Versailles Palace

Versailles Palace, also known as The Château de Versailles, is located in the town of Versailles, about 20 kilometers outside of Paris. Versailles is one of the most popular attractions in Paris with lots to see aside of the main palace – seasonal exhibitions, spectacular gardens, amazing fountains, Grand Trianon Palace and Marie Antoinette’s estate, but there are some important tips before things visiting Versailles palace:

Versailles is generally open Tuesdays through Sundays, On Mondays the palace itself is closed (the gardens are open)

Versailles palace is amazing, inside and out and there are self guided (audio) tours available in several languages
From time to time, the palace hosts a special art exhibit which is also included on the audio tour as well.

Queues are incredibly long – on weekends or public holidays you might spend up to 3 hours in order to visit the palace and close to an hour for the rest of the attractions.

Unfortunately the queue problem applies to the toilet facilities on ground.

Avoiding the queues: You MUST have your ticket BEFORE you get in the line to enter. You can purchase the tickets online at http://en.chateauversailles.fr,

Note that the palace is included in Paris Pass so it is much more economical to buy the pass instead of paying 25 Euro per ticket.

Make sure to avoid Tuesdays and Sundays as they are the busiest days

You have to get there early. Try to arrive as early as possible, to avoid the insane queues

I recommend taking the train (RER). It is cheap and fast. Since it’s close to Paris, you can always take a nice bike ride from Paris via Bois de Bologne and Parc St Cloud to the palace (Only recommended if you are physically fit)

Food: several pricey cafeterias are found in Versailles, it might be wise to prepare sandwiches and drinks in the nearby town of Versailles and have a picnic in the gardens.

Side note: food is not allowed inside the Versailles castle.

Here are Versailles palace pictures: