# Versailles

The palace and its gardens, Trianon and the Hameau, a 17th-century market and a quiet town. A day trip from Paris on the RER C.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/ile-de-france/versailles · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## How do you get there from Paris?

By train, no car needed. The RER C leaves the centre, from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Musée d'Orsay or Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, and ends at Versailles Château Rive Gauche, ten minutes' walk from place d'Armes. It takes about 40 minutes and the ordinary Metro-Train-RER ticket is valid, €2.55 in 2026. There are two other options: the train from Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite, which leaves you near the market, and the one from Montparnasse to Versailles Chantiers, in the Saint-Louis district.

By car it is about twenty kilometres on the A13, but parking next to the palace is expensive and slow. It only makes sense if you are going to the park and Trianon: through the Grille de la Reine you can drive in by paying €12 per vehicle.

If you fly from Spain, you land at Orly or Charles de Gaulle and arrive by train with the €14 airport ticket. From Orly, metro line 14 and the RER C; from Charles de Gaulle, the RER B and the RER C.

## How much time do you need?

A whole day for the essentials: the palace and the Hall of Mirrors in the morning, lunch in the park and in the afternoon the gardens and the Trianon estate. It is a lot of walking: from the palace to the Grand Canal is almost a kilometre, and Trianon is twenty-five minutes on foot.

With two days, or sleeping a night here, the pace changes. You enter the palace first thing, before the groups arriving from Paris, and have time for the town: the Notre-Dame market, the Saint-Louis district and the equestrian show at the Grande Écurie if it falls at the weekend. Versailles is a city of more than 80,000 inhabitants with a life of its own, not just a palace, and in the evening, when the coaches leave, you notice it.

## Which ticket do I buy?

The Passeport, from €25 in low season, is the only one that guarantees entry to the palace and adds Trianon and the gardens, also on fountain days. The Trianon ticket alone costs €15. Under-18s and European Union residents under 26 enter the palace and Trianon free, but everyone has to book a time slot online. Only buying online guarantees entry within the half hour after your slot: at the ticket office, on busy days, there may be no room left.

The gardens are free almost all year. On the Grandes Eaux musicales days, from April to October, the fountains play with music and you pay: €16 at the ticket office, €13 for residents of the European Economic Area.

## Which day should you go?

Never on a Monday: the palace and Trianon are closed; only the park and gardens open. Tuesday, for that very reason, is one of the busiest days. Best is a Wednesday or Thursday, first thing. In low season the palace opens from 9:00 to 17:30 and the last admission is at 16:45, too late to see it all. If you can only get an afternoon slot, start with Trianon, which opens at 12:00, and leave the palace for later.

Between April and October, check the Grandes Eaux calendar: seeing the fountains with music makes paying for the gardens worth it. In winter the park is empty and the queues are short.

## Where to eat and sleep?

Inside the park, La Flottille, on the shore of the Grand Canal, opens every day and has a children's menu. In the town, Le Bœuf à la Mode, next to the market, serves without closing at midday, and La Table du 11, with a Michelin star, is the special dinner two minutes from the palace. For a picnic, buy at the market and eat on the park grass.

To sleep, the Hôtel Le Versailles is five minutes from the gate; the Royal Hôtel, in the Saint-Louis district, is the cheapest and admits dogs; and Le Grand Contrôle is the only hotel within the grounds, with a visit to the palace after closing.

## And if I want the park by bike?

The park has more than eight hundred hectares and the bike is the best way to see it. You can hire one at the Petite Venise, next to the Grand Canal (every day from 10:00, except from mid-November to mid-February), or sign up for the guided e-bike tour by Fat Tire Tours, which includes the market, a picnic, Trianon and the palace with a timed entry. On the Grand Canal rowing boats are hired, except from mid-November to late February.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Paris (a 17.5 km), Auvers-sur-Oise (a 29.9 km), Disneyland Paris (a 48.1 km), Chantilly (a 49.8 km)

