Itinerary for a Day Trip to Versailles from Paris

The Palace of Versailles is a beautiful, ornate and historical piece of European history. But it’s more than just a palace. It’s also gardens, hamlets, hideaways and fountains spread across more than 2,000 acres of land. Different parts of Versailles open at different times of the day. This article will help you plan a day trip to Versailles from Paris, including an itinerary.

The itinerary below is built around my three visits to Versailles over the years. A visit to Versailles means you’ll be doing a lot of walking. After all, it’s three square miles of space, and if you want to explore what Versailles has to offer, you’ll want to make the trek.

TRAVEL TIP: Wear a great pair of walking shoes to save your feet from the pain my wife experienced during our visit a few years ago.

After an overview of when to visit Versailles and how to get there from Paris, I’ll walk you through each area of Versailles and share tips on how to make the most of your visit.

Itinerary for a Day Trip to Versailles

First of all… the Palace of Versailles is closed on Mondays. Be sure to plan your travel accordingly. I would hate for you to plan a day in Versailles just to find out it’s Monday and you can’t. Keep in mind that several popular museums are closed on Mondays in Paris, so you’ll want to do your research before you arrive.

Each part of Versailles opens at a different time. The itinerary below maximizes your time in Versailles by tackling each part as it opens. The times listed below are suggested times for peak tourist season (April 1 – October 31). If you’re visiting in the off season, you can delay your start time by roughly 30-45 minutes.

You’ll want to arrive at Gate A no less than 45 minutes before the palace opens. Otherwise, you may be waiting in line for over an hour – possibly two – to tour the palace.

The Schedule

• 7 a.m. Depart hotel and head to the nearest RER C train stop
• 7:15 a.m. Board train for Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche from central Paris
• 8:00 a.m. Arrive at Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche, then walk to the Palace of Versailles
• 8:15 a.m. Arrive at the palace gates and find Gate A and wait in line until it opens
• 9 a.m. Enter the Palace and begin your self-guided tour (you can pick up an audioguide for the tour if you’d like)
• 10:30 a.m. Exit the palace and explore the gardens and fountains
• 11:30 a.m. Grab lunch at La Petite Venise or La Flottille (restaurants) or the sandwich stand near Grand Canal – or enjoy Angelina Paris (restaurant) near Le Petit Trianon
• Noon Enter and tour Le Petit Trianon
• 12:30 p.m. Walk to and explore the Queen’s Hamlet
• 1:30 p.m. Walk to and tour Le Grand Trianon
• 2:30 p.m. Rent a bike and explore the Grand Canal area – OR – Rent a row boat for 30-60 minutes and row around the pond like real royals 😉
• 4:00 p.m. Visit the Royal Stables to see the Gallery of Coaches (It’s only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30/6:30 p.m. (low season/high season))
• 4:30 p.m. Walk back to the Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche and take the train back to central Paris
• 5:30 p.m. Grab dinner and enjoy the rest of your evening in Paris

Getting to Versailles Palace and Gardens

The best way to get to Palace of Versailles from Paris is on the RER C train. You can board the train in central Paris (stops include: St-Michel, Musée d’Orsay, Invalides, Pont de l’Alma, and Champs de Mars – Tour Eiffel) and ride it all the way to the terminus – Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche. The trains run about every 15 minutes. The ride is about 40 minutes long. However, you’ll need to pay a slightly higher fare for a day trip to Versailles from Paris.

Here’s why…

The metro and RER train system is divided into five zones. Most tourists only need metro passes for zone 1-2 (maybe three). But Versailles Rive Gauche (the stop you’ll need to access Versailles Palace and Gardens) is in Zone 4. The easiest way is to buy a roundtrip ticket out to Versailles for roughly 7 Euros ($8) at the station where you’re boarding the RER C.

When you arrive at Versailles Rive Gauche, the Palace of Versailles is a 10-minute walk. There are signs to follow, so it’s pretty easy to navigate your way to the entrance.

Purchase tickets online in advance of your visit. Admission is free for anyone under 18 – but you still need to reserve them a ticket online. The Passport will give you access to all parts of Versailles. You can add on extras, like a bike rental (which we did) or a row boat rental. If you don’t want to walk between the Grand Canal and the Trianon Estate, you can add on a ticket to ride Le Petit Train. There are other shows you can add on to your basic ticket, depending on your interests.

Inside the Versailles Palace

After entering through Gate A, you’ll need to get past the security check. Once through, I recommend making your way to the Marble Courtyard. If it’s not crowded with people, you’ll be able to capture a beautiful photo of the entrance. Then make your way across the courtyard to the North Wing.

Inside the North Wing is the chapel. You can walk through it on the ground level, but there’s also a great view from the 1st level. The long hallways on the North Wing are full of historical statues from the Crusades and the 17th Century.

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From the 1st level, you can tour the State Apartments. Each room is extremely ornate – including the ceilings. As you make your way to the iconic Hall of Mirrors, your walk through multiple drawing rooms.

After the Hall of Mirrors, make your way through the Queen’s apartment and private rooms.

Next up… the King’s apartment with all his bedchambers, antechambers, library, dining room, games room and bathroom. Don’t miss the Coronation Room to see the large painting.

Before heading down to the ground level, don’t miss the Hall of Battles located in the South Wing building.

Back on the ground level, you can explore more ornate apartments during your day trip to Versailles. There’s also a Laudree pastry shop and gift shop if you want to buy a snack or a souvenir. NOTE: If you buy a snack, you can’t eat it anywhere in the palace.

Explore the Gardens and Fountains of Versailles

Once you exit the palace, the gardens is your next stop. And if you thought the palace was humongous, wait until you get to the gardens. You could spend several hours wandering through the gardens to find each and every fountain. So decide on the amount of walking you want to do and plan accordingly.

Throughout the day, there are a few fountains that put on a show with music – think Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. One of the best ones is in the Mirror Pool (Bassin du Miroir). You’ll want to check the program for the day so you know when that show occurs, and then plan accordingly.

Some of the fountains are pretty secluded, surrounded by trees and hedges. I recommend grabbing a map so you know which one you’re looking for. One of my favorites was the Baths of Apollo (Bosquet des Bain d’Apollon). It’s almost like it was carved into a cave entrance.

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One of my favorite parts of the garden to explore during a day trip to Versailles is the orange grove (Orangerie). The patterns of the landscaping and trees is very ornate. You can observe this from an overlook area to get the full picture – but you can also walk down some stairs to wander among the orange trees.

As you make your way toward the Grand Canal, be sure and take in the Apollo Fountain – not to be confused with the Baths of Apollo. It’s a picturesque spot for a photo or a selfie.

Grab Lunch and Enjoy Versailles Grand Canal

After exiting the gardens, you’ll see a long pond in front of you. This is known as the Grand Canal. It makes the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. Near where you entered the Grand Canal area are two restaurants: La Flottille and La Petite Venise. Those are both sit-down restaurants. If you don’t have the time for that and want to simply grab a sandwich to go, there’s a sandwich stand near La Flottille.

We grabbed sandwiches and drinks, then grabbed a park bench along the Grand Canal and enjoyed a little picnic. It was a great time to rest our feet, because there was a lot more walking in our near future during our day trip to Versailles.

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While at the Grand Canal, there are two other activities you can participate in – renting a rowboat or a bicycle. I’ve done both over the years. The rowboat was something fun and unique. It makes you feel a little like a royal as you lazily make your way around the pond. Although if you’re the one doing the rowing, you may not feel like you’re the royal.

Rent Bikes and Tour the Grand Canal Area

During out last visit, we rented bikes for one hour. We used that time to explore the Grand Canal area. The gardens aren’t nearly as ornate as what you’ll find near the palace or in the Trianon Estate. But there are several paths you can take in the area. You CANNOT ride your bike into the gardens or the Trianon Estate. We took our bikes out the north entrance and rode down Boulevard Saint-Antoine to see the Paris Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is less than a mile down that road from Versailles.

We returned our bikes after hour hour was finished. Then we had to walk to the Trianon Estates. If you want to rent your bikes for two hours, ride them to the entrance of the Trianon Estates and lock them up while you tour that area, you can. We didn’t think an hour was enough time, but we didn’t want to rent them for two hours. But it’s an option you can consider.

