Why go

Versailles is the most spectacular royal palace in Europe and the easiest great day trip from Paris. Louis XIV turned his father’s hunting lodge into a statement of absolute power, moving the court and the government here in 1682. For more than a century kings and queens lived in public among gilded salons, marble courtyards and gardens that stretch to the horizon, until the Revolution brought the crowds of Paris to the gates in 1789.

The scale is hard to grasp until you are there. The palace has hundreds of rooms, the gardens cover hundreds of hectares, and beyond them lie the Trianon palaces and the rustic hamlet where Marie-Antoinette escaped the court. A single visit can only scratch the surface, so it pays to decide in advance whether the palace interiors, the gardens or the Trianon matter most to you.

What to see

  • The Hall of Mirrors. Seventeen arched mirrors face seventeen windows over the gardens, beneath a painted ceiling celebrating Louis XIV.
  • The State Apartments. The King’s and Queen’s apartments, including the Queen’s Bedchamber, show court life at its most theatrical.
  • The Royal Chapel. White and gold, it is one of the finest Baroque interiors in France.
  • The gardens. Le Nôtre’s terraces, fountains and the Grand Canal are best explored on foot or by hired bike.
  • The Estate of Trianon. The Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet feel like a different, more intimate world.

Plan your visit

The Palace is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 5.30pm, with last entry at 4.45pm. The Estate of Trianon opens at 12 noon. Everything is closed on Mondays and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. With the last time slots of the day it is not possible to see the whole palace, so start early.

The Passport is the ticket to buy. It covers the Palace with a fixed time slot, the Estate of Trianon and the gardens. Under the 2026 prices it costs €25 from 1 November to 31 March and €35 from 1 April to 31 October, and nationals and residents of the European Economic Area pay €3 less. A discounted late-admission Passport is sold for entry from 3pm in winter and 4pm in summer, and a Trianon-only ticket costs €15. In the low season the gardens are free for everyone.

Entry is free for under 18s and for EU residents under 26, but every visitor must still book a time slot for the Palace, and entry within half an hour of your slot is only guaranteed with an online ticket.

To get there, take the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about ten minutes’ walk from the gates; a standard Metro-Train-RER ticket covers the journey. Trains from Saint-Lazare and Montparnasse also serve the town. Allow at least half a day, and a full day if you want to reach the hamlet.

Nearby

The town of Versailles is worth an hour: the covered market at Notre-Dame and the old streets around it are full of cafés. Back in Paris, Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides makes a good companion visit for a day of French history.