In short. Versailles is an easy day trip: take the RER C, walk ten minutes and you are at the palace. Go on any day except Monday, book a time slot for the palace, and allow a whole day if you want to see the gardens and the Trianon as well. The ticket with palace, gardens and Trianon fits most visitors.
How to get there from Paris
The RER C runs from central stations such as Saint-Michel, Musée d’Orsay, Invalides and Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel to Versailles Château Rive Gauche. From there the palace is about ten minutes on foot. Check the destination on the board before you board: some trains end at a different Versailles station, which is farther from the palace.
Two other lines serve the town. Trains from Paris Saint-Lazare stop at Versailles Rive Droite, about 17 minutes’ walk from the palace. Trains from Montparnasse stop at Versailles Chantiers, about 18 minutes’ walk, a little uphill.
Planning to drive? The A13 motorway towards Versailles is closed from 16 November 2026 to 31 August 2027, so the train is the better choice.
If you don’t want to work out the transport, choose a ticket that includes it. Some options give you the round trip from Paris plus the entry, and others add a guide. You do not have to find the right station.
Which ticket to choose
| What you want | Option | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Palace, gardens and Trianon on your own | Entry ticket + gardens + Trianon estate | A whole day |
| Only the gardens and the fountains | Versailles Gardens | About 2 hours |
| A guide for the palace | Guided tour, or the tour with the King’s Apartments | 1 h 30 |
| Transport and entry organised from Paris | Entry + round trip | A whole day |
| A guide and the train from Paris | Timed entry + guided tour + train | 3 h tour |
Start with the entry ticket with gardens and the Trianon estate, from €22. It opens the whole estate: the palace, the gardens, the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet. You can download a map, and the ticket arrives on your phone. It cannot be cancelled, so choose your day with care.
If the palace feels overwhelming, take a guide. The guided tour (from €65) and the tour with the King’s Apartments (from €88, 1 hour 30) take you through the rooms that matter and explain what you see. The Hall of Mirrors has 578 mirrors facing 17 windows, and the treaty that ended the First World War was signed there on 28 June 1919. With a guide you know why you are standing in it.
With transport from Paris. The ticket with round-trip transport (from €89) takes care of the journey and the entry. The guided version with the train (from €105, 3 hours of tour) meets you in Versailles and lets you stay after the tour. Another guided option with transport starts from €69.90.
Combined days. One day joins Versailles and Musée d’Orsay (9 hours, from €189, round trip from Paris). Another is a small-group day with the Eiffel Tower and Versailles (8 hours, from €99, train included); it does not include the Eiffel Tower lift or a visit inside it. If you want something different, there is a 3 hour 30 minute option with an audio guide and transfers by sidecar (from €398).
Prices change with the date.
When the fountains play
From April to October the gardens come alive with water and music. The Musical Fountains Show takes place on weekends and, in some periods, on Tuesdays. On those days the gardens need a ticket. The Versailles Gardens ticket (from €12) includes the show.
What to see
The Hall of Mirrors. Built from the 1680s, it is the room everybody has seen in photographs, and it still surprises. Le Brun painted the ceiling with 30 scenes.
The King’s and Queen’s Apartments. Louis XIV changed his bedroom in 1701 and died there on 1 September 1715. Court and government lived at Versailles from 6 May 1682 until October 1789, when the royal family left after the women’s march.
The gardens. Le Nôtre laid out about 93 hectares of formal garden, and the park around it covers some 815 hectares today. The Grand Canal is 1,500 metres long. Walk down to it and look back at the palace.
The Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet. The Grand Trianon was Louis XIV’s private retreat. Louis XVI gave the Petit Trianon to Marie Antoinette in 1774. Behind it, the Hamlet she ordered in 1783 was a real working farm that supplied the kitchens. It is a change of pace after the palace rooms. From the palace to the Grand Trianon it takes 25 to 30 minutes on foot, or about 20 minutes on the little train.
Opening hours and how long you need
The palace is open from 9:00 to 18:30 until 1 November, and from 9:00 to 17:30 between 2 November and the end of March. The Trianon opens at noon. The last entry is shortly before closing. The palace and the Trianon are closed on Mondays.
The time you need depends on the route: about an hour and a half for the highlights of the palace, about two hours for the gardens and about four hours for the Trianon and the Hamlet. Together that is a long day.
Tips that save your day
- Arrive at opening time or in the late afternoon.
- Travel light. Large bags are not allowed inside.
- Eat on site. There are two restaurants at the estate, so you do not have to leave for lunch.
- Take a guide if it is your first time. The Royal Chapel, for example, can only be visited with a guide.
Short on time? The entry ticket and a day that is not Monday are all you need. Want to understand what you are looking at? Choose the guided tour with the King’s Apartments.
