With its 2,300 rooms spread over more than 63,000 square meters, the Palace of Versailles is one of the largest palaces in the world. It has been the dwelling of the Kings of France for more than a century, and remains a symbol of the French monarchy. Its well-known Hall of Mirrors, its Royal Opera or even its immense gardens make it one of the most famous palaces. Nowadays, it has more than 7 million visitors every year that rush to admire the splendour of the former home of the monarchs of France. So here’s the ultimate guide to the Palace of Versailles for you – access, timetable, prices, visitor trails – we are going to detail all the information you will need to have the most enjoyable visit.
Table of contents:
Where is the Palace of Versailles, and how do I get there?
How do I enter in the Palace and its estate?
Timetable and prices
When and how should I visit the Palace of Versailles?
Things you must see
A few recommendations
Where is the Palace of Versailles, and how do I get there?
The Palace of Versailles is located in the municipality of Versailles, in the French department of the Yvelines, 16 km to the south-west of Paris. The Estate of the Palace of Versailles brings the palace, the gardens, the Park and the Estate of Trianon together.
To go to the Palace, you can take the train, the bus or the car:
– By train: The closest station is Versailles Château Rive Gauche, at a 10-minute walk from the Palace. You can go to this station by taking the RER C, that goes there every 15 minutes. Prices can vary depending on your departure station. It takes approximately 1 hour to get there.
Several times a day, SNCF trains go from the Gare Montparnasse to the Gare de Versailles Chantiers, at a 18-minute walk from the Palace, and from the Gare Saint-Lazare to the Gare de Versailles Rive Droite, at a 17-minute walk from the Palace. A ticket costs between €3 and €4. Travelling from the Gare Montparnasse, it will take you 20 minutes, and 40 minutes if you travel from the Gare Saint-Lazare. Trains also go there every 15 minutes.
Our advice: Take two tickets (i.e. a return ticket) from your station to Versailles. Take them in the morning, because in the evening, the queue to buy a ticket at the station may be quite long.
– By bus: A shuttle offers transport to the Palace of Versailles from the Eiffel Tower in Paris from Tuesday to Sunday. For more information, click here.
The line 171 also takes you to Versailles in 1 hour, from the Pont de Sèvres (terminus of the line 9 of the metro), with a bus every 5 minutes. The price of the ticket is €1.90 (ticket T+).
The TRI bus goes through all the stations of Versailles (Rive Gauche, Rive Droite and Chantiers) and takes you to the front of the Palace.
– By car: From the A13 autoroute, take exit number 5 to Versailles Centre, and then follow the indications toward the Palace of Versailles. To park, you have many choices: you can park on the Place d’Armes, located in front of the Palace, or park further in the city. Free spots are available for visitors with disabilities.
Our advice: Avoid parking on the Place d’Armes, because it can be quite expensive (€4 for an hour), so it would be better to park in the city and walk a little further.
How do I enter in the Palace and its estate?
First of all, here is an interactive map to help you find your way around the estate. Here are also the plans (only in French) of the Palace and its gardens and of the estate of Trianon.
To access the Palace, you will have to go through the grille d’Honneur (main entrance) to get to the cour d’Honneur (Courtyard of Honour). On the left side of the court is the main ticket office. At the end of the court is the famous Grille Royale (Royal Gate), covered with gold sheets. On the left and on the right of the fence are entrances A (Dufour Pavilion) and B (Gabriel Wing) of the Palace. Entrance A is reserved for visitors that have a ticket and for the people that benefit from free admission (see below), and entrance B is for groups.
Regarding access to the gardens, you can enter through the cour des Princes, on the left of entrance A. From the Park, you can go through the Dragon, Neptune, Little Venice or Menagerie Gate. (See below for the timetable of the gates.)
You can access the Park by three different entrances from the city: the Queen’s Gate, on the boulevard de la Reine; the Saint Anthony Gate, on the D186; and the Sailors Gate, on the route de Saint-Cyr.
