Versailles travel guide
The Sun King's palace, a canal-side park and two old quarters most day-trippers miss
A royal new town on the western edge of Paris, built around the palace that ran France for over a century. Come from April to June or in September for the gardens and fountain shows without the August crush. One full day covers the chateau and park; two lets you add the Trianons and the town. Costs are high.
Seventeen kilometres west of central Paris, Versailles was a hunting village until Louis XIV decided to rule France from it. Between 1682 and 1789 the palace was the real seat of power, and most people still come for that single day: the Hall of Mirrors, the state apartments, a park that runs on for kilometres past the Grand Canal.
The town itself is easy to overlook and should not be. Louis laid it out to serve his court, so the streets fan out in straight avenues from the Place d'Armes, and the two old quarters either side of them have very different moods. Notre-Dame lies to the north: the market district, with covered halls, cafes and the antique dealers of the Passage de la Geole. Southward is Saint-Louis. It is quieter and older-looking, grouped around its cathedral with the low square houses of the Carres Saint-Louis.
History keeps turning up here. The Tennis Court Oath was sworn in the Salle du Jeu de Paume in June 1789, and the Hall of Mirrors staged both the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871 and the treaty that ended the First World War in 1919. Both houses of Parliament still sit together in the palace when the Constitution is amended.
Plan on a full day for the chateau and its park. A second, slower day lets you see the Trianon estate and Marie-Antoinette's hamlet without rushing. Mondays are the trap: the palace is shut, while the gardens and the town carry on. Book your timed slot online before you travel. Then arrive at opening and keep the afternoon for the park, when the house is at its most crowded.
Evenings belong to the town. The cafes around Place du Marche Notre-Dame fill with students and families from the surrounding streets once the coaches leave, and staying the night lets you be at the gates before the first trains from Paris arrive.
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Top things to do in Versailles
The palace and its park take most of the time, but the market quarter, the cathedral and the royal kitchen garden are close by and far calmer.
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Best time to visit Versailles
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs climb from 16C to 24C, the bosquets reopen and the musical fountain shows start, while school groups thin out in September.
Highs around 26C and the longest opening hours, plus evening fountain and firework shows, but this is when the queues at the palace door are worst.
Highs of 7-13C and earlier closing, yet the state rooms are calmer and you can walk the frozen-looking parterres almost alone.
On summer Saturday evenings the gardens reopen for the night fountain show that ends with fireworks over the Grand Canal; it sells out, so book it with your palace ticket.
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Getting there
Three railway stations, two Paris airports
Versailles has three stations on three separate lines from Paris, and which one you use depends on where you start. RER C ends at Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche, a five-minute walk from the palace gates, which makes it the obvious choice from the Left Bank and the Eiffel Tower area (about 40 minutes from central stops). From Saint-Lazare, Transilien L trains run to Versailles Rive Droite, and from Montparnasse the Transilien N and some faster regional trains reach Versailles Chantiers in 12 to 25 minutes. Both of those leave you roughly a 15-minute walk from the palace; the walk from Chantiers is the least pleasant. A standard Ile-de-France ticket covers all three routes. By air, Orly is the nearer airport; from Charles de Gaulle allow well over an hour by RER B into Paris and then RER C.
- RER C
- Paris Left Bank to Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche in about 40 minutes, five minutes on foot to the palace
- Transilien N
- Montparnasse to Versailles Chantiers in 12-25 minutes, then about 15 minutes' walk
- Transilien L
- Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite, then about 15 minutes' walk through the Notre-Dame quarter
- Orly and Charles de Gaulle
- Orly is closest by taxi; from CDG combine RER B and RER C
- Check the final stop on RER C boards: only trains marked for Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche go there, and some Montparnasse stopping trains need a change at Viroflay Rive Gauche.
- Weekend works often close parts of RER C, so look at the line status before you set out and fall back on the Montparnasse or Saint-Lazare trains.
Where to stay
Old quarters by the palace
A night in Versailles pays off if you want to be first through the palace doors or stay for a night fountain show. The town is compact, so anywhere between the three stations is walkable to the gates. Prices drop in the streets further from the Place d'Armes, and there is a forest campsite with cabins near Porchefontaine station for families on a budget.
- Notre-Dame quarter
- Around the market halls; the liveliest evenings and most restaurants, a little noisy on market mornings
- Saint-Louis quarter
- Quiet streets by the cathedral and the Potager du Roi, an easy walk to the palace's south side
- Near Rive Gauche station
- Shortest walk to both the chateau and RER C, but mostly busy avenues and chain hotels
- Porchefontaine
- Leafy edge of town with the forest campsite; fine with a car or for families, far from the evening cafes
- Book well ahead for summer Saturdays, when night-show visitors fill the town.
Getting around
On foot, park train, bikes
Within the town you rarely need more than your feet: the Place d'Armes to the Notre-Dame market is about ten minutes, to Saint-Louis Cathedral a little less. The problem is the park. The Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet sit a good half-hour's walk from the main palace, and the far end of the Grand Canal is further still. The little Petit Train loops between the palace, the canal and the Trianons, and is the only time-efficient way to see everything in one visit. In the warmer months you can also hire bikes or a battery buggy near the canal, or a rowing boat on the canal itself. Local buses link the stations and outer districts, using standard Ile-de-France tickets, and RATP bus 171 runs to Pont de Sevres on Metro line 9.