## Qué hacer
- **The Palace of Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors** (2 h 30 · All ages; with a pushchair, a baby carrier is better · Passeport (palace, Trianon and gardens) from €25 · time slot compulsory): The Grand Apartments of the King and Queen, the Royal Chapel and the Hall of Mirrors, the 73-metre room where the Treaty of Versailles was signed. It is the visit everyone comes to make, and the one with the longest queue.
Tickets and time slot
The time slot is compulsory for everyone, including under-18s and EU residents under 26, who get in free. Only booking online guarantees entry within the half hour following your slot. The Passeport, from €25 in low season, includes the palace, Trianon and the gardens. The audio guide can be rented at the ticket desk or is free on the official app.
Opening hours
In low season the palace opens from 9:00 to 17:30, with last entry at 16:45; with the last slot there is not time to see it all. Closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. In high season the hours are longer.
Guided tours
The palace's lecturers take you to spaces you cannot see on your own, such as the private apartments. They cost €10 to €16 on top of the entry fee, are booked three months ahead and leave from the North Ministers' Wing.
- **Le Nôtre's gardens and the Grandes Eaux Musicales** (2 h · All ages, pushchairs too on the gravel paths · Free on days without shows · Grandes Eaux Musicales €16 (€13 EEA residents) at the ticket desk · free up to age 5): The gardens designed by André Le Nôtre descend from the palace terrace in parterres, avenues and ponds to the Grand Canal. The Latona Fountain, with its marble terraces, is the first view and the best photo.
The fountains with music
In season, on Grandes Eaux Musicales days the fountains are switched on with Baroque music and the gardens become paid entry. In 2026 the season ran from 3 April to 1 November, from 9:00 to 19:00, mostly at weekends and on some weekdays: check the calendar before you go. At the ticket desk it costs €16 (€13 for residents of the European Economic Area) and children up to 5 get in free. The night-time Grandes Eaux, with fireworks, are on Saturday evenings from June to September.
The rest of the year
The gardens are free and open every day from 8:00 to 18:00 in low season. Without water, the fountains are seen covered in winter, but the walk to the Grand Canal is just as long and much quieter.
- **The Trianon estate and Marie Antoinette's Hameau** (2 h · Families; a lot of walking in the park · Trianon ticket €15 · included in the Passeport): The Grand Trianon, Louis XIV's pink marble palace, Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon and her Hameau, a village of cottages with a kitchen garden, farm and pond that the queen had built to play at country life. It is about a 25-minute walk from the palace, through the park.
Tickets and opening hours
The Trianon ticket costs €15 and does not include the palace; the Passeport includes both. Open from 12:00 to 17:30 in low season and closed on Mondays. Under-18s and EU residents under 26 get in free, with a booking.
Getting around
If you are with small children, the park's little train stops at Trianon and saves the walk; it runs every day except Mondays. Bikes can be hired at Petite Venise, next to the Grand Canal.
- **Versailles by e-bike, with a picnic by the Grand Canal** (7 h 30 · From age 14, with an adult; easy, flat pace · From €129 per person, with entry to the palace and Trianon): A full day with a guide on an electric bike: Notre-Dame market to buy the picnic, the park and the Grand Canal by bike, the Trianon estate and the Hameau, and the palace in the afternoon with a timed entry.
What the day is like
It leaves from the Fat Tire Tours shop next to the RER C station. The park is enormous, more than eight hundred hectares, and by bike you see in one day what you wouldn't have time for on foot: the whole Grand Canal, both Trianons and the Hameau. Lunch is bought at the market and eaten by the water. Departures are in English.
What it costs and what is included
From €129 per person, with the e-bike, helmet, guide and entry to the palace, Trianon and the Hameau. The train from Paris and lunch are extra. Prices change according to fountain days.
- **Equestrian show in the riding arena of the Grande Écurie** (1 h · Families and horse lovers): Louis XIV's royal stables, opposite the palace, are today home to the Académie du spectacle équestre, a company of riders who perform dressage to music in the arena.
The show
La Voie de l'écuyère is performed every weekend: Saturdays at 18:00 and Sundays at 15:00. The 2026 season began on 21 February. Tickets are bought at the Académie's online box office; capacity is small.
Behind the scenes at the stables
The Versailles tourist office organises behind-the-scenes visits to the Académie for individuals, on fixed dates. Book on its website.
- **Notre-Dame market and its district** (1 h · All ages · Free): The Notre-Dame market has been the commercial heart of Versailles since the 17th century: four covered pavilions, the halles, surrounded by open-air stalls, the carrés, and streets of shops, cheese shops and restaurants around them.
Opening hours
The halles are open Tuesday to Saturday from 7:00 to 19:30 and on Sunday from 7:00 to 14:00. The open-air stalls of the Carrés Notre-Dame are set up on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings, from 7:00 to 14:00. Sunday morning is when it is liveliest.
What to do
Buy your picnic for the gardens, have a coffee in the square and take a turn around the church of Notre-Dame and Rue de la Paroisse. In December, the church holds a Christmas market.
- **The Saint-Louis district and its cathedral** (1 h · All ages · Free): The district south of the palace is the quietest in Versailles: cobbled lanes, an Ancien Régime atmosphere and the Carrés Saint-Louis, blocks of low houses that were built as a market. In the middle, the Cathedral of Saint-Louis.
How to do it
Leave the Place d'Armes by Rue de Satory and carry on to the cathedral; return via the Carrés and Rue Royale. If it is Thursday or Saturday morning, there is a Saint-Louis market from 7:30 to 13:30, with organic producers on Saturdays. The tourist office organises guided visits of the historic districts.

