Basile Morin, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Palace of Versailles
The house Louis XIV built to make the nobility come to him, and it worked. The gardens are the half most people underestimate and run out of time for.
A political instrument with a roof
Versailles was a hunting lodge until Louis XIV turned it into the seat of government and moved the French court out of Paris, which is the point of the whole enormous thing: if the nobility were here, competing for a place at his morning routine, they were not at home raising armies. That intent explains the scale, the mirrors, the axial gardens running to the horizon and the fact that the state apartments are a processional route rather than a home. It is also why the Revolution ended here — the crowd that marched out from Paris in 1789 brought the king back with them.
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What to see
Three parts, and most visitors only manage two.
👑 The palace
- The Hall of Mirrors, seventy-three metres of glass and chandeliers, and the room where the 1919 treaty was signed
- The King's and Queen's state apartments, which are a route rather than rooms you linger in
- The Royal Chapel, best seen from the upper level on the way through
🌳 The gardens
- The formal gardens by Le Nôtre, laid out on a single axis running west to the Grand Canal
- The fountains, which run to a schedule rather than continuously
- The Grand Canal, where boats can be hired and where the crowds thin almost completely
🏡 The estate beyond
- The Grand and Petit Trianon, the smaller retreats away from the court
- The Queen's Hamlet, Marie-Antoinette's model village, which is the quietest corner of the estate
Getting there
South-west of Paris, and a straightforward train from the centre.
🚆 By train
- RER C to Versailles Château–Rive Gauche, then about ten minutes on foot — the simplest option
- Transilien services from Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare reach the other two Versailles stations
🚶 On arrival
- The walk from the station brings you to the front courtyard, where the queues form
- The estate is large; a shuttle and bicycle hire operate within the grounds
When to go
Versailles is one of the most crowded places in France and the timing is not optional.
📅 Which day
- It closes on Mondays, which makes Tuesday the busiest day of the week
- Weekends and French school holidays are the fullest
🕰️ Time of day
- First entry or mid-afternoon; the middle of the day is the crush
- The gardens stay pleasant even when the palace is full
⏱️ How long
- A full day if you want the Trianon and the Hamlet as well
- Half a day covers the state apartments and the near gardens and nothing else
Worth knowing
Most bad days at Versailles come from underestimating the size.
🎟️ Entry
- A timed slot is required and the queue without one is long
- The palace and the estate are separately ticketed in some combinations; check what yours covers
🚶 Distance
- The Hamlet is well over a kilometre from the palace; walking the whole estate is a serious day
- Bicycles and the little train exist for a reason
💧 Fountains
- The fountains run on set days and at set times rather than all day; the gardens are ticketed separately when they do
📷 Photography
- Permitted without flash inside; the Hall of Mirrors is best from the end rather than the middle
Nearby
What Versailles pairs with.
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