Advice on day trip to Versailles

I don't know the answer to your question, but we used the Paris Museum Pass, which allowed us to skip the line at Versailles, the Louvre (special entrance through the metro entrance), the Orsay, and other places.

However, that was a number of years ago and pre-Covid. It's possible that timed entry is a requirement right now, because of Covid.

We were there in 2018 and also got the Paris Museum pