Versailles Palace and Gardens Tour from Paris
Description
Versailles becomes effortless when your tickets and route are handled for you. This guided tour pairs timed entry to the Palace of Versailles with an expert guide who brings the state apartments, the Royal Chapel, and the dazzling Hall of Mirrors to life. You step inside with timed entry and go straight into the former heart of the French court, learning the stories behind the Bourbon monarchy as you go. After the guided rooms, you receive an introduction to the Gardens of Versailles, then explore the sweeping parterres, fountains, and groves at your own pace, with time to reach the Trianon Estate. It is a relaxed, well-paced way to see the highlights without the stress of planning. Pick the version that fits you best: travel round-trip by train from Paris with a standard group, keep things personal in a small group, or meet directly at Versailles for a shorter on-site tour without transport.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your expert guide at a central Paris metro stop. Then, board the train for the smooth ride out to Versailles, roughly 30 minutes each way. On arrival, a short walk brings you to the palace gates. (The Express option meets directly at the Palace of Versailles and does not include transport from Paris.)
Head inside with timed-entry tickets and follow your guide through the opulent state apartments, where the drama and power of the Bourbon court come to life. You take in the soaring Royal Chapel and the elegant Princess' Apartments along the way. The tour builds to the Hall of Mirrors, the palace's showstopping gallery lined with mirrors and chandeliers, before you explore the King's State Apartments and the political symbolism woven into every room.
Your guide leads you to the garden entrance for an introduction to the sweeping geometric parterres, fountains, and groves, where the guided experience ends. From here you are free to wander at your own pace and walk out to the Trianon Estate before returning to Paris with your pre-arranged train ticket. You are also welcome to rent a golf cart or purchase a ticket to the garden Mini train for easier access to the grounds. (The Express option runs about 2 hours and does not include return transport.)
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Entry into the Palace of Versailles may be slowed down during peak season due to crowds and required security checks. We appreciate your patience.
- We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any walking impairments that require special assistance on our group tours. We are also unable to accommodate strollers or baby carriages.
- We recommend bringing a bottle of water with you and wearing a pair of comfortable shoes.
- This tour departs promptly at the scheduled start time. If you are not checked in by then, the group will have to depart for Versailles without you. Once the tour has departed, we cannot guarantee your participation.
- Please note this tour includes walking and standing for around 3 hours. There is an approximately 10 minute walk between the Versailles train station and Palace entrance.
Reviews(4,321)
Our guide Helin was great!!! Despite the large group, she did an incredible job of making sure no one ever got left behind, and answered other guests’ questions. Even though this was my second time visiting Versailles (and with a guide), I learned a ton of new and interesting information from Helin about the palace, the lives of the royalty who resided there, and other fun facts. You could tell she really enjoyed sharing her knowledge about Versailles with us!
Our guide, Phil, was very knowledgeable, kind, personable, and friendly. He made sure to include our 2 elementary aged kids in his explanations and made them feel part of the group and made learning fun.
Veronika was excellent!! She is incredibly knowledgeable. Took time to explain everything very well and the tour was well organized. The meet up was simple with the tour company well marked. We even left early because everyone was on time and got to see the chapel before our tour started. We stayed an additional three hours after the tour ended and explored the gardens. Petite Trianon, and Grand Trianon. She also gave everyone the option of ending the tour in the palace so that they could stay in the palace and look at some other rooms, not on the tour Lots of choices!!!
Great tour guide! Very thorough. So thankful I did the tour; we waited 5 minutes instead of over an hour to enter.
We had a great experience visiting the Versailles Palace and Gardens. The tour guide picked us from the train station in small groups of 12-15 people. The train ride was nice and then a small walk to the palace. There was a big line but the tour operator took us through a separate area where there was no wait. The guide was very knowledgeable and answered all the questions. He was friendly and nice. He spent a lot of time at the palace. The tour also gives the admission to the gardens. I would highly recommend this tour company for this trip.
My daughter and I had a wonderful time visiting the Palace of Versailles. Helin is a fantastic tour guide and shares a lot of information with our group and answered any questions we had. She expedited us into the palace and the pace was good. I especially loved all the stories about some of the lesser known, clandestine activities of the “Louies”. She advised us where to eat and visit after the palace tour which was helpful. We walked a LOT!! Merci beaucoup Helin for a wonderful day in Versailles!
Great experience with a knowledgeable guide that provided significant historical detail. The group was larger than other tours we have been on but audio headsets made it easy to hear. We met the group at Versailles. There was a train delay so we started a little late. They did send another guide to meet with us until the group arrived. Recommend booking an early morning tour so you have plenty of time to explore the other rooms in palace, the gardens and the other homes on the grounds. By the time we made it through restaurants and homes were closed. I would definitely book this again!
Our tour guide was the best. We had a great time at the palace. Although French heatwave cut the visit short, we are able to learn about Louis XIV.
Overall this was an excellent tour! The logistics were well organized and our tour guide, Veronika, was very friendly, knowledgeable and engaging. We learned a great deal about the social and political histories surrounding Versailles and having the benefit of Veronika leading our group helped bring it all to life. All this makes the price of admission very reasonable. I only wish the length of visit with Veronika leading the group were longer, so we could have more in-depth history of the gardens as we explored them. However, given the travel to and from the palace and the time we did have with our guide makes this tour a great value!
Of course, the beauty of the palace speaks for itself, but actually learning about the history makes you appreciate the gravity of its existence. Our guide Catherine explained everything in such an interesting and understandable way. She tied it all together perfectly. A wonderful experience!
