvisor offer many different tour options with various price points. They generally provide transportation to and from Paris and entrance into Versailles.
If you plan to book a trip via a tour company, you may be able to save some money using one or more of these options:
- Buy it through a shopping portal to get extra points or cash back
- Look for cash-back offers from your credit cards
- Utilize discounts from memberships you have with AAA, Costco, or AARP
- Book through a credit card Travel Portal which may give you a discount or let you use points to either pay for the purchase or erase it afterward
Option 2 – The Paris Pass or The Paris Museum Pass
If you will be going to several sites while visiting Paris (or any other city) it can be beneficial to purchase a city pass. These passes give you access to many popular local attractions for a price lower than their individual admissions. They also offer fun perks like local snacks, drinks, and skip-the-line access.
The All-Inclusive Paris Pass (includes the Paris Museum Pass) or the Museum Pass
- These passes include Basic Admission to the Palace
- They Require booking a Timed Entrance slot
- Admission does not include the musical fountain shows. When the water shows are taking place you will be unable to visit the gardens unless you purchase a separate ticket.
Option 3 – Buy Tickets
Avoid a long wait to enter the Palace by securing a Timed Entrance slot with tickets purchased in advance either online or through the Chateau de Versailles app. Also, consider reserving a time later in the day which may be less crowded.
Ticket Selections
We had Paris Passes which include a basic palace admission ticket, but we opted not to use them. Instead, I purchased Versailles Passport tickets for $35 ea because they included entrance to all the attractions we planned to see.
Here is a list of different ticket options that you can choose from:
- Just the Palace
- Passport (I recommend this ticket)
- Estate of Trianon
- Estate + Gourmet Break
- Passport + Return by Little Train
- Passport + Rowing Boat
- Passport + Bike Ride
- Musical Fountain Show
- Musical Gardens
- The Fountain Night Show
- Reserve an Audioguide
- Book a Guided Tour
The Fountain Night Show
The Carriage House
This is a must-see exhibit of royal carriages, sledges, and sedan chairs used for many of the most important events throughout French history.
The Carriage House is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 to 6:30. From July 1st through September 30th it switches to Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
There is a map of the Palace, a Map of the Gardens, but where the heck is the Carriage House??? It is in the Great Stables which is an 8-minute walk towards town. Sadly, this is how we missed it. We just couldn’t find it and we didn’t see any signage at the Palace grounds.
Getting to Versailles from Paris
If you book a tour package they will pick you up in central Paris and transport you to the Palace and back. But if you are planning an independent adventure, you need to plan your transit to Versailles.
Taxi or Rideshare
Because we had an early timed entrance to the Palace and were traveling with bags for an overnight stay, we opted to take a Taxi from Paris to Versailles. The taxi made it easy by taking us to our hotel where we dropped off our bags at the hotel reception and then walked to the Palace.
The Taxi from Paris to Versailles was $60 and it took about 35 minutes to make the journey. It wasn’t the cheapest way to get there, but it was a lovely drive and the simplest option for our plans.
Train
The train between Versailles and Paris is inexpensive and takes about 40 minutes. We took the train from Versailles back to Paris and only paid $5.44 for a one-way SNF ticket. If you are arriving by train for your visit to the Palace of Versailles it is about a 10-minute walk from the Versailles Rive Gauche station.
Hotel
If you plan to take in the evening shows at the Palace of Versailles, you may want to book a nearby hotel. There are several options in the area but I highly recommend the Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace. The hotel, restaurants, and the grounds are all quite spectacular and it is only about a 10-minute walk from the hotel to the Palace.
During our overnight stay at the Trianon Palace, we had an extraordinary room with views of the Palace from our balcony. We also enjoyed drinks at the Gordon Ramsay Bar and an amazing dinner at the hotel’s La Veranda restaurant.
My Take Away
Although I was incredibly excited to visit the Palace of Versailles, our tour through the Palace was somewhat disappointing. Even with a Timed Entrance we still waited quite a while in the hot sun to get in. Once inside, it was so crowded that it was hard to enjoy the experience. We were packed in shoulder to shoulder as we moved through most of the rooms and into the hall of mirrors.
After we made it through the Palace we needed to use the restroom and eat. It took over 20 minutes to get through the endless line for the restrooms. By then I was hot, hungry, and completely overwhelmed.
I take part of the blame for planning our visit on a busy Saturday. I did so because I initially thought we would be able to see the Illuminations display and tour the Carriage House. Since I failed to locate the Carriage House and there were no illuminations, we didn’t get to do either.
Thankfully our amazing stay at the Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace helped to soften the blow. We received an upgrade to a fantastic suite and they made us feel like Princesses staying in our own Palace.
I’m still glad that we visited the Palace of Versailles. It’s a fantastic place to go if you plan it right and I hope these tips will help you have a better experience than we did.
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