While the Palace of Versailles is open to the public, it is still a Royal Palace and visitors are expected to dress accordingly. This means no sandals, shorts, sleeveless shirts, or hats.
Visit during the weekOne of the top ten most visited sites in France, the Château de Versailles gets its biggest crowds on the weekends and Tuesday mornings (it is closed on Mondays). So aim to visit between Wednesday and Friday. The result? Less waiting and a smoother visit around the palace.
If you do not plan on renting a golf cart or bike and want to explore the gardens or other areas of the Versailles estate, make sure you wear comfortable shoes. Sneakers will be the best choice as there are some areas where you have to walk on dirt and/or rock pebbles.
Within half a day, you will have the opportunity of discovering all the richness of the castle, visiting the Hall of Mirrors and the royal apartments inside, but also the famous French style gardens. We propose two visits each day, departure from Paris center. The ideal formula to discover Versailles in half a day !
No, a national identity card/passport, or a digital copy of it, is sufficient. Are the Palace Gardens open on Mondays? Yes, although the Palace and Trianon's Estate are closed, the Palace Gardens and the Park are open and admission is free.
We suggest arriving right at opening time—if not a little before. If you did not pre-purchase Versailles admissions or a tour, avoid touring the palace in the late morning and afternoon, when crowds are at their peak.
Passport tickets with timed entry grant priority admission and are valid for thirty minutes every hour, at 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. Priority admission to the Palace is permitted once only at the booked time on the ticket. There is no timed entry for the estate of Trianon.
The Eiffel Tower as a well-frequented historical monument must ensure the safety of its visitors. Handbags are allowed, so small backpacks, ie. 'day bags' would be ok (security may check inside them). Huge backpacks with all your clothes, etc would not be allowed.
What may happen if I arrive late for my tour to Versailles? Each reservations done to the Palace by ourselves is for an exact date and hour. It is not possible to make another way. Thousands of visitors are coming to Versailles every days and the administration of the Palace can't accept visitors who are late.
A huge plus about the palace interiors though is that particular sections are cordoned off allowing you to capture images of features such as Marie Antoinette's bedroom and beautiful artwork without anyone in your shot. Everything changed once we entered the gardens.
How Long is the Line at Versailles? The ticket office line at Versailles can take anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Afterward, you will need to again wait in line at the main palace entrance, followed by the security check, which can collectively take another 1-3 hours.
You can skip the line for the audio guide at the palace by downloading the free app that houses all of the Versailles related audio guides in 11 different languages. To tour the inside of the palace thoroughly, it takes around 2-3 hours. Allow longer if you want to explore the gardens.
Palace ticketTo the main visits in the Palace of Versailles: the State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, Louis XV's daughters Apartments, to the Coach Gallery and exhibitions.
As a rule of thumb, it is not recommended that you visit Versailles between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. without a skip-the-line ticket. Naturally, the off season (November to March) is generally when wait times are the shortest. Also be sure to avoid “deal days” like the Journées du Patrimoine or July 14th.