Château de Versailles
A trip from Paris to the famous Château de Versailles and the adjoining gardens is a great way to spend a day
The Château de Versailles is a rather famous tourist attraction. It symbolised the monarchy of Louis XIV between 1682 and 1789. It was the centre of power during those years thanks to Louis XIV arranging to have the government and all seats of power housed there. Forcing the regional powers to spend a portion of their time at the palace prevented regional forces from gathering too much power.
It has, as many French landmarks have, been redesigned by the resident monarch a number of times. The first design was by Philibert Le Roy which were followed by four major renovations and extensions to the palace. One of the more significant improvements and extensions was the addition of the King's and Queen's apartments.
The Château de Versailles is now open to the public most days of the week. Modern restrooms have been installed and there are free audio guides available in ten major languages. For those who would like to purchase some knick knacks for family and friends there are a variety of souvenir shops and curio stores. They even have a resident photographer who will gladly take your picture, for a fee.
For those that prefer to ride than to walk around a tourist attraction as large as this, there is an electric vehicle hire available which you can take around the gardens and through the Trianon, the Queen's Hamlet, the Grand Canal and the entire estate. There's a mini train that will take you to the estate of Marie Antoinette the Grand Trianon and little Venice.
It is worth noting that it is best to visit the Château de Versailles on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. This is because Tuesdays are busiest as most other French museums are closed.
Facts For Your Visit
Fee: Admission is free on the first Sunday of each month from November to March. Otherwise admission charges apply. See the official website for details.Château de Versailles Hours:
Opening hours may differ on holidays
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
- Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
- Thursday: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
- Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
- Sunday: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Address: Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, France
Phone: 01 30 83 78 00
Official Website: Château de Versailles
Château de Versailles Reviews
Rated out of 5
We bought the passport ticket so we were able to enter the gardens 2 hours before our ticket time and an hour before opening. The gardens were so peaceful and beautiful and no one else was there! This was probably my favorite place we went to while visiting Paris! I wish I would have known how extensive the gardens were I would have planned for an entire day there to just walk around, row boat in the Grand Canal, and sit by the fountains. It was so much history and simply beautiful ❤️
Stacy Young - a week ago
Really pretty Palace with beautiful gardens. You can see how the royals lived.
Buy tickets in advance online. Theres sadly a lot of people inside at a time, so it's chaotic to go around and be able to see things.
reputation - a week ago
We took the metro from the Eiffel Tower. A short walk from the station. We had bought the museum pass and could not figure out how to make a reservation for a time so we stood in line to the left of the entrance and once inside a worker took us through the building to a ticket window and we stood in a much shorter line to get our entry ticket that required no wait. The tickets did not state this but after asking we headed into the Palace.
We spent 1 1/2 hours touring the palace. Lots of history, not our thing but the architecture, armor, and decor were very interesting. We did not pay for the gardens and you could see a lot of it from the palace and at the garden entrance.
We then walked out the grey gate to The Summer home of Trainition. It was a bit of a walk and once there you could rent bikes. The place is massive and very rural. We were ok with the country side stroll along horse pastures ending up at the Petite Trainition. A small group of cottages surrounded by gardens. This was the best part of our visit IMO.
Richard hungerford - 2 weeks ago
Stunning. Breathtaking gardens, sheer opulence throughout the palace. Whilst walking through the palace is fascinating it is the exterior and the gardens that had the most appeal to me.
James Mayer - 2 weeks ago
The palace of Versailles was beautiful with grandeur on a scale not to be believed. The iconic hall of mirrors was amazing to see in person. Loved every room, the paintings and architecture were stunning.
Sarah Hartman - a week ago
Directions
| RER Line | Nearest Station | Walking Time |
|---|---|---|
| RER-C | Versailles - Rive Gauche | 10 minutes |
How to get to Château de Versailles by RER
By RER: Take the RER-C Train to Versailles - Rive Gauche. Exit the station and go right (north) up Av de General du Gaulle the left on Avenue de Paris to the entrance of Château-de-Versailles.
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Photo Gallery
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Beautiful view of the Grand Canal at the Château de Versailles cc licensed photo by HarshLight -
Photo Credit: corno.fulgur75 - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Jorge Lascar - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: corno.fulgur75 - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Nouhailler - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: corno.fulgur75 - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: corno.fulgur75 - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Nouhailler - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Nouhailler - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: dalbera - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: corno.fulgur75 - cc license via Flickr
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