Join this half-day tour to the prestigious Palace of Versailles and Gardens. Walk in the footsteps of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. See the Hall of Mirrors, lavish staterooms, and beautiful gardens. Your English-speaking guide will lend their expertise to enhancing the experience with historical facts and interesting anecdotes. Take the RER train from Paris and enjoy skip-the-line access, a real time-saver.
Inclusions & Exclusions
✔ Musical Gardens or Fountain Show (Fountain show weekends April through October & selected Tuesdays)
✔ All reservations and entrance fees to the Palace of Versailles, with skip the line timed entance.
✔ Headsets when appropriate so you can always hear your guide
✔ Round-trip transportation from central Paris to Versailles by RER train
✔ Fully accredited English-speaking guides
✔ Fully guided visit to the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s hamlet (if option selected)
✖ Hotel pickup and drop-off
✖ Fully guided visit to the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s hamlet (unless option selected)
Departure & Return
Departure:
1 Rue de la Convention, 75015 Paris, France
Café Regalia, 1 rue de la Convention, 75015 Paris: Meet your guide outside the Café Regalia. It is next to the metro entrance/exit for Javel André Citroen (line 10).
If you arrive by RER train you will need to cross the main road.
Your guide will be wearing an orange cap and an orange badge.
Return: Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, France
Your tour will end in Versailles, your guide will provide return tickets and instructions for the easy train ride back to Paris.
Itinerary
1
Palace of Versailles
Meet your guide in central Paris and enjoy a short, escorted train ride to Versailles. On arrival, take a journey in the footsteps of the Kings and Queens of France. During the reign of Louis XIV - the Sun King - Versailles was the place to be and to be seen. Nowadays visitors from all over the world still come to Versailles to marvel at the splendours of this incredible palace. Our skip the line access allows you to bypass the long lines that form each day, and our friendly local guides will steer you expertly through the crowds, bringing the famous figures who once inhabited this palace back to life.
Learn how the Kings and Queens lived out their lavish lives in public, how they kept the gossiping courtiers under their thumb, and made Versailles the artistic center of Europe. Discover a typical day in the life of Marie Antoinette; you’ll quickly understand why she hated the palace so much! Her opulent lifestyle here would lead to her tragic demise under the French Revolution.
Duration: 2 hours
2
The Hall of Mirrors
See the dazzling Hall of Mirrors, and learn the secrets of how it came to be, and the fascinating goings on at the time of the royal court.
Duration: 15 minutes
3
Jardins du Chateau de Versailles
After visiting the royal apartments inside the palace, your guide will lead you through the spectacular gardens, once the setting of balls, parties and elaborate firework displays. On fountain show days you will discover the amazing waterworks, still running today as they did in the times of Kings and Queens. The fountains run to a very precise schedule, and your guide will ensure you are in the right places at exactly the right time!
At the end of your tour you are free to return to Paris with your guide or to remain in Versailles at your leisure. Your guide will be happy to give you advice on further places to visit or where to enjoy a great meal in this beautiful royal city.
Duration: 60 minutes
4
Le Petit Trianon
For those who have selected the option to visit the Petit Trianon, your guide will escort you there after a break for lunch. The Petit Trianon offers a unique insight into the private life of the royals at the Palace of Versailles. Hear how King Louis XVI presented a key encrusted in diamonds to his beloved wife, Marie Antoinette and admire the English-style gardens, as well as her beautiful private Hamlet, complete with vegetable gardens and thatched cottages, commissioned by the queen to replicate a Normandy village. Learn how she surrounded herself with farm animals so she could escape the court and play shepherdess, a far cry from her public persona. At the end of the tour, we will take the 'Petit Train' back to the palace, from where it's a short walk to the train station to return to Paris. Please note taking this option will turn your tour into a full day tour.
Duration: 3 hours
Additional info
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• You can cancel your tour up to 24 hours prior to departure and receive a full refund. Please note that refunds are not possible for missed tours.
• If you plan to arrive at the meeting point by taxi, please ensure you leave yourselves plenty of time, it can often take a considerable amount of time to find a taxi in Paris!
• Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before your tour departure time. We have to catch a train to Versailles and we cannot wait for late arrivals.