Visit the Petit Trianon (Opens at Noon)

The Trianon Estate opens at noon. You don’t have to be the first ones there like I recommended for touring the palace during your day trip to Versailles. You can arrive any time after noon and be just fine. I would recommend being there no later than 1 p.m. so you have enough time to enjoy the area.

You can begin your tour of Trianon Estates from either the Petit Trianon or Grand Trianon. We’ve always started at the Petit Trianon and it’s served us well.

After scanning your tickets, you can tour the small building. Think of it as a little getaway area or guest house. There are bedrooms, a kitchen, dining area and more. After touring the building, you can then wander the gardens. However, we follow the path from the building over toward the Queen’s Hamlet, and then wander the gardens and other structures on our way toward the Grand Trianon.

There’s no right or wrong way to tour the area. That’s just what worked for us.

Escape to the Queen’s Hamlet and Gardens

The Queen’s Hamlet is like a picturesque scene from a fairytale. You feel like you’re walking with Belle in Beauty and the Beast. There are small cottages, a pond with a rowboat (you can’t rent these ones), a water wheel along the small river, stone bridges, flowers and vegetable gardens and more.

On your way to the Queen’s Hamlet, don’t miss the Temple of Love (Temple de l’Amour). It’s a stone column gazebo of sorts with small streams running by it. Definitely another of the many picturesque areas of the Trianon Estates.

None of the buildings at the Queen’s Hamlet are open for you to explore inside. But don’t rush through this area. Enjoy your time in a storybook setting.

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And if you’re a fan of the movie, The Princess Bride, you’ll understand this part. While walking around the lake, we saw an R.O.U.S. (Rodent of Unusual Size). It looked like a three-foot long rat with massive tail. It was just meandering through the grass next to the lake. We didn’t want to get near it, as we had no clue what it actually was. But it was interesting, none the less.

There are paths that go almost every which way to and from the Queen’s Hamlet. There are little lakes and rocky hiking paths. But make your way back toward the Petit Trianon so you can wander through the gardens on your way to the Grand Trianon.

Wander Over to the Grand Trianon at Versailles

The Grand Trianon is much bigger than the Petit Trianon (Duh… grand v. petit is in the name). You can wander through the colorful gardens before taking a short walking tour through the Grand Trianon. My favorite part is the long hallway that connects the two parts of the building. It’s an open area with a black and white tile floor and swirling pink and white marble columns. If you can capture a moment without people walking in it, it’s quite photogenic.

We found that we didn’t spend a lot of time exploring the Grand Trianon during our day trip to Versailles. Not that it wasn’t interesting… there just wasn’t as much to see. Plus, by the time you walk all the way here and have looked at so many other things, you start winding down.

If you want to save your feet from the walk back to the Grand Canal area, you can ride Le Petit Train (the Little Train). There is a cost for it. If there’s a long line, you may be waiting a while, too. We chose to walk back to the Grand Canal, then through the gardens and back to the courtyard in front of the Palace of Versailles where we started. You’re almost finished with your day trip to Versailles.

Visit the Royal Stables on Your Way Back to Paris

The Royal Stables and Gallery of Coaches is another area of Versailles you can explore – but only if you time your visit correctly. The Gallery of Coaches (i.e., stagecoach museum) is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30/6:30 p.m. (low season/high season). So if you’re visiting on a weekend, it’s worth popping in and looking at the rides from the history of Versailles’ royalty.

There are two different galleries you can look at in the Great and Small Stables. While both buildings are the same, they had slightly different purposes. While it won’t take long to visit the Royal Stables, it’s definitely a great way to see more of the pomp and splendor from the historical days of Marie Antionette, King Louis and the other residents of the Palace of Versailles.

After touring the Royal Stables on your day trip to Versailles, you can make your way back to the train station to head back into Paris.

The Details

Address: Place d’Armes, 78000 Versailles, France. It’s accessible via Line C of the RER (commuter train). A shuttle or city bus also provide travel from Paris to Versailles.

Cost: Admission ranges from 18 to 30 Euro for an adult ($20-35 USD), depending on what areas you want to explore and if you want to include any shows.

Hours: The palace is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week (closed Mondays). The Gardens are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Website: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/

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