## Dónde comer
- **Le Bœuf à la Mode** (Restaurant, Versailles · Notre-Dame district, €€). Qué pedir: the starter, main and dessert menu at €40 with the braised veal cheek
- **La Flottille** (Restaurant, Versailles · palace park, next to the Grand Canal, €€€). Qué pedir: gratinéed onion soup or duck confit with orange; children have a menu
- **La Table du 11** (Restaurant, Versailles · Saint-Louis district, €€€€). Qué pedir: the single menu in several courses; let yourself be guided by the cellar's wine pairing

## By plane: Fly to Paris and take a train to Versailles
Versailles has no airport: you fly to Paris, to Orly or Charles de Gaulle, which have direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, and arrive by train. From Orly it is the shortest. You don't need a car: the palace is ten minutes' walk from the station.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Hôtel Le Versailles** (Hotel): A four-star hotel on a quiet street between Place d'Armes and the Notre-Dame district. It is one of the hotels closest to the palace: five minutes' walk to the gates, which at nine in the morning makes all the difference.
The hotel
It has 47 rooms in four categories: standard classic, superior, deluxe and family. Downstairs there is a lounge with a bar and, behind it, a garden terrace with sofas and parasols that in summer is the best thing about the house. Breakfast is a buffet. The website is also in Spanish. Dogs are not allowed.
Getting there
From Versailles Château Rive Gauche station, the RER C one, it is about ten minutes' walk; from Versailles Rive Droite, the one for trains from Saint-Lazare, about the same. You go back to Paris on the same RER C: the Eiffel Tower is about 25 minutes away.
What is nearby
The palace and Place d'Armes, the Notre-Dame market and its streets of restaurants. Le Bœuf à la Mode is less than ten minutes' walk away.
- **Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle** (Hotel): Le Grand Contrôle is the only hotel within the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. The building was built in 1681 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the architect of the Hall of Mirrors, and was the residence of the contrôleur général des finances, the second post in the kingdom after the king.
The rooms
Fifteen rooms and suites with Pierre Frey fabrics inspired by the Versailles archives, period furniture bought at auctions and antique dealers and a light that imitates candlelight. From the windows you see the palace or the garden. Each guest has a butler. The Necker suite includes a wake-up with 18th-century music and a visit to Trianon.
What makes it different
Guests tour the palace after it closes to the public, with the Hall of Mirrors all to themselves. The restaurant is run by Alain Ducasse, with cooking that reinterprets 17th-century banquets; there is also afternoon tea, the Chapelle bar and La Table des Jardiniers. The spa, with an indoor pool, is by Airelles with Valmont-LBA. It has a programme for children, the Airelles Royal Camp.
Getting there
It is to the right of Place d'Armes, facing the palace. From central Paris it is about 45 minutes by car; by train, the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche and five minutes on foot.
- **Royal Hôtel Versailles** (Small hotel, desde 100 € / night): A two-star hotel on Rue Royale, in the Saint-Louis district, the quietest in the centre. It has been run since late 2018 by a couple with years in grand hotels, who have been renovating it room by room.
The rooms
Thirty, for one to four people. According to the tourist office, in 2025 and 2026 a double costs €100 to €125 a night and a four-person room €150 to €170. Continental breakfast is served at the table for €13. There is a lift, left-luggage room, wifi and 24-hour reception, and animals are accepted.
Getting there
It is ten minutes' walk from the palace, the Potager du Roi and the stations with direct trains to Paris: Versailles Château Rive Gauche (RER C) and Versailles Chantiers (trains from Montparnasse). The Cathedral of Saint-Louis is around the corner.
### Servicios
- **Versailles Château Rive Gauche station (RER C)**: Terminus of the RER C from Paris · 10 minutes' walk from the palace · €2.55 Metro-Train-RER ticket
- **From Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Versailles**: Orly: metro 14 and RER C · Charles de Gaulle: RER B and RER C · €14 airport ticket

