Visiting Versailles, including its palace, gardens and parks, is something you will surely have in mind if you spend a few days in Paris.
The Palace of Versailles was the royal residence between 1682 and 1789. It is located in the municipality of Versailles, about 20 kilometers from Paris, and receives millions of visitors every year.
Versailles comprises three palaces: Versailles, Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, as well as several buildings located in the town. Although Louis XIII had a hunting lodge with a garden built there, Louis XIV is its true creator, since he gave it its spaciousness and determined its destiny.
The Versailles Palace and Park complex was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979
If you have decided to visit Versailles, organizing your visit will be very important to ensure that it is a success.
Shall we begin? Travel companions, welcome to Versailles!!
Indice:
TICKETS TO VISIT VERSAILLES
The first thing we’re going to think about is getting our tickets.
The Palace of Versailles is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and receives more than 10 million visitors per year, so obtaining our tickets online in advance is very important to avoid queues and be able to enjoy our visit.
Tickets are available for purchase in advance on the official website of the Palace of Versailles. Try to do so this way and avoid at least the long queue at the ticket office that usually forms.
I often receive messages telling me that they have not been able to get tickets for the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, etc. The advice is not to delay in getting tickets for the high season in such touristy places as Paris. I know that the downside is often that we have gone through many changes and we are afraid of losing our tickets if we have to cancel the visit.
►Ticket for the Palace of Versailles
The option to do this (and what I do when I can) is to get tickets that offer free cancellation in case we have to do it, and thus be able to get the money back. Where can I get them? Generally not on official websites, but on ticket sales sites. I buy them from Civitatis or Get Your Guide, both of which have always responded very well to me when I have had to cancel. Make sure it says free cancellation (this is not always the case), always remember to look at the conditions of those tickets, many offer free cancellation but others do not.
So if the delay is due to that fear, check if you have that option and try to book as soon as you decide, you will always have time to change your mind.
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Ticket prices
The entrance fee in August 2022 is €21.5 for a passport that allows you to visit the palace and the entire domain including the Trianon, and €28.5 for the days of water shows and musical gardens.
The entrance fee for the palace and gardens only is €18 (without the Trianon)
Access to the gardens and park only is free except for the days of the fountain show and musical gardens.
Children under 26 years of age residing in the EU have free access, however they have to book access at a time slot. ►Website Palace of Versailles, as well as Paris Pass tourist pass holders. (If it is a water show day, both cases must pay the additional €9.50 online or 11 at the box office for the entrance to the gardens).
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►Have you thought about getting a tourist pass and taking advantage of it to visit Versailles?, it can be a good idea if you are going to visit several paid sites. We have a post where we talk about whether it is worth getting a pass or not, and if so, a comparison between them ►Is it worth getting a tourist pass in Paris?
What visits to Versailles are included in the Paris Pass?
When are the big water shows? In season from May 22 to October 31 every Saturday and Sunday. Check all these details on the official Paris Pass website because they vary from year to year.
The musical gardens from April to October, varying the days according to the months, which can be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, detailed information is on the website of the Palace of Versailles.
In season they also have a night show every Saturday from June to September.
Guided tours
►The other option to visit Versailles is to do it on a guided tour in Spanish. There are several options, some from Paris and others when you arrive at the place. I think they are a good plan if you don’t want to complicate things with the organization. Besides, going with a guide who answers your questions is always a good idea, and the tickets always include an audio guide.
HOW TO GET THERE
As we said at the beginning, the Palace of Versailles is about 20 kilometers from Paris. The options we have to visit Versailles are to go by car, bus, or train.
By car
If you already have a car park, you can use it to get there. Keep in mind that this short journey can take you about 40 minutes, as there may be traffic jams at certain times. Versailles has a parking lot called Place de Armes, right in front of the entrance. The cost of parking is €4.80 per hour (the first four hours), then it goes down a bit. In summary, we paid around €20 total, but this will depend on the number of hours you spend on the visit.
You will find that even if you have a car, it is not a good idea to go to Versailles by car, and that using public transport is usually better. But it depends on your personal circumstances, such as being several people, going with children, etc.
By bus
You can get there by bus, line 171, from Pont de Sévres, although if you are not close to that area it may be inconvenient. The transfer will take you around 30 minutes and costs €4 (one way). It will also drop you off at the Place d’Armes, just a few steps from the entrance.
By train
This is surely the best option. The RER C line will drop you off a 5/10 minute walk from the palace. You can link it from your nearby metro station to the station from the RER C line towards Versailles Château – Rive Gauche (that’s the stop where you’ll get off). Be careful to look at the destination whenever you take RER lines as they have different ones. ►RER C map
The ticket you must get is for zone 4, the common metro ticket is not useful since they are for zone 1, the round trip cost is about €8.20. So in the vending machine you will place the option: Ticket Ile de France Region, and there you will choose the Versailles Rive Gauche (chateau) station. You can use your Navigo or Paris Visite pass if you have it and they include zone 4.
You also have the option of Transilien train. If you are staying in areas near the stations: Saint Lázare (L line), Montparnasse (N line), or Defense Grand Arch (U line). In these cases the arrival stations will be Versailles Rive Droite for the L and Versailles Chantiers for the other two, both stations are somewhat further from the palace than the RER C is.
THE VISIT TO VERSAILLES
Upon arrival, if you already have your ticket, you will go to entrance A located in the Dufour Pavilion, otherwise you will first go to the ticket office located to the left of the Patio de Honor.
What to visit: The Palace, the park and the gardens, the Trianon estate and the royal stables.
What are the schedules?
Each place has different hours: the palace from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. except Mondays
Los Jardines from 8 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.
The Park from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Dominio de Trianón from 12.30 pm to 8.30 pm except Mondays
What time should we choose? First of all, keep in mind that the time we choose is for entering the palace (with a half-hour tolerance), so we can organize ourselves and, for example, think about visiting the gardens first, then the time set for the palace, and then go to the park and the Trianon.
In my case, I visited the palace first. I got the first available ticket at 9 am, the idea was to visit it with as few people as possible. The visit to the palace took us approximately an hour and a half.
Then we did the gardens and the park, which takes at least two hours. We have to take into account that the Trianon doesn’t open until 12:30 and is far from the palace area, so we will have to include it while visiting the park. (Thus those two hours will easily go into three).
►Do you already know where to stay in Paris?, we have a very complete post with each of the districts ►Where to stay in Paris and what to see in each district?
Transfers within the park
To get around the park, we can of course do so on foot, but due to the long distances we can also use a small train. The cost of a round trip ticket is €8.50.
In our case we chose an electric cart for four people, the cost of which is €40 per hour and you have freedom of movement along the previously established paths. As you can see, we had a day with unstable weather, so it was a good option.
You can also rent bikes at the Grand Canal, the Reja de la Reina or the Porta San Antonio, the cost per hour is €9.
We have mentioned gardens and parks here several times and we have made a difference. We are talking about a total of more than 800 hectares. The gardens are divided into two large areas, the fountain area, which is more than 50 hectares, and the French garden, leaving the entire park in the Grand Canal area.
In the park we will find the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon, smaller palaces that can also be visited in Versailles.
As you will see, it is practically impossible to go through everything, and think about spending several hours. In our case, the weather did not help and complicated the visit a bit.
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Travel companions, I hope it has become clearer to you how to visit Versailles. The one that the organization is important because as you will have seen there is a lot to see.
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NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
