Are you planning to visit the Palace of Versailles from Paris?
If so, you may be wondering: what is the easiest, most stress-free way to get to Versailles, and how can you get the most out of your experience - especially if you want to avoid wasting time in the notoriously long lines at the Chateau's entrance?
Most Popular Paris Day Trips to Palace of Versailles
These top-rated day trips from Paris to Versailles fill up fast, so book early to get the dates you want:
Popular Versailles day trips with transportation from Paris:
- Palace of Versailles & Gardens - Audio tour; choose a full-day or half-day trip
- Versailles Skip-the-Line Guided Tour & Gardens - Optional garden tour
- Versailles Bike Tour with Palace & Queen's Farm Entrance - Highly-rated
- Giverny & Versailles Guided Day Trip - See 2 iconic attractions in one day
Traveling to Versailles on your own? Book a ticket with a reserved time slot for fast entry:
- Versailles Palace & Gardens Full Access Ticket - Includes entire Estate, including 3 palaces, the gardens (including Musical Gardens or Fountain show from April-October), & Marie-Antoinette's Hameau (farm and village)
Fortunately, you can choose from many excellent guided Palace of Versailles tours from Paris that allow you to go through a special priority fast-track entrance gate for use only by group tours.
In case you're wondering if the priority fast-track entrance is worth the extra cost, this is what the lines can look when you're waiting to go through the regular non-priority entrance:
Some of the priority fast-track entrance options from Paris include transportation on comfortable air-conditioned coaches.
For others, you'll meet your guide in Paris and go to Versailles together on the train.
However, sorting through all the tour choices and options can be challenging, especially if you're planning your first or even your second visit.
To make choosing the best tour for you easy, we've compiled a list of the 10 best Versailles Palace tours from Paris in 4 different categories:
- Versailles Tours with Included Bus or Train Transport
- Guided Tours of Versailles - You take the train to Versailles on your own
- Guided Bike Tours of Versailles & Its Estate - You meet your group in Paris and travel together to/from Versailles on the train
- Guided Combo Tours of Versailles Plus Giverny or Fontainbleau with transport included
Top photo: A guided tour in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, (c) Paris Discovery Guide
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Best Guided Tours of the Palace of Versailles with Transportation from Paris
These guided tours of Versailles departing from Paris eliminate all the guesswork and stress of getting there and back on your own. Plus, you get fast entry through the dedicated tour-only gate.
These tours are perfect for when you want maximum convenience plus the knowledge and insights of an expert guide.
1. From Paris: Full Day Guided Tour of Versailles with Lunch & Transportation
The highly-rated Full-Day Guided Tour of Versailles starts with a comfortable trip by air-conditioned coach from Paris.
Your expert guide will whisk you through a special entrance and take you on a tour of the most spectacular Palace rooms, such as the magnificent Hall of Mirrors. You'll get to enjoy entertaining stories about the history of Versailles and life at the Royal Palace as you explore the Sun King's home.
After your Palace tour, you'll have free time to stroll through the beautiful formal Palace Gardens, where you'll have lunch at around noon.
During the afternoon, your guide will show you Versailles' other most important sights: the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's Estate including her charming Hamlet before your relaxing return to Paris by bus.
2. Skip-the-Line Versailles Palace Guided Tour by Train from Paris
You'll meet your guide for the Skip-the-Line Versailles Palace Tour by Train in central Paris and travel together to the famous Chateau.
After passing quickly through the priority entrance reserved for tour groups, your 3-hour journey through the opulent Palace begins.
Your knowledgeable guide will keep you informed and entertained as you visit the Royal Apartments, Hall of Mirrors, and other opulent rooms, as well as the spectacular gardens. Depending on the day of the week, you'll see the enchanting Musical Gardens or Musical Fountains show.
After your tour, you can head straight back to Paris on the train if your schedule is tight. But if you have enough time for a longer visit, you can linger in the gardens, walk around the Grand Canal, and perhaps even enjoy a delicious French dinner in a nearby bistro before taking the train to Paris.
3. Versailles Palace & Gardens: Ticket, Audio Guide, & Bus from Paris
If you want the convenience of bus transportation to and from Paris but prefer audio guides or exploring independently rather than taking a guided tour, then the Versailles Palace & Gardens: Ticket, Audio Guide, & Bus from Paris may be an excellent choice for you.
