This post is all about the best day trip from Paris to the Versailles Palace!

The Versailles Palace is located in the town of Versailles, France, quite close to Paris. It is one of the most famous royal residences in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the most famous and popular tourist attractions in France. The palace is five times the size of the Louvre Museum and includes a wealth of beautiful gardens, fountains, and buildings.

There are many day trips possible from Paris, but we will focus on one in particular: a trip to the Château de Versailles. We will discuss the best way to plan this day trip and the time it would take so that you can enjoy your time there.

It’s only a short distance away from Paris and very accessible, so it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to visit it.

The best way to plan this day trip is to start by figuring out how long you want your day trip to be. If you have only a few hours, then it would be best to go through the gardens and explore the palace grounds. You could then spend the afternoon exploring other parts of Paris.

If you have a full day, then we recommend exploring all of the palace grounds and also taking a boat ride on the Grand Canal.

If you want to learn more about all the things you could see whilst visiting the Versailles Palace and how to get there, then read on!

 

Day trip from Paris to the Versailles palace

 

Places to visit when you are in the Palace of Versailles

A day trip from Paris to the Versailles Palace is a great way to experience the rich art and culture that the region has to offer.

The palace was the principal residence of French monarchs from Louis XIV to Napoleon III. It is one of the most visited monuments in France, attracting over 8 million visitors annually. The Palace is so much more than just a building: it’s a whole world! It had its own rules, traditions, and customs that have been passed down through generations of kings and queens.

The palace was commissioned by King Louis XIV of France, also nicknamed the Sun King, and has been open to the public since 1682. It served as a seat of power for the French monarchy until 1789. Today, it is a museum that attracts more than just tourists. It also has regular visits from foreign heads of state and their spouses.

Queen Marie-Antoinette also famously lived there before she was beheaded during the French Revolution.

 

The gardens of Versailles

Starting with the exterior of the palace, the grounds are beautiful and include a large park with fountains, gardens, pavilions, statues, and more. The gardens are full of flowers that were grown for their beauty rather than for their scent or medicinal properties – one of many differences between them and English gardens at that time.

They were designed by a very famous gardener of King Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre. He completely transformed the garden and the parks of the palace to be as we know them today. He will hold the position of the gardener of the King from 1662 to 1687.

This left him 25 years to oversee the transformation work of the gardens with a large team to manage on a daily. Le Nôtre also had support from some royal architects for the design of all the sculptures and fountains that you can see in the gardens.

The gardens are best enjoyed during the spring and summertime when the trees and flowers are in bloom. You’ll also be able to enjoy the breathtaking musical fountains show that is held at night from mid-June to mid-September.

Besides the gardens, you also have a huge 800 hectares of forest. You won’t only find trees there but also two wonderful water canals: the Grand Canal and the Lake of the Swiss Guards.

At the same time that the gardens were being transformed so was the palace. In the beginning, there was no palace, it was only a modest hunting lodge that king Louis wanted to expand to be his seat of power and a reflection of his reign.

If we now look at the various buildings that you could visit whilst in Versailles, there is quite a bit to explore besides the main palace.

 

The Versailles palace, the estate of Trianon

Let’s start with the main event though: the palace!

 

The Versailles palace

There are a total of 2 300 rooms in the palace. The palace is so huge that it has its own post office and fire department! You won’t be able to visit all those 2 300 rooms as some are in restoration and some are closed to the public (and it’s probably a good thing or you would be spending days there!).

Here are some of the main ones: you probably have heard of the hall of mirrors, which is this very long corridor full of mirrors reflecting the light and the gardens inside the palace. You’ll also visit the royal apartments and state apartments: both the King’s and the Queen’s. Every room is furnished, giving you a great impression of how things were at the time. The richness of the decor and the paintings are the perfect illustrations of the power of King Louis XIV.

Just beside the main palace, you have the royal chapel with its beautifully painted ceiling. It was the palace’s church at the time of Louis XIV, and nowadays there are classical music concerts being played.

 

The Trianon estate

Another set of buildings you could explore is located at the Trianon estate, which is composed of the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, and the Queen’s hamlet.

The purpose of this estate was for the King and Queen to have a place to get away from all the rules and etiquette existing in the main palace. This was their own “little” place to hide out and be freer.

Just by looking at the size of the building, you can see that all the courts could not follow them to the Trianon estate.

The Grand Trianon was more the place of King Louis XIV. He went there when he wanted to spend some time with his mistress and then his secret wife, Madame de Maintenon.

The Petit Trianon is very much linked to Queen Marie-Antoinette, who loved the place dearly. The Hamlet, also known as Marie-Antoinette’s hamlet, was the result of her wish to experience rural life. So she asked to have a sort of replica of a small village built on the palace grounds. She loved to troll in the hamlet with her children and her friends and visit the farmers she had installed there.

It’s a great visit to do with children!

If all this sounds like a great adventure to you, then read on for all the practical details regarding getting to the château de Versailles and tickets!

 

How To Buy Your Tickets Online & What to Expect When You Arrive at The Chateau De Versailles

 

How to get to the Versailles palace?

The most convenient way if you are coming from central Paris is to go there by public transportation. There is a train line that goes directly to the Versailles palace and that line is the RER C train.

This line follows the Seine river, so you can catch it at several places in Paris. There are also a number of metro lines that can help you reach the RER C depending on where you are staying.

When you’re looking for which train to board, you need to make sure that its final destination is “Versailles-Rive Gauche”. there are other lines that go to Versailles, but not as close to the palace and more into the modern city.

You can get the train ticket for your day trip from Paris to the Versailles Palace at the counter in the metro or train station. Another alternative would be buying tickets on the machine. It might be less easy if you’re not used to it. You’ll have two options: either buy a one-way ticket or directly buy a round trip one. The latter will save you time on the potentially long queues you could have on the way back from the palace.

The train ride will take you anywhere between 40min to 1 hour depending on where you are starting your journey.

Pro Tip: During your visit, there might be some work being done on a specific train line or metro line that might make the RER line C unusable. In that case, be sure to go to the counter and ask for advice on the best way to get there.

As I am writing this, the RER C line is under renovation and not usable.

 

How to buy your ticket for the Versailles palace?

When to buy your tickets?

The palace is huge and if you want to visit everything, one day might not be enough. You need to be clear on what you want to visit as a priority.

The most efficient and easiest way to purchase your ticket is to book it in advance online. Summer vacation is the busiest time of the year to visit. This tourist place can be very crowded during the high season.

Where to buy your tickets?

The most secure way is to use the official website of the chateau to purchase your ticket. If you forgot to book it before you left, no problem, you can also buy your ticket by phone. Alternatively, you can buy tickets at any of the sales points around Paris. It would be ideal not to have to queue at the palace for your admission ticket. It is most likely that you would experience long lines at the ticket office.

There are many different ticket options to choose from depending on what you intend to discover. You could go for on the main palace and gardens visit, or include also the Trianon estate. There is also an English-guided tour available of the King’s apartments. The tour guide will bring you to some quite intimate places in the palace.

Make sure that the Musical Fountain show or Musical Gardens are included in your ticket. If this is not the case you’ll have to purchase a separate one.

When you arrive they will check your ID at the welcome desk and give you a map of the grounds. This will happen no matter the type of ticket you’ve purchased. In addition, an audio guide is available for each visitor. Once inside, there are three ways to explore: on foot; by boat; by bike; or by a little train.

A great way to get around in the gardens and the park would be with a golf cart that you could hire by the hour. They also have an audio guide to accompany you and your family on your exploration journey!

This post was all about your next day trip from Paris to the Versailles palace!

 

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