## Car-free: Versailles by train, without a car
Versailles is done better without a car than with one. Three train lines link it with Paris on the standard metro ticket, and everything there is to see is on foot from the stations. The park, which is enormous, is covered by bike or on the little train.
Presupuesto orientativo: 90–170 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hôtel Le Versailles** (Hotel): A four-star hotel on a quiet street between Place d'Armes and the Notre-Dame district. It is one of the hotels closest to the palace: five minutes' walk to the gates, which at nine in the morning makes all the difference.
The hotel
It has 47 rooms in four categories: standard classic, superior, deluxe and family. Downstairs there is a lounge with a bar and, behind it, a garden terrace with sofas and parasols that in summer is the best thing about the house. Breakfast is a buffet. The website is also in Spanish. Dogs are not allowed.
Getting there
From Versailles Château Rive Gauche station, the RER C one, it is about ten minutes' walk; from Versailles Rive Droite, the one for trains from Saint-Lazare, about the same. You go back to Paris on the same RER C: the Eiffel Tower is about 25 minutes away.
What is nearby
The palace and Place d'Armes, the Notre-Dame market and its streets of restaurants. Le Bœuf à la Mode is less than ten minutes' walk away.
- **Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle** (Hotel): Le Grand Contrôle is the only hotel within the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. The building was built in 1681 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the architect of the Hall of Mirrors, and was the residence of the contrôleur général des finances, the second post in the kingdom after the king.
The rooms
Fifteen rooms and suites with Pierre Frey fabrics inspired by the Versailles archives, period furniture bought at auctions and antique dealers and a light that imitates candlelight. From the windows you see the palace or the garden. Each guest has a butler. The Necker suite includes a wake-up with 18th-century music and a visit to Trianon.
What makes it different
Guests tour the palace after it closes to the public, with the Hall of Mirrors all to themselves. The restaurant is run by Alain Ducasse, with cooking that reinterprets 17th-century banquets; there is also afternoon tea, the Chapelle bar and La Table des Jardiniers. The spa, with an indoor pool, is by Airelles with Valmont-LBA. It has a programme for children, the Airelles Royal Camp.
Getting there
It is to the right of Place d'Armes, facing the palace. From central Paris it is about 45 minutes by car; by train, the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche and five minutes on foot.
- **Royal Hôtel Versailles** (Small hotel, desde 100 € / night): A two-star hotel on Rue Royale, in the Saint-Louis district, the quietest in the centre. It has been run since late 2018 by a couple with years in grand hotels, who have been renovating it room by room.
The rooms
Thirty, for one to four people. According to the tourist office, in 2025 and 2026 a double costs €100 to €125 a night and a four-person room €150 to €170. Continental breakfast is served at the table for €13. There is a lift, left-luggage room, wifi and 24-hour reception, and animals are accepted.
Getting there
It is ten minutes' walk from the palace, the Potager du Roi and the stations with direct trains to Paris: Versailles Château Rive Gauche (RER C) and Versailles Chantiers (trains from Montparnasse). The Cathedral of Saint-Louis is around the corner.
### Servicios
- **Versailles Tourist Office**: Place Lyautey, next to the RER C station · guided visits of the town and the stables
- **Versailles Château Rive Gauche station (RER C)**: Terminus of the RER C from Paris · 10 minutes' walk from the palace · €2.55 Metro-Train-RER ticket
- **From Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Versailles**: Orly: metro 14 and RER C · Charles de Gaulle: RER B and RER C · €14 airport ticket

## As a family: Versailles with children

With children, Versailles works if the palace is only part of the day. Under-18s don't pay, but they need their time slot, and two hours of gilded rooms is the limit for almost all of them. What they remember most is the park: the fountains, the Hameau and the bike.

### What works best
The gardens and fountains, best on a Grandes Eaux Musicales day

Marie Antoinette's Hameau, with the farm and the pond

The weekend equestrian show at the Grande Écurie

A picnic from the Notre-Dame market in the park

### Where to stay
Family rooms at the Hôtel Le Versailles

Rooms for three and four at the Royal Hôtel

### Where to eat
La Flottille, with a children's menu and direct access to the park

Le Bœuf à la Mode, with a children's menu at €13.50

### Bear in mind
Large baby carriers and bulky pushchairs cause problems in the palace

From the palace to the Grand Canal is almost a kilometre: the little train helps on the way back

Monday, palace and Trianon closed

### Qué hacer as a family
- The Palace of Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors
- Le Nôtre's gardens and the Grandes Eaux Musicales
- The Trianon estate and Marie Antoinette's Hameau
- Equestrian show in the riding arena of the Grande Écurie
- Notre-Dame market and its district

## With teenagers: Versailles with teenagers

The Hall of Mirrors impresses teenagers for five minutes; what hooks them is movement. Plan the day with a bike and with history told as a story: the Revolution began to take shape here and Marie Antoinette left this palace for Paris.

### What works best
The e-bike tour of the park, from age 14

The palace with the official app and headphones, at their own pace

The equestrian show at the Grande Écurie

The night-time Grandes Eaux on summer Saturdays

### Where to stay
Hôtel Le Versailles, close to everything so they can come and go alone

### Where to eat
Picnic from the market by the Grand Canal

### Bear in mind
If they are EU residents, they get into the palace free up to age 25, with a booking

Comfortable shoes: between palace, gardens and Trianon you walk more than ten kilometres

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- The Palace of Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors
- Le Nôtre's gardens and the Grandes Eaux Musicales
- Versailles by e-bike, with a picnic by the Grand Canal
- Equestrian show in the riding arena of the Grande Écurie

## Consejos

### Book the first slot
At 9:00 the Hall of Mirrors can still be seen without jostling.

### Bring a picnic
In the park you can eat on the grass and the Notre-Dame market is on the way.

### Water and footwear
Between palace, gardens and Trianon you walk more than ten kilometres.

### Check the fountain days
If you go from April to October, choose a Grandes Eaux musicales day.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How do I get from Paris to Versailles?
On the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about 40 minutes with the ordinary €2.55 ticket. There are also trains from Saint-Lazare and from Montparnasse.

### Do I have to book to enter the palace?
Yes. The time slot is compulsory for everyone, including those who enter free.

### What day is Versailles palace closed?
Mondays, and also 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

### Are the gardens free?
Yes, except on Grandes Eaux musicales and Jardins musicaux days, from April to October.

### Is it worth sleeping in Versailles?
If you want to see the palace without crowds and the town unhurriedly, yes: you enter first thing, before the groups from Paris.

### Can I go with a dog?
In the streets of the town, on a lead. For the park and the palace, check the rules on the estate's website first. The Royal Hôtel admits animals.