Versailles from Paris - tour or independent trip?

Versailles Palace occupies one small part of the Versailles Estate. If your only have 2 to 3 hours you are probably only going to have time for Versailles Palace. The Versailles Palace Gardens and Estate are free to enter but the various attractions and activities within the estate are not.

You can explore the estate by foot or there is a hop on, hop off small train service. You will require best part of a day to cover both Palace and gardens or estate.

Opening times

For opening hours and current admission prices do consult the official website (link below) to confirm for when you are visiting. This is especially important during the pandemic as times can change without too much warning.

In overview, Versailles Palace is open daily except Mondays from 9am to 5.30pm (last admission at 5pm). It is closed on 25 December and 1 January.

The Trianon Palaces and Marie Antoinette's Estate is open every day except Mondays, 25 December and 1 January. It opens at 12pm and closes at 5.30pm.

The Garden is open every day from 8am to 6pm except during exceptional weather.

REMINDER: Versailles Palace, The Trianon Palaces and Marie Antoinette's Estate are closed on Mondays.

Buying tickets

To access the Palace, booking a time slot online is mandatory for all.

You can buy admission tickets in advance direct from the Versailles Palace website, (link above). You have to stipulate the date when you visit as it is not a flexible ticket.

You can buy a 1 day or 2 day passport giving full access to the Palace and Trianon Palaces, Marie-Antoinette’s Estate or you can buy a separate ticket just for Versailles Palace or Trianon Palaces/Marie Antoinette’s Estate.

You can enter the estate and just wander the gardens free of charge, but you will need to book a time slot for entry.

Admission to the permanent collections of the Palace (Grand Apartments, Hall of Mirrors), the Trianon Palaces, Marie Antoinette’s Estate, the temporary exhibitions plus the audio guides are free for under-18s and young people under 26 years old who are residents of the European Union.

Best time to visit

Versailles Palace is very popular and crowded. Try getting there for 9am. It can get very crowded in the Palace between 10am and 3pm, especially on weekends and Tuesdays (the day after Monday closing). The estate and gardens have plenty of space for everyone, but if you want to use the toy train service to get around, again there can be queues.

Under the current pandemic restrictions, entry is more controlled, so huge crowds are avoided, this can make your visit feel less 'busy', but means you need to be organised to book in advance.

In terms of ticketing the palace and estate of Versailles can be divided up into sections:

The Palace

The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful.

The Palace's most famous places: the Hall of Mirrors, Grand Apartments of the King and of the Queen, King's Bedchamber and apartments of the Dauphin (the crown prince) are the highlights of touring the palace.

For the tour of the Palace, an audio-guide in 10 languages is included in the price of the ticket. Expect to spend around 2 hours or a little more.

Gardens and Park of Versailles

A vast area ranging from the formal gardens in the immediate vicinity of the palace to the vast parkland and lakes.

The laying out of the gardens required enormous work. Huge amounts of earth had to be shifted to lay out the flower beds, the Orangerie, the fountains and the Canal.

You can take bicycles into the park, rent a rowing boat and there are cafes and refreshment kiosks dotted around the estate.

Grand Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Estate

On the far side of the gardens from the palace are a group of fine buildings used to escape the pomp and formality of the palace.

Louis XIV occupied the Grand Trianon, where he also housed his sister-in-law, Princess Palatine, his son-in-law the duc de Chartres and his daughter the duchess de Bourbon. It was beloved by Marie Leszczynska, who lived here in summer. Marie Antoinette gave several performances here but preferred the Petit Trianon, which Louis XIV had given her as a present.

Most people take around 2 hours to visit Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon.

It takes around 20 minutes on foot to walk through the gardens and park between the Palace of Versailles and Grand Trianon. There is also a mini-train providing a shuttle service between the Palace and Trianon.