What is the best time of day to visit Versailles to avoid crowds?
Consider spending the whole day in Versailles, but if you don't have enough time - coming between 9-10 AM or between 4:30- 5:30 PM would be the best way to avoid the peak hours.
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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.
Peak times and seasonAs 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.
Avoid visiting on weekends and TuesdaysTuesday is especially busy because other museums, like the world famous Louvre, is closed on Tuesdays, so visitors will flock to Versailles instead.
Visitors to the Palace must book in advance and select a specific time slot. We highly recommend that visitors pre-book their tickets online. Once you have booked your ticket online and printed it, go directly with your ticket to Entrance A of the Palace. Visitors eligible for free admission must pre-book online.
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.
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 !
While it smells fine now, hygiene practices (or the lack thereof) in France during Louis XIII's reign meant that the palace smelled like urine, fecal matter, and more. Some claim that a lack of toilets in the palace even led some visitors to relieve themselves behind curtains and pillars.
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.
With your Versailles skip the line tickets, you are going to avoid the longest lines. Also, you may want to avoid the biggest crowds when you visit the Palace of Versailles inside. With the crowds, the rooms' staff make visitors circulate faster to avoid bottlenecks, so the visit is less enjoyable.
Booking and accessTo access the Palace, all visitors must book a time slot. Due to the high number of visitors, admission to the Palace within half an hour of the booked time slot can only be guaranteed for tickets purchased online. The Palace closes at 6:30 pm, evacuation begins at 6:00 pm.
The Palace of Versailles is the least crowded on Wednesdays and Thursdays during the week, and Sundays during weekends. The Palace is open on all days of the week except for Mondays. We would recommend avoiding booking tickets for Tuesday, because this is the most busy day for the Palace.