Versailles

How early is %26#39;early%26#39; to go to Versailles?We will be in Paris late August. I%26#39;ve heard horrendous stories about queues to go into the palace - we want to see the Hall of Mirrors and the gardens - which day is best? Should we do the tour bit? (with Giverney, I think?) Isango looks good but I%26#39;ve not seen any comments on it.

I like the idea of a train - we will be near Pyramides metro.

|||

It opens at 9 and there are coaches already there, closed on Mondays. I don%26#39;t know about %26#39;the tour bit%26#39; as it is easy to go by train. The gardens have the water fountains on with music at certain times at the weekends. Giverney gets packed also, so go early.

|||

Versailles is very easy to get to by train. If you are thinking of getting a Paris museum pass Versailles is covered on it and there is a line for pass holders. We found the pass very good value a couple of years ago and did not have to line-up anywhere.

|||

We went to Versailles this past Sunday and it was definitely crowded but not horrible. We were there at peak time, noon to 5pm, but could fairly easily move through the palace. Once you get outside the palace the grounds are so massive that it doesn%26#39;t feel crowded at all. You definitely need to buy your ticket before arriving, either a Museum Pass or the Forfait Loisirs Château de Versailles. We bought the latter which included the train tickets.

transilien.com/web/…Versailles

Because we went on Sunday it was a musical fountain day but I was not impressed and don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s worth going on a weekend and paying extra money to see.

|||

Thanks for the useful advice - will do the train trip and get there before 9 am!

|||

We went to Versailles a couple of weeks ago. We went on a Friday and there were not bad lines. We got there about 8:45 in the morning. The train takes you right there.

A great suggestion that we got from people at TA was to get the entrance tickets combined with the train tickets. We got these at the SNCF station right by Musee D%26#39;Orsay. Once you have your combined train/entrance ticket, you do not need to wait on that line once you get there.

Also, you can get an earphone tour headset to tell you about Versailles for Free in the lobby once you arrive.

Our favorite part of Versailles, however, was not the palace or the gardens- though they are both impressive and beautiful!

Our favorite part was Marie Antoinette%26#39;s home. This is also included in the price of the combined ticket. It was like walking into a fairy tale. Just beautiful. Caution though, it is a very long walk from the palace. We didnt realize and we did it. It was a great hike through a park, but we were tired. There is a petit-train ( tram ) that will take you over for 2 Euros. That is how we got back to the main compound. It was a wonderful day!

|||

I get there between 8:30 and 8:45 am so that I can tour it (It takes about 45 minutes on the train to get there and walk to Palace.) and still get back to Paris and see one more site.

|||

Mickey, which entrance did you use? Is there a special entrance to avoid the lines using the Forfaits Loisirs ticket? thanks

|||

Pedee,

We went into the front entrance. We got there about 8:45 and were maybe 6th of 7th in line. We got in immediately at 9:00. We then went to a little information section, as soon as you get in to the right. There they told us to go get the free headsets across the room, and gave us a map. The headsets were great and explained each room. It was no problem. Again, I highly recommend Marie Antoinette%26#39;s compound, but it is a very long walk, but very special. Marie Antonette%26#39;s area didnt open until 12:00 ( noon ) though.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 10:20 am, October 01, 2009