With regards to the Estate of Trianon, you can go by foot from the Palace by crossing the gardens and the Park (about 30 minutes), or by the same entrances as the Park.
Timetables and prices
During high season, from April to October:
The Palace is open every day, except on Mondays and on the 1st of May, from 9 am to 6:30 pm. Last admission until 6 pm.
The gardens are open every day (save exceptional weather: snow, violent winds…), from 8 am to 8:30 pm. Last admission is at 7 pm.
The Park is open every day (save exceptional weather), from 7 am to 8:30 pm. Last admission is at 8 pm.
The Estate of Trianon is open every day, except on Mondays and on the 1st of May, from 12 am to 6:30 pm. Last admission is 6 pm.
Here is the timetable of the differents gates leading to the gardens and to the Park:
Main entrance: 8 am – 8:30 pm
Dragon Gate: 12 am – 7 pm
Queen’s Gate: 7 am – 8:30 pm
Sailors and Saint-Anthony Gates: 9:30 am – 7 pm
During low season, from November to March:
The Palace is open every day, except on Mondays, the 25th of December and the 1st of January, from 9 am to 5:30 pm. Last admission is 5 pm.
The gardens are open every day (save exceptional weather: snow, violent winds…), from 8 am to 6 pm. Last admission is 5:30 pm.
The Park is open every day (save exceptional weather), from 8 am to 6 pm. Last admission is 5:30 pm.
The Estate of Trianon is open every day, except on Mondays, the 25th of December and the 1st of January, from 12 am to 5:30 pm. Last admission is 5 pm.
Here is the timetable of the different gates leading to the gardens and to the Park:
Main entrance: 8 am – 6 pm
Dragon Gate: 12 am – 6 pm
Queen’s Gate: 8 am – 6 pm
Sailors and Saint-Anthony Gates: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
During the high season, the Palace of Versailles offers outside shows: Musical Gardens and Musical Fountains Show.
During Musical Gardens days, the groves of the gardens are open so that you can enjoy a musical ballad in the natural settings of Versailles. They take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from April to October. Access is free for children under 6.
During Musical Fountains Shows, discover the many ponds of the gardens, spread across the groves, and admire the jets of water springing with the beat of the music. They take place on Saturdays and Sundays from April to October, and on Tuesdays in June. Access is free for children under 6.
For more information about these shows, click here.
Regarding the prices, there are many choices. There is the Passport ticket for €20, which gives you access to all the estate. During Musical Gardens and Musical Fountains Show days, this ticket costs €27. There are also the Palace tickets and the Estate of Trianon tickets that give you access either to the Palace or the Estate of Trianon, and which cost €18 and €12, respectively. These tickets don’t give you access to the gardens during Musical Gardens and Musical Fountains Show days.
A lot of people can benefit from free admission at the Palace and the Estate of Trianon: visitors under the age of 18, 18-25 year-old residents of the European Union, holders of a valid “Pass Education” card, job seekers and people on income support, visitors with disabilities and the person accompanying them. Some supporting documents would be requested. However, people benefiting from free admission still have to pay to access the gardens during Musical Gardens and Musical Fountains Show days.
The Palace and the Estate of Trianon are also free for all the first Sunday of every month, from November to March.
When and how should I visit the Palace of Versailles?
The best time to enjoy the Palace and its estate is during the high season, from April to October. Unfortunately, it is also during this period that there are the most visitors. During the summer season, gardens are in glorious blossom, jets of water are springing from the fountains and the weather is often sunny.
However, if you only want to visit the Palace or the Estate of Trianon, low season can be a good time, since there are generally less people. But during this period, the gardens are less enjoyable to visit, sculptures are covered up, most of the groves are closed, and the weather can be capricious.