You can choose a half-day (with morning or afternoon arrival) or a full day at the Chateau. For the half-day afternoon tour, your ticket will give you access to the Palace and Gardens, where you can experience a Musical Fountains show or Musical Gardens on days when they take place.
When you choose the full-day excursion, you will also get access to the Grand and Petit Trianons, as well as to Marie Antoinette's Estate. All options include an audio guide.
A host will accompany you on the air-conditioned bus from Paris and make sure you get through the skip-the-line entry to the Palace. From there, you can spend your time discovering all the exciting wonders of this spectacular UNESCO World Heritage site.
More about Visiting the Palace of Versailles
4. From Paris: Day Trip to Giverny & Versailles
To visit both Claude Monet's home and gardens at Giverny as well as the Palace of Versailles in one day from Paris, this small group Giverny & Versailles Guided Day Trip makes that easy to do, thanks to the included transportation on a comfortable air-conditioned coach.
You'll tour Giverny at your own pace with a self-guided audio app. After a quick lunch break, you'll head to Versailles where you'll have a guided tour of the Palace's most famous rooms, and then explore the beautiful gardens on your own.
The Giverny portion of the tour includes a ticket to Monet's house and gardens. At Versailles, your ticket also admits you to the Palace and Gardens.
Best Skip-the-Line Guided Tours of the Palace of Versailles
For these tours, you'll take the train on your own from Paris to Versailles, and then meet your guide after you exit the station. Together, you'll walk to the Chateau and because you're with a guide, you get the benefit of entering quickly through the guided tour-only gate.
5. Versailles Palace: Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
The Versailles Palace: Skip-the-Line Guided Tour is perfect if you want to explore the spectacular Palace with an expert and learn a bit about Louis XIV (the "Sun King"), Marie Antoinette, and the leading members of the French monarchy who once lived here.
After you meet your guide and go into the Palace through the priority entrance, your guide will introduce you to this architectural masterpiece. Then, as you explore the most important rooms, such as the elaborate King's and Queen's Royal Apartments and the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, your guide will point out treasures you might not see on your own.
When you book: You can choose to do this tour with a group or as a private experience.
After your tour, you can continue exploring the Palace on your own, but please note: this tour does not include access to the Gardens. If you want to also tour the sumptuous Gardens, with or without a guide, during the period when the Musical Garden and Musical Fountains shows take place, you'll need a ticket - so check out the following option below!
6. Versailles Palace & Gardens: Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
Like the previous tour, the Versailles Palace & Gardens Skip-the-Line Guided Tour includes fast entry to the Palace through the priority gate used by tour guides. You also get a fascinating guided tour of the Palace's most important rooms and can choose between a group and a private experience.
But here's the difference: This offer also includes a ticket to the statue-filled Royal Gardens (on days when they're not free) where you can see beautiful flowers and ornate fountains. Your ticket to the Gardens also includes Musical Fountains or Musical Gardens, depending on the day.
When you book your ticket, you can include a guided tour of the Gardens - or choose just to get an entry ticket and explore on your own.
When Can You Enter Versailles' Royal Gardens for Free?
Currently, free entry days include Wednesdays during September and October, and every day from November through March.
What happens on the other days? Musical Fountains shows take place on Saturdays and Sundays from late May through October and on Bastille Day (July 14). Musical Gardens take place on Tuesdays through Fridays during July and August, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays during September and October.
When you choose a tour ticket that includes admission to the Gardens on a day when Musical Fountains or Musical Gardens take place, you get to experience these special events.
Best Guided Bike Tours of Versailles
Versailles's mostly flat terrain and expansive grounds makes this the perfect location for bike tours.
7. Versailles Bike Tour with Palace & Queen's Farm Entrance
On the Versailles Bike Tour with Palace & Queen's Farm Entrance, you'll meet up with your guide and the rest of your tour group in Paris and take the train together to Versailles.
Once there, you'll visit the traditional farmers' market to pick up cheese, fruits, and charcuterie for a picnic lunch later in the day by the Grand Canal.
After a quick stop to pick up your bike (plus rain ponchos, just in case!), you're off to cycle around the Chateau's landscaped parklands and sumptuous gardens. With over 2,000 acres, the place is enormous - so you'll appreciate having both a guide and a bike!
Your guide will also take you to see the smaller palaces of the Grand and Petit Trianons as well as Marie-Antoinette's Hameau, her rustic village, and her farm. Meanwhile, your guide will share lots of information about the incredible places you're seeing as well as the colorful French kings and queens who once lived there.
Finally, you'll visit the Palace of Versailles with the skip-the-line entry ticket included as part of your tour. This portion of the trip is on your own, so you can use the included audio guide and explore the Hall of Mirrors and other opulent rooms at your own pace before heading back to Paris on the train.
8. Paris: Versailles Sunset Bike Tour with Fireworks Show (& After-Hours Palace Entrance!)
The seasonal (late spring through early fall) Paris: Versailles Sunset Bike Tour with Fireworks Show gives you three phenomenal experiences:
1. The spectacular evening Fountains Show in Versailles' Royal Gardens
2. Exclusive after-hours admission to the Palace where you'll see costumed performers and musicians as they sing, dance, and play musical instruments as you explore the Royal Chambers and other famous rooms without encountering crowds of other visitors.
3. An unforgettable fireworks display over the Grand Canal.
In addition, you'll have plenty of time to ride your bike around the Estate with your guide and see the famous gardens, the Petit Trianon and Grand Trianon, and Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet. You'll even enjoy a picnic dinner.
Similar to the previous daytime tour by bike, you'll meet your guide in central Paris and go together to Versailles on the train. Once you reach Versailles and pick up your bike, you'll head to the market square to pick up food for a picnic dinner.
Once you reach the Palace grounds, you'll explore the estate, with stops at Marie-Antoinette's Hameau, the Petit and Grand Trianons, and finally the Grand Canal, where you'll enjoy your picnic dinner.
Finally, you'll get after-hours entrance to the Palace and Gardens, where the magical evening entertainment unfolds.
After the fireworks, you'll return to Paris by train where your tour ends.
Want to bike from Paris to Versailles? Find out how
Best Combo Tours of Versailles + Giverny or Fontainbleau
When your schedule allows time for only one day trip from Paris, these guided tours from Paris let you experience Versailles and Giverny or Versailles and Fontainbleau in a single day.
9. Versailles & Giverny Day Tour with Lunch at Moulin de Fourges
Giverny & Versailles Day Tour with Lunch - Medium (14 or less) group tour in a minibus.
When you arrive at Giverny, you'll explore Impressionist artist Claude Monet's home, gardens, and the ponds where water lilies inspired his most famous paintings.
After enjoying a delicious 3-course lunch with wine at Moulin de Fourges, a restaurant in a delightful old mill house by a scenic river about 5 miles from Giverny, you'll head to Versailles, where an art historian will lead you on a guided tour of the most famous rooms including the Hall of Mirrors. Headsets will be provided to enable you to hear the guide.
This tour also includes access to Versailles' magnificent gardens, which means you'll get to see the Fountain Show or Musical Gardens on the days when they're available.
Please note: the private option mentioned in the "Includes" section of online description appears to not be available at the current time.
10. Versailles Palace & Château de Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau, like Versailles, is a magnificent palace which grew from a modest medieval hunting lodge. The Palace overlooks a large lake and spectacular gardens including the largest formal garden in Europe. It has served as a residence for numerous French rulers including 34 kings and two emperors from the 12th through the 19th century.
The best way to see both Versailles and Fontainebleau in a single day is to sign up for a Chateau de Fontainbleau & Chateau de Versailles Private Tour.
Your driver/guide will pick you up at your hotel, will first take you to the Chateau de Fontainebleau for a private tour of the magnificent palace, where you'll also see Napoleon's Throne.
After lunch in the nearby village where you can choose from numerous charming bistros and cafes, you'll head to Versailles for a tour of the Hall of Mirrors and other famous rooms and a walk around the magnificent gardens before heading back to Paris.
More Articles about Visiting the Palace of Versailles
- Top Things to See & Do at the Palace of Versailles - Plus visitor tips
- Where to Stay near the Palace of Versailles
- Best Ways to Get from Paris to Versailles Palace
- Paris Museum Pass - How much money and time can you save with it?
- Skip the Line Tickets - Where to get them
- Easy Day Trips from Paris - Versailles, Giverny, Mont Saint Michel, D-Day Normandy Beaches, Disneyland Paris, Champagne tastings, Loire Valley castles, London, Bruges, & more!
