Visit the Palace of Versailles Palace near Paris

Park & Château Opening Hours, Ticket Prices, and Savings Passes

The Palace of Versailles with its chateau and gardens is a popular day-trip from Paris: Opening hours are long while discount passes allow for saving on ticket prices.

photo credit: Gilles 92

The Estate of Versailles with its famous château (palace), orangerie, and formal Baroque gardens and park is a popular day trip from Paris. Opening hours are relatively long, although crowds are often present and queues long to get into the palace itself. Various discount tickets and passes are available to allow for faster and cheaper entry into the sights. The gardens are mostly free. Children under 18 and European Union citizens under 26 have free admission to all sights at Versailles.

Visiting the Estate of Versailles on a Day Trip from Paris

The Estate of Versailles is a huge complex in the town Versailles half an hour by train to the west of Paris. The complex is divided into three parts with different admission tickets and opening hours:

1. The Château is the Palace of Versailles with the royal apartments, state apartments, and the famous hall of mirrors.
2. The Jardin is the formal baroque gardens and the Parc the larger park with the grand canal; and
3. The Domaine (Estate) of Marie Antoinette which includes the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, the Hamlet, and model Farm.

For opening hours and some ticket prices, the season is divided at Versailles into the high season from April to October while the low season is the winter months from November to March.

Opening Hours of the Estate and Palace of Versailles

Much of the Estate of Versailles is open every day year round but the main attraction, the Château (Main Palace) is closed on Mondays. The palace is sometimes closed when used for public events (or closed during strikes) – closures are usually advertised a few days in advance.

• The Château de Versailles Palace is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am. Last admission to the palace is at 5 pm during the low season and 6 pm during the high season.
• The Gardens and Park at Versailles are open from 8 am to around sunset. Last admissions are at 6 pm during the low season and 8:30 pm during the high season but visitors in the park may stay there until just before dark.
• The Estate of Marie Antoinette is open during the high season afternoons only from noon to 7 pm (6 pm for buildings). During the low season, only the Grand Trianon palace and parts of the gardens are open (noon to 5 pm).

The best times to visit the Palace of Versailles are early in the morning or late afternoon and preferably not during the summer or French school holidays. The Estate of Versailles is best avoided on Tuesdays, Sundays, and during school holidays. Wednesday, Thursday, and surprisingly Saturday are generally the more quiet days at Versailles. The estate is great in all seasons but during winter some statues are covered and the gardens obviously not that spectacular.

Travelers, who cannot avoid the peak periods, may consider taking a formal group tour of the Palace of Versailles. Although getting to Versailles on public transportation from Paris is very easy, a bus tour or shuttle bus excursion will allow the visitor to get into the palace of Versailles without having to wait in queues. However, the palace will still be crowded inside.

Tickets and Passes for the Palace of Versailles near Paris

Currently, two passes are available to give visitors to the Palace of Versailles discounts and more important priority admission to the chateau. However, do note that this priority admission just allow visitors to skip the ticket queue at the palace – during busy periods there may still be a long queue to enter the palace itself even for bearers of these tickets. A bus excursion tour may be the only sane option to get into the palace quickly during the busiest periods.

• The Versailles’ Passeport is a day ticket that gives admission to all sights at the Estate of Versailles. The passeport cost €16 during the low season and during the high season €20 on weekdays and €25 during weekends (when the fountains play).
• The popular Paris Museum Pass gives admission to all sights at the Estate of Versailles except on high-season weekends when a surcharge is payable for admission to the gardens.
• The Forfaits Loisirs Château de Versailles, a popular combination ticket for transportation from Paris and admission to Versailles, has been cancelled and not replaced by any similar combination deal.

Visitors to Versailles not interested in seeing all the estate can save by buying only tickets to individual sights. Three tickets are available:

• Château (Main Palace of Versailles without priority access) – €15
• Estate of Marie Antoinette – €9 high season and €5 low season
• Gardens – generally free but €8 on weekend days during the high season when the (Grand Eaux) fountains are working.

All tickets for the Palace of Versailles can be bought at the palace itself – not wise especially on busy days, online, at FNAC bookstores, and SCNF mainline train stations.

Reduced Saving Price Tickets and Free Admission to the Palace of Versailles

Admission fees are somewhat reduced if the buildings are only entered during the final two hours of the day – not a bad deal as visitors typically spend less time in the palace than two hours and the palace is often less crowded during the end of the day. Access to palace after 3 pm is €10 and after 4 pm €6 to the Trianon and Domaine Marie Antoinette.

All children under 18 and European Union citizens under 26 get into the palace and all most sights at Versailles. Children may go directly to the palace entrance while those 18 to 25 must pick up free tickets first at the Internet Service Desk (near the main gates).

The exception to the free admission rule is access to the gardens on the “Grandes Eaux” days during high-season weekends when the fountains are playing. Full admission is payable for the gardens on these days by all visitors.

The palace of Versailles is a very popular day-trip destination from Paris. Many bus tours are available but using public transportation from Paris to Versailles is very simple too with the RER train line C5 giving direct access from downtown Paris to Versailles in half an hour.

Based on See Versailles Palace Near Paris first published at suite101.com.