The Palace of Versailles, a former French royal residence, is now a royal destination. The palace is located about 12 miles (19 km) west of the French capital, Paris and it is easily accessible by train from Paris. The Versailles palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world with almost 10 million (1 crore) visitors every year.
Louis XIII built it as a hunting lodge and retreat for him and his family.
Some useful information about the Palace of Versailles –
- The palace and the Trianon are open every day except Monday from 9 am for the public.
- The park and gardens are open every day.
- The nearest station is Versailles Château Rive Gauche. It is on the ‘C’ Line on RER and the palace is 10 minute’s walk from the station.
- Try to buy a return ticket if you are travelling from Paris.
- A visit to the palace is free for visitors under 18 (or 26 for EU residents).
- Normal ticket costs around 18 EUR, other options are available here.
- There are reduced rates for large families or groups.
- It will take a whole day to visit the palace of Versailles.
We have spent our whole day at the Palace of Versailles. As we stayed at Montparnasse, taken a train from there to Versailles.
What are the main things to do in Versailles
- The Palace
- The Garden
- The Estate of Trianon
- The Royal Stables
We reached there at around 10 am and started from the Royal Stables. Luckily, we had one of our friends who is staying near the Palace. He was waiting at the station for us and helped us a lot as a guide. He spent the whole day with us helping us to see everything within the same day.
The Versailles Palace:
The palace was constructed in 1624 and was the residence of the French kings. It is a Unesco world heritage site. You may find more information here. As of now the palace has 2,300 rooms and is a must-visit if you want to know about French history. The most famous rooms are –
- The Hall of Mirrors
- The Royal Chapel
- The King’s State Apartment
- The Gallery of Great Battles
We also encourage you to take a virtual tour of the palace.
The Garden:
The gardens of Versailles were planned by famous French architect André Le Nôtre and it is also a Unesco world heritage site. The garden is really beautiful and contains many fountains, sculptures, paths, groves and orangery. There are many magnificent fountains and Instagram-perfect places to take some photos.
The Estate of Trianon:
It is also known as the “Place of Intimacy”. There are two more small palaces close to the main palace known as the estate of Trianon. The estate contains the Grand Trianon, small palaces, the Queen’s Hamlet and gardens. We visited the estate of Trianon after taking lunch.
The Royal Stables:
There are two stables, the great and small, situated opposite the Palace. We were mesmerised seeing the collection of coaches used by the Royal family.
We started from the stable, then we went inside the Palace. After that, we went for lunch and after having our lunch, we spent some time in the garden and then, at last, visited the estate of Trianon. Surprisingly, we did not realise when it was 6.30 PM. The Palace is open till 6.30 PM but the garden till 8.30. So we spent some time again in the garden taking some rest and photos. Then started walking back toward the railway station to go back to Paris.
