This always seems to be the question when people are planning their trips to Paris. It seems like people feel a “duty” to go visit Versailles, like it will be a chore because it’s crowded and far. Well, that’s plain crazy, because the train out there is quick, there are some strategies to deal with the crowds, and it is the single grandest palace you can see in Europe. I will admit that I am biased, as I adore the history around this place, and I will also admit that the included audio guide is basically worthless. If you’re going to go, either sign up for a guided tour, hire a private guide, or download a really well-done audio guide (check out Rick Steves’ – I’m sure he’ll include the good stuff!).
So, getting there is simple. From central Paris, you take the yellow RER line (C) in the direction of Chateau de Versailles – Rive Gauche. It’s the last stop, and it really only will take you a little longer than 40 minutes. Buy a round trip ticket if you can. The second thing that you must do before leaving for the RER station? Buy your ticket online (if you don’t have a museum pass)! I bought mine literally five minutes before leaving and I was able to walz right in to the security area, bypassing the mobs over at the ticket-purchasing-side of the front of the palace. Also- note from the pictures below that I arrived after lunch on a weekday (not Tuesday, which is the worst, apparently). The other thing that hits you in the face as you arrive, which I actually do remember from my first time seeing it as a kid: this thing is BIG and GRAND and OPULENT. Everything is gilded and shiny – it just oozes money and power. Good old Louis the XIV is there to greet you out front, appropriately enough, since this palace was his brainchild/monster. Note that only really three kings lived here – Louis the XIV, XV, and then the ill-fated XVI. It’s just that those first two ruled for so long that it was the seat of French power for nearly 100 years.
Once you do get through security, just go straight through the courtyard & either pick-up your audio guide or bypass that. The tour route then leads through a series of frankly pointless rooms on the ground floor. They’re interactive exhibits about the palace & it’s architecture, but you want to get to the good stuff, so zip through thouse until you go upstairs. Sadly, this is where you’ll hit the worst of the crowds, and this is the part where you have to be strategic. If I had it to do again, I would save the tour of the Palace until the end of my visit, say an hour or 1.5 hours before closing. As it was, even without any line to speak of at security, I was one of a mob, all going in the same direciton. Avoid the tour groups if you can (they’re impossible to navigate through), and be patient. Everyone wants to see the same stuff, though some of it is more “worth” the wait than others. Again – this is where having a guide (or better audio guide than the one they provide) would help you. The chapel, for example, is worth the wait for the glimpse into it, and don’t forget to look up, no matter what room you’re in! The big climax of the upstairs visit is, of course, the Hall of Mirrors, and that will be your biggest climax in crowds as well. EVERYONE stops at the front door of the hall & tries to wait to get a photo without people and therefore it just causes a major jam. Just push through – it gets better.
As you can see from the below pics, the hall is actually large enough that as you progress down it, the crowd disperses a bit, and you actually have some room to maneouver. When you can breath you do really notice how fabulous and amazing it is. Just imagine everyone with fancy outfits crowding around, waiting for an announcement about what the King is about to do (because that’s probably a decent approximation of what went on there).
Once you’re done with the hall, there are of course tons of other parts of the Palace to see, depending on what’s open. You can actually find some quiet spaces, but be aware of your time & interests – there’s way more to Versailles than just the main chateau!
So- once you’re done poking around inside the chateau – GET OUT! The gardens are truly spectacular, and you don’t need to be a gardener to figure that out. Everywhere, from every angle, it’s just one gorgeous scene after another. And note that the fountains were not running when I was there, and it’s still nice. Of course, seeing them on is even MORE special – but you can’t always plan to be there when they’re on… If it was crowded inside, chances are the main front area will also be a bit crowded, but again – it’s so huge that if you just cut down one of the side paths you loose the masses within a few steps. I’ll let the photos tell the story, but keeping time in mind, it probably takes 20 minutes to walk from the palace down to the lower end, where the bigger “lake” is (where you can rent boats!) – and I wasn’t walking quickly or in a direct line…
It is at this point that most people throw in the towell, but yet! There is another two whole sections to go! Ok, ok – I’ll admit that trekking all the way out to the Grand Trianon & the “Domaine de Marie Antoinette” probably isn’t a must-do for everyone, but maybe that’s a mistake. Both smaller palaces have their own stories, and it shows a totally different side of life. It’s another twenty or so minutes walk from the lake (or you can buy a ticket to the little train, which I did to get home as my feet were TIRED!).
The Grand Trianon is the first building you come to off to the right past the lake, and is definitely the least interesting of all the parts of Versailles. Though, of course, I think it is the location of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, if I’m not mistaken. You could just stop for a photo as the insides really aren’t anything to write home about…
BUT, then you wander a few more minutes down a lovely wooded path and you reach the Petit Trianon, which is the start of what they now call the “Domaine de Marie Antoinette”. It wasn’t built for her, but she definitely made it her own, especially once the politics of living in the main palace got to be too much. The grounds around the little square palace are just lovely, with little monuments set over lakes and such.
Maybe it’s because I’ve read a biography about Marie, and am a big fan of the Sofia Coppola movie, but this is where I was really disappointed because there isn’t really ANY juicy insider information about her life here. This little home away from home is where she escaped from the realities of her life – I mean, not to complain, but wouldn’t you be more comfortable if your room & life looked like this:
Note please the saddest painting in the world (for me, and yes- that’s likely a bit of hyperbole for you). The picture of Marie Antoinette & her children was made to try to show the public that she was a loving mother of the future King of France (everyone still & already hated her). Note the older boy pointing at an empty crib. There was originally a baby in that crib, but it passed away before the painting was finished, then that pointing boy died a few years later. I can’t even begin to imagine what happened to the other two during the revolution. Such a terrible time. It isn’t that surprising then that this sweet, misplaced girl wanted to create a peaceful little hamlet to escape the fact that the country was completely falling apart around them. Ridiculous, yes, but still fairly cute to look at!
I’ll get off my high horse about the poor little rich queen, and I’ll conclude with the hope that I’ve explained why Versailles is worth visiting, and how to make that visit worth the hours away from Paris. About that amount of time – again, I did it ALL (palace, gardens, Grand Trianon, and the Domaine) from about 1pm till 6pm (give or take), and that’s including the little train trip I took back from the Domaine, but not – of course – the RER trip back & forth to Paris. Again, if you’re staying in central Paris, this is really a pretty easy trip. I also did it the day I arrived in Paris, and it completely killed off any jet lag I may have been fighting off, and it got me back to Paris just in time for dinner! So, don’t think of it as a full 8 hour day, unless you want to take lots of time & picnic in the gardens, or stay late to watch the light show with the fountains (both excellent ideas!). Enjoy playing in the Sun King’s pleasure house!