The Palace of Versailles. Its grandeur and charm has made it one of the most visited attractions in France. Once home to the Kings and Queens of France, this palace offers a lot of rich insight into the French history. The palace depicts the life of King Louis XVI and how under his rule, it became a place of extravagance. So there shouldn’t be a question on your mind of whether this should be a part of your itinerary. I have to say that it’s totally worth a visit.
So first things first, where is The Palace of Versailles? The Palace is about a 30-40 minutes drive from the city of Paris in the town of Versailles (which, btw, is a beautiful town!).
Here’s a helpful guide based on my personal experience on how to have the best time here,
HOW TO GET HERE?
The fastest, cheapest and easiest way to get here is to take a train. There’s a direct train (line C) that runs from the city of Paris to the Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche station which is where you’ll have to get down. The train runs from many stations and we took it from the Eiffel tower because that was the closest to our hotel.
An important tip if you do end up taking the train – The Paris Metro Pass will not be sufficient for this ride as that pass works only within Paris so you’ll need to buy separate tickets for this journey.
You could also take a taxi or uber but you may end up getting stuck in traffic, depending on the time of the day and will end up paying more.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT?
Since the Palace of Versailles is adorned by lush, beautiful and magnificent gardens, it’s best to visit in summer when the gardens are in full bloom. Another reason for visiting in summer is that the chateau hosts special events and one of the best events that happens in summer is the musical fountain show. The musical fountain show runs from April through October and only happens on certain days of the week. This is when the magnificent fountains in the gardens are turned on for a display and it’s a spectacle to not be missed. The palace also hosts night fountain shows from June through September where the colorful and dramatic lighting effects offer a stunning visual.
Check the schedule of all shows here.
An important note if you have the Paris Museum Pass – This pass covers entry into the palace and access to most parts of the palace, but it doesn’t cover access to the fountain shows. So, you’ll need to buy separate tickets from here if you plan to attend the show. And be sure to check the dates that the show runs on.
WHAT IS THE ENTRY TIME?
The Palace is open all days of the week except Monday, from 9 AM to 6 PM. The gardens open at 8 AM whereas the Estate of Trianon opens at 10 AM daily. The Palace is open year round.
Keep in mind, though, that the last entry to the palace is at 5 PM. So, you can hang out in the palace after 6 PM but you need to make sure you get in before 5 PM. On the days when there’s a fountain show, the gardens open at 8 PM for the show and are open until 11:30 PM.
If you’re going to be staying a few days in Paris and plan to do museums, I would advise on getting a Paris Museum Pass from here. This pass covers pretty much all the major attractions in and around Paris (including Palace of Versailles), so its very economical. You could choose between the 2, 4 or 6 day option and also add river cruise as an add on if you’d like to do that.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
The full tour of the Palace shouldn’t take you more than 3-4 hours. They provide maps of the entire estate at the entry point. The map comes with a few red dots marked on it for important sections to not miss. But if you want to plan ahead and mark the sections you want to hit first, here’s an interactive map on their site that you can refer to.
WHAT TO CARRY?
If you’re planning to go on a summer day, then definitely carry water, a hat and sunglasses with you. The palace is huge and can take a while to tour so pack some snacks if you think you’ll get hungry. Most restaurants inside the palace close by 6 PM so be sure to get your dinner packed before that or make sure to bring something with you if you plan to stay back for the fountain shows in the night. It also gets colder in the evenings, even on summer days, so be sure to bring a jacket.
HOW TO DRESS?
You can wear anything comfortable that you can go around in for a couple of hours. Be sure to check the weather before your trip to dress accordingly. Since there’s a lot of walking involved, be sure to wear comfortable shoes. On some paths in the gardens, you’ll be walking over cobblestones so comfortable shoes or sandals will be important. Read my complete blog here to see what I wore to the Palace of Versailles.
WHAT ARE SOME MUST SEES?
There’s a lot of things to explore in and outside the Palace but if you’re short on time or don’t want to tour the whole estate, below is a list of absolute must sees that you need to cover,
- King’s State Apartments
- Hall of Mirrors
- King’s private apartments
- Queen’s apartments
- Gallery of Great Battles
- Royal Serenade show (takes place under the gold of the hall of mirrors)
- Fountain shows
WHERE TO EAT?
As I mentioned, most restaurants in the palace close by 6 PM so make sure to go before that. There are a few restaurants on the property and a good place for some nice coffee and snacks is Grand Cafe D’Orleans. However, if you have more time then the old town of Versailles also has a lot of great options and is worth checking out.
Other than all this, just have fun and soak in all the royalty and charm that this Palace has to offer.
If there’s something I missed, feel free to add in the comments below. Hope this guide to The Palace of Versailles was helpful!
4 Comments