- Walking
- Town centre and palace all within 15 minutes of each other
- Petit Train
- Hop-on loop through the park to the Grand Canal and the Trianons
- Bikes, buggies and boats
- Hired by the Grand Canal in the warmer months
- Bus 171
- Versailles Chateau to Pont de Sevres (Metro 9), useful when the RER is down
- Wear proper shoes: the park paths are gravel and a full loop easily runs past 10 km.
Culture and etiquette
Visiting the palace politely
The palace is a working monument, used for state occasions, and staff expect visitors to treat the state rooms more like a museum than a photo set.
- Keep to your timed slot and arrive a little early for security
- Carry a small bag; large luggage cannot go into the palace
- Say bonjour when you enter a shop or cafe in town
- Selfie sticks, which are banned inside
- Phone calls in the state apartments
- Picnicking inside the palace buildings or on the formal parterres where signs forbid it
Know before you go
What makes Versailles worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Hall of Mirrors at opening time, with 357 mirrors catching the morning light over the Water Parterre before the tour groups arrive.
- A rowing boat on the Grand Canal, the best way to understand how far the gardens run toward the horizon.
- The Queen's Hamlet, Marie-Antoinette's mock farm village with its mill and dairy, set beside a lake at the far end of the Trianon estate.
- Market morning in Notre-Dame, when the covered halls and the square outside are full of cheese, fruit and flower stalls.
- The Potager du Roi, the king's walled kitchen garden near Saint-Louis Cathedral, still growing espaliered pears and apples.
Good to know
- The palace is closed on Mondays, and a few rooms close at short notice for state events or restoration.
- Timed entry is compulsory, even with a museum pass or free admission; book the slot online before you travel.
- Selfie sticks are banned inside the palace, and staff ask visitors to keep phone calls out of the state rooms.
- Musical fountain days cost more to enter the gardens, which are otherwise free on most days outside the shows.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Versailles, month by month
Versailles has the mild, damp climate of the Paris basin, with May the wettest month and July and August peaking near 26°C. Open a month to check typical highs before planning a garden day.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Versailles (Meteociel, via Wikipedia).
Hall of Mirrors on day one, the Trianons and gardens after
The Palace of Versailles needs one full day, and two let you see everything. On day one, enter at opening with a timed ticket for the Hall of Mirrors and state apartments, then walk the gardens to the Grand Canal. On day two, visit the town and its market, then the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon and Queen's Hamlet.
Day one, morning. Be at the gates for opening with a timed ticket. Go straight through the Royal Chapel and the King's State Apartments to the Hall of Mirrors before the corridor fills, then on to the Queen's apartments. By late morning the house is at its busiest, which is your cue to step outside onto the Water Parterre and look down the axis to the Grand Canal.
Afternoon. Walk the bosquets, the hidden garden rooms either side of the central avenue, down to the Apollo Fountain. Eat by the canal at La Flottille or with a picnic on the grass, then take a boat out for an hour. If it is a musical fountain day, time the walk so you pass the big fountains while they run.
Day two. Start with the Notre-Dame market, then cross to the Saint-Louis quarter for the cathedral and the Potager du Roi. After lunch, return to the park by the side gate and give the afternoon to the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet, using the Petit Train if your legs are tired. Finish at the Salle du Jeu de Paume, where the deputies swore their oath in 1789.
Ore, Angelina and picnics by the Grand Canal
Most visitors eat inside the Versailles estate to save time. Ore, under Alain Ducasse, is the sit-down restaurant; Angelina serves hot chocolate near the Battles Gallery; the Grand Cafe d'Orleans is cheapest. La Flottille and La Petite Venise sit by the Grand Canal, and in the evening the town's bistros cluster around Place du Marche Notre-Dame.
Once you are inside the estate, leaving to eat costs time you will want for the rooms and the park, so most visitors eat on site. The choice runs from formal to quick. On the first floor off the Royal Courtyard, Ore is the palace's sit-down restaurant, run under Alain Ducasse. Angelina, the Paris tearoom best known for its thick hot chocolate and its Mont-Blanc chestnut pastry, has a branch near the Battles Gallery. The Grand Cafe d'Orleans on the ground floor is the cheaper option for sandwiches and salads.
Down by the Grand Canal, La Flottille and La Petite Venise serve brasserie and Italian-leaning food with outdoor tables. On a dry day a picnic beats all of them, and the place to shop for one is the Notre-Dame market: cheeses, charcuterie, bread and fruit from the covered halls, with the outdoor stalls trading on market mornings.
In the evening the action moves to Place du Marche Notre-Dame and the streets running off it, Rue de la Paroisse and Rue du Marechal Foch, where most of the town's bars and bistros sit. Saint-Louis has a handful of quieter restaurants around Rue de Satory. Book on Saturday nights in summer, when fountain-show visitors eat in town before the gates reopen.
Grandes Eaux fountain weekends from May to September
The best time to visit Versailles is a fountain weekend in May, June or September. The Grandes Eaux Musicales run the main fountains to baroque music on spring-to-autumn weekends, and summer Saturday nights add a lit fountain show with fireworks over the Grand Canal. Winter has no shows but the quietest state rooms.
The weather here is the mild, damp climate of the Paris basin. January averages 7C by day and 3C at night, and rain falls fairly evenly through the year, around 43 to 68 mm a month, with May the wettest. Spring warms quickly: April reaches about 16C, May 20C, June 24C. July and August peak around 26C with nights near 16C, comfortable for walking the park but long days in the sun on its gravel paths. September still averages 22C, and by November highs are back to about 12C.
The gardens are designed to be seen with their fountains on, and that only happens on show days. From spring to autumn the Grandes Eaux Musicales set the main fountains running to baroque music on weekends and some other days, and on non-fountain days the Jardins Musicaux play the music in the bosquets without the water. On summer Saturday nights the gardens reopen for the night fountain show, with lit groves and fireworks over the Grand Canal.
For the best of both, come on a fountain weekend in May, June or September. Winter has no shows and the bosquets may be closed, but the state apartments are at their quietest.
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How we research our Versailles travel guide
Palace opening days, timed-ticket rules and fountain show dates are compared with the Château de Versailles calendar before each review. Town facts follow versailles.fr and France.fr, entry rules the EU's Entry/Exit and ETIAS portal.
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Checked against trusted sources:
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Versailles.
General
RER C to Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche is the simplest, with the palace five minutes' walk away; the trip takes about 40 minutes from central Paris. Alternatives are Transilien N from Montparnasse to Versailles Chantiers or Transilien L from Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite, each about 15 minutes' walk from the gates.
Orly is the nearer airport and the easiest by taxi. From Charles de Gaulle allow well over an hour, taking RER B into Paris and changing to RER C.
Yes. Entry to the palace is by timed slot, and a booking is required even with a museum pass or free admission. Book online before you travel to get the time you want.
One long day covers the palace and the main gardens. The Trianons and the Queen's Hamlet are a half-hour walk from the palace, so a second day, or an early start and the Petit Train, is needed to see them properly.
On foot for the parterres and bosquets, then the Petit Train for the Grand Canal and the Trianon estate. In the warmer months bikes, battery buggies and rowing boats are hired by the canal.
Ore (Alain Ducasse) and the Angelina tearoom are on the first floor, the Grand Cafe d'Orleans is the budget option on the ground floor, and La Flottille and La Petite Venise sit by the Grand Canal. Picnics are welcome on the lawns of the park.
Yes, for a half day. The Notre-Dame quarter has the covered market and antique shops, while Saint-Louis has the cathedral and the Potager du Roi, the king's kitchen garden.
Notre-Dame for restaurants and evening life around the market, Saint-Louis for quiet streets by the cathedral, or near Rive Gauche station for the shortest walk to the palace. All are within about 15 minutes of the gates on foot.
Versailles is best known for:
- The Hall of Mirrors at opening time, with 357 mirrors catching the morning light over the Water Parterre before the tour groups arrive
- A rowing boat on the Grand Canal, the best way to understand how far the gardens run toward the horizon
- The Queen's Hamlet, Marie-Antoinette's mock farm village with its mill and dairy, set beside a lake at the far end of the Trianon estate
- Market morning in Notre-Dame, when the covered halls and the square outside are full of cheese, fruit and flower stalls
- The Potager du Roi, the king's walled kitchen garden near Saint-Louis Cathedral, still growing espaliered pears and apples
Timing & weather
The palace closes on Mondays, as well as on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. The gardens and the town stay open on Mondays.
Only on Grandes Eaux Musicales days, mainly weekends from spring to autumn, plus the summer Saturday night shows. Check the palace calendar before choosing your date.
The best time to visit Versailles is Apr to Jun, Sep. Fountains running, park in flower and days around 16-24C, without the peak queues of July and August.
- Best overall: April - June, September (Highs climb from 16C to 24C, the bosquets reopen and the musical fountain shows start, while school groups thin out in September)
- Summer: July - August (Highs around 26C and the longest opening hours, plus evening fountain and firework shows, but this is when the queues at the palace door are worst)
- Winter: November - March (Highs of 7-13C and earlier closing, yet the state rooms are calmer and you can walk the frozen-looking parterres almost alone)
July is the warmest month in Versailles, with average highs of 26°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 3°C. May is the wettest month, at about 68 mm of rain; February is the driest. Versailles has the mild, damp climate of the Paris basin, with May the wettest month and July and August peaking near 26°C.
Visa & documents
France belongs to the Schengen area. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Crime against visitors to France is mostly petty. Pickpocketing is common in Paris on the Metro, especially line 1, and around the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre and Gare du Nord. Rail and air strikes and street demonstrations can disrupt transport, so check before travel days and keep away from protests.
