Exploring the Palace of Versailles from Paris: A Perfect Day Trip

Our Experience While Visiting the Château de Versailles 

Versailles is one of those magical places that you always hear about – a Palace that housed the French monarchy for centuries and was improved and enlarged with each King as he came into power. Ok, yes, it must be grand, but honestly, you can’t really appreciate the vastness of this compound until you are standing inside, behind the huge Palace building, and looking out over the 800 hectare property, wondering how we are going to cover all of this??

In our opinion, it is too large to do all in one day. However, we did see some of the top spots and would like to share them along with our pictures so you can really see the riches and affluence that were on display. Due to its very close proximity to the city, visiting the Palace of Versailles from Paris should be on everyone’s list to do. 

Highlights of Versailles

About Versailles

Surprisingly, Versailles was initially a hunting lodge. You would never know that now, considering how it looks in its present state. In the early 1600s, Louis the 13th used the forested area of the property to hunt boars, stags and pheasants. For convenience, he originally built a modest lodge there but upgraded it a few years later, which was the start of the Palace property as we know it today.

It was his son Louis the 14th who really stepped up the design of the Chateau and made it much grander. During his reign, it became the primary residence of the Royal Family and also the administrative centre. Here, he threw huge parties in the gardens and hosted receptions in the Hall of Mirrors. This property was all about showing his power and authority at the time.

After Louis the 14th died, the Palace fell into disrepair as it was no longer being utilized as frequently. His great grandson, Louis the 15th became the heir but didn’t live in the Palace, however he did return eventually to make renovations and continue to improve the estate. He was also sent there when he came down with smallpox and died at the Palace.

Louis the 16th was perhaps one of the most infamous Kings to live there, and his wedding to Marie Antoinette was a massive affair held at the Palace. But as a modern couple, they spent more of their time in Paris. During this time, they were losing popularity, and the people of France were pretty unhappy about the living conditions for the regular folks versus the money being spent by the Royal Family. In 1789, the French Revolution started, and Versailles was stripped as the Royal residence.

During the Revolution, all of the contents, other than select pieces of art, were sold off at auction. It was used sporadically during the 19th century and then shuttered during the First World War. It was only revived by generous donations from the Rockefeller family to begin its badly needed restorative process.

At this time, the curators set about trying to buy back the furnishings that had been sold off and refurbishing the Palace back to its original glory. Over the years, it has continued to have extensive projects undertaken to repair the gardens, fountains, the apartments and common areas. And the estate is now one of the most glorious properties in all of France and welcomes ten million visitors each year!

Can You Do A Day Trip From Paris?

Versailles is very close to Paris – depending on the route, between 20-30 kms outside the city. This short distance makes it super easy to visit Versailles on a day trip.

Best Way To Get To Versailles

The easiest way to get there is definitely with a guided tour of Versailles. If you prefer to have someone take care of the logistics of getting to Versailles and managing the ticket purchase, plus the bonus of some guided explanation of what you are seeing, this is the way to go.

Ideally, if you have the time, take a tour for the Palace portion and then go back a second day on your own to explore the additional buildings and Gardens that were missed. 

There are several types of tours available:

✅ For a small group tour from Paris, this half day tour is a good option to look at. It will get you to Versailles, provide a guided tour of the State Apartments and free time to enjoy the Gardens.

✅ If you would like the benefit of a guide but also the flexibility to tour on your own, look at this small group tour option. You travel with the guide to Versailles and have a tour of the gardens, then at your leisure visit the Palace and still have time on your own to explore, heading back when you like. Best of of both worlds!

However, if you are more adventurous and familiar with Paris train travel, you can take the train to Versailles. From anywhere in central Paris, you will need to navigate your way to the RER C line. It is a very long line and has many connecting stations. The direction you are headed in is towards Versailles Chateau, and the specific station you are going to is the Chateau Versailles Rive Gauche. 

Pay attention to your surroundings. We were lucky enough to catch one of the ornately decorated train cars on our way back.  The ceiling is amazing!

There is no special ticket to purchase for this trip; just buy the standard metro ticket at your starting station. The trip length will depend on where you are beginning from, but from central Paris, it takes on average 45 minutes to an hour.  It is best to plan out your route in advance of purchasing your timed tickets. Keep in mind that when you arrive at the station, there is still a walk of approximately 15 minutes to the Palace complex.

When To Visit

With nearly ten million visitors every day, it’s easy to imagine that this location is extremely busy. We recommend going on a weekday and as early in the morning as you can. Keep in mind the Versailles Palace is closed on Mondays.

Our priority was to see the gardens, so we started with that when we arrived, and booked our timed ticket for the Palace at 11:00am (with a 30-minute grace period). Arriving at 9:30am (with two hours), we had barely enough time to cover the gardens in full due to the massive size of the grounds.

When you have a ticket, there is still a queue, so be prepared for a wait outside in the courtyard. If you have purchased in advance, go to the A section and look for your time slot on the yellow signs.

It seems that even though there is a timed ticket, there are too many people being let into the Palace at one time.  It is very crowded and difficult to break away from the crowd. And our visit was on a Wednesday in April! If your priority is to see the grand rooms of the Palace, then try booking the earliest timeslot on the day of your visit and do that first.

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Booking Your Tickets

The booking of tickets can be a little complicated. The gardens are apparently free except during the time that the musical fountains and musical gardens are playing. From what we could understand on the website, they run from April 1 – October 31st. So that would mean free access only in the off-season.

There is always a charge for entrance to the Palace and the Trianon Estate. But access to the park is free, and you can enter from either the gardens or the city.

If you are planning to be there the full day and want to see as much as possible, then we recommend the Passport Ticket.  It is the best value. But if you are going to do a half day, then weigh out if just a Palace ticket is better for you, as you won’t be able to see the other areas on the grounds in that amount of time.

Also, get the audioguide when you are purchasing your Versailles ticket. Wandering around in that Palace won’t mean much if you don’t know what you are looking at.

Our Top Suggestions

The Gardens

When you enter the complex, keep to the left side and enter the gate that leads back to the gardens. Once you go through the entrance gates, you will immediately see a large formal garden with trimmed hedges, and when we were there, it also had pretty tulips like Giverny in the Spring.

As you follow the edge of the estate, a larger garden will come into view down on the lower level. It is huge, surrounds a large central fountain and leads to a lake area. Immediately, we were impressed.

But wandering around to the central area behind the Palace, you will come to what is known as the Grand Perspective gardens. From this vantage point, you really get a feel for exactly how massive these grounds are. It becomes obvious that this is not your standard garden!

These grounds were originally created in conjunction with the Palace by Louis the 14th and took 40 years to design and build. It is said that the King oversaw the entire process and wanted to know every detail as it was being created. Well, the resulting landscape is extraordinary. 

Formal gardens are surrounded by groves of trees that are almost like a maze of shaded forest where you could walk for hours. Many of the little courtyards have lovely statues and fountains.

The King had his own gardens with large trees and wide open paths, even though we wondered if he ever actually walked on them, as we were enjoying the space.

Interpersed among the gardens are huge fountains that have music that plays every 15 or 20 minutes. Some are just spouting water, but others, like the Neptune fountain, have very elaborate statuary of lead, bronze and white marble. We loved these as they reminded us of water fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Singapore, and Dubai.

A half day could easily be spent just exploring the gardens, so plan your time accordingly. We have seen some pretty nice gardens in our travels, like those in Sydney, Eze and the Azores, but these gardens are certainly the grandest we have ever visited.

The Palace

It is hard to describe the Palace itself. Perhaps just the number of rooms, 2300 in total, will provide an idea of the sheer size of this property. 

The open areas include many of the estate rooms that lead the visitor through the history and construction of the Palace.

The two-story chapel is beautiful and viewable from both levels.

After the historical part is covered, visitors go up a set of stairs into the Grand Apartments.

The rooms are highly decorated with frescoed ceilings and many pieces of artwork, some in surprisingly large format, stretching up into the vaulted ceilings. The walls are covered in pillars of marble and gold finishings. It oozes opulence. 

You follow along the route through room after room along the exterior of the Palace walls, seeing the drawing rooms, bedrooms, salons and a war room until you come to the pièce de résistance – the Hall of Mirrors.

This stunning room was originally a terrace that overlooks the Grand Perspective gardens. It was decided that it would be better utilized if closed in, so this decadent room was created. 

There are few words that can describe this room. Perhaps just WOW? The 73m length is constructed with 17 arches and reflected in the 357 mirrors. There are 30 paintings on the ceiling detailing the King’s reign and victories that extend across the entire length of the room. The chandeliers and gold decorations are spectacular and glimmer and shine as you walk through the area in awe.

It was essentially a showpiece to demonstrate the economic and political success of France, and we think it was pretty successful in its goal. It was interesting to compare this room to the Hall of Mirrors in Jaipur, which is a much smaller scale but covered with thousands of small mirrors. They both have a dazzling effect.

The room is extremely unique and could only be made better if there were some crowd control done, so you could actually appreciate it fully.

If you aren’t exhausted after 1 1/2 hours of shuffling through the King’s apartments, you can continue your tour of the Palace in the daughter’s quarters. In that area, you will see their private quarters, including bedrooms and sitting rooms and understand a little about life as a Princess. This is an entirely different wing that will take approximately 45 minutes to tour. 

What Else?

Not surprisingly, there is a lot more to see…including a secondary Palace that Louis the 14th used for recreation called Trianon and a third property called Petit Trianon that Louis the 15th wanted as a more modern residence. Of course, each has their own gardens to admire.

You can also check out the Gallery of the Coaches and the Royal Tennis Court, and of course, the Sculpture Gallery.

There is no lack of things to do while at this incredible complex. We think it would take days to see everything, so we had to make some choices on what our feet could handle for one day.  The large gardens and the State Apartments were good for a first visit. But we will plan to go back to the lesser-visited spots at another time.

We also noticed when leaving that there are limited golf carts that can be rented, so if you want to make the most of your time, this might be something to investigate.

✅ If you’d like to guarantee yourself a golf cart and an expert private guide, consider this tour, which includes both. It will provide the best of both worlds for covering a lot of ground.

The Final Word…Visiting The Palace of Versailles From Paris

Seeing the Palace and Gardens of Versailles had been on my bucket list for a long time. It was definitely worth coming to see this immense Royal complex. While not the largest Palace in the world, it is the largest in all of France, and we have to say one of the most impressive we have seen.

Given its popularity, it is unfortunately overrun with visitors, but if you can put that aside and just enjoy the magic of this spectacular building and grounds, it does make for a perfect day tour from Paris.