For your visit, here is what we recommend you to do:
Book your ticket online, so you won’t have to queue twice (ticket + access to the Palace). The best thing to do is to come before 9 am to be the first to enter. Visit the Palace until 10 am, because it is around this time that the crowd will arrive. Head toward the gardens to enjoy a long walk in the groves. We recommend you bring a picnic because meals can be quite expensive. Once it is lunchtime, you can sit on a bench of the Park, and enjoy your meal (picnics are forbidden in the gardens). Around 12:30 pm, you can go to the Estate of Trianon to visit the Grand and the Petit Trianon, as well as the Queen’s Hamlet. Finally, around 4:30 pm, you can go back to the Palace – there will be less visitors at this hour and it will be more enjoyable to admire the decoration.
Audio Guides are offered in the Palace – they are free from the age of 8 and are available in 11 languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Polish. A children’s version is also available for kids, only in French.
Applications for the Palace, the gardens and the Estate of Trianon are also available on the AppStore and Google Play. These applications offer you an audio guide and an interactive geolocated plan, and they are all free.
By clicking on this link, you can access the many trails that go around the estate. These trails all have a different theme, such as the marvels of the Palace or the discovery of the Estate of Trianon, and they all have an estimated time so that you can plan your day.
Things You Must See
The Estate of the Palace of Versailles is huge, and it is difficult to admire all its beauty in only one day. So we have chosen for you five places that you must see when you visit Versailles.
1) The Hall of Mirrors
Measuring 73 metres long and decorated with 357 mirrors, this hall represents the savoir-faire of the craftsmen in the time of Louis XIV. It was usually used by the King to go to the queen’s chamber, but it was also used during major historical events, such as the wedding of the dauphin, later King Louis XVI, and Marie-Antoinette, the proclamation of the German Empire or even the signature of the Treaty of Versailles, that ended the First World War.
2) The Ballroom / Rocaille Grove
In the gardens of the Palace are 15 groves, small patches of nature decorated with fountains and sculptures. The distinctive characteristic of the Ballroom grove is that it is the only one which has barely changed over time. Most of the other groves have been modified or damaged during the last centuries, but the Ballroom grove is the same as conceived by André Le Nôtre between 1680 and 1683. At the back of the grove is an amphitheatre-shaped fountain, decorated with golden vases.
3) The Queen’s Hamlet
This hamlet is located in the Estate of Trianon, just next to the Petit Trianon. This place, which comes straight from a fairy tale, was ordered by the queen Marie-Antoinette, who wanted to get away from Versailles and find the nostalgia of a more rustic life. It is made of 12 cottages, including a farm, a dairy, a mill, and the Queen’s House. You’ll feel like you’ve returned to centuries ago while you walk, far from the court life that the kings of this time would have had.
4) The Coach Gallery
This museum, that is a part of the Estate, is located just in front of the Palace, across the Place d’Armes. It is open from 12:30 am to 6:30 pm during high season, and until 5:30 pm during low season, and it is free for all. The gallery mainly presents different coaches from the 19th century. There are no coaches from the period before the French Revolution of 1789, since most of them have been sold or lost.
5) The Royal Chapel
This chapel, ordered by King Louis XIV, was built in 23 years. Built on two levels, it is here where the Court attended the King’s Mass, every morning at 10 am. In this chapel, there is a splendid ceiling painted by Hardouin-Mansart, and also the great organ, that resonated all along the daily King’s Mass.
A few recommendations
You can take pictures but without using a flash, and selfie sticks are forbidden. Taking pictures is forbidden in the temporary exhibition. Pushchairs and metal baby carriers must be deposited at the free left luggage. It is recommended to have a front carrier if you’re coming with your baby. It is also forbidden to carry a children on the shoulders.
Beware of pickpockets inside and outside the Palace, especially where there is a lot of crowds, such as in the Hall of Mirrors.
Make sure you take comfortable shoes, because you’re going to walk a lot during your visit, especially across the gardens.
Our opinion: You won’t be disappointed when you visit the Palace of Versailles. You will be surprised by the enchanting settings, and you will love the walk along the long verdant paths of the gardens during a sunny day.
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