# Day trip to Versailles from Paris: palace, lunch by the Grand Canal and Trianon

The palace in the first time slot, lunch beside the Grand Canal and the afternoon at Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. No car, 40 minutes from Paris on the RER C.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/ile-de-france/versailles/itineraries/versailles-palace-grand-canal-and-trianon · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## El día
- 08:00 · Salida: 45 min by train (RER C from Saint-Michel, Musée d'Orsay or Champ de Mars to Versailles Château Rive Gauche · €2.55 ticket)
- 09:00 · The Palace of Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors (first slot · Hall of Mirrors and Grands Appartements · 2 h 30)
  - 4 min on foot
- 11:30 · Le Nôtre's gardens and the Grandes Eaux Musicales (down through the gardens to the Grand Canal · 45 min)
  - 12 min on foot
- 12:30 · La Flottille (La Flottille · on the banks of the Grand Canal · open every day from 9:00 to 18:30) · La Flottille, €€€
  - 14 min on foot
- 14:30 · The Trianon estate and Marie Antoinette's Hameau (Grand and Petit Trianon and the Hameau · included in the Passport · 2 h)
- 17:00 · Vuelta: 45 min by train (25 min on foot from Trianon to the RER C · in Paris around 18:30)

Versailles is the classic day trip from Paris: Louis XIV's palace, its gardens and the Trianon estate are about 40 minutes away on the RER C, with an ordinary metro ticket. This plan begins with the palace's first time slot, before the groups arrive, eats beside the Grand Canal and devotes the afternoon to Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. It is a day of a lot of walking: between palace, gardens and Trianon it comes to about ten kilometres.

## The day, hour by hour

8:00 · RER C to Versailles. From Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Musée d'Orsay or Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, in the direction of Versailles Château Rive Gauche, the last stop. About 40 minutes. From the station, ten minutes' walk to place d'Armes.

9:00 · The palace. With the Passeport, from €25, bought online for the 9:00 slot: it is the only ticket that guarantees entry and it adds Trianon and the gardens. The Hall of Mirrors, the royal chapel and the Grand Apartments, in about two and a half hours. Under-18s and EU residents under 26 go in free, but they also book a slot.

11:30 · The gardens. From the terrace, the Latona Fountain and the great perspective to the Grand Canal. On Grandes Eaux musicales days, from April to October, the fountains play with music; the Passeport includes them.

12:30 · Lunch at La Flottille. The Grand Canal restaurant, in a 1900 pavilion with a terrace on the water: gratinéed onion soup, duck confit with orange, children's menu. Open every day from 9:00 to 18:30.

14:30 · Trianon and the Hameau. The pink-marble Grand Trianon, Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon and the Hameau, the queen's village, with farm and pond. It opens at 12:00, so by this hour there is no queue. If the children are tired, the park's little train stops at Trianon.

17:00 · Return. On foot to the RER C station, about 25 minutes from Trianon. In Paris around 18:30.

## Is it for me?

If it is your first time at Versailles, yes: it is the full day with the essentials. If you are with teenagers, swap the plan for the guided e-bike tour, which includes the palace and Trianon. If it falls on a Sunday, the equestrian show at 15:00 in the Grande Écurie is a good alternative to Trianon.

## Cómo llegar

### Without a car
RER C from central Paris to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, with the Metro-Train-RER ticket at €2.55. There are also trains from Saint-Lazare and Montparnasse.

### By car
About 20 km along the A13, but parking next to the palace is expensive and slow. It only pays off if you enter the park through the Grille de la Reine (€12 per vehicle) to go to Trianon.

## Consejos

### Buy the Passeport online
With the 9:00 slot. At the ticket office, on busy days, there may be no room.

### Never on a Monday
The palace and Trianon are closed.

### Bring water and comfortable shoes
You walk about ten kilometres.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does the trip to Versailles cost?
The Passeport from €25, the train €2.55 each way and lunch; between €60 and €90 per person.

### Is there time to see everything in a day?
Palace, gardens and Trianon, yes, starting at 9:00. For the town and the market, you need another half day.

### Can it be done with children?
Yes. Under-18s go in free and they like the Hameau and the fountains more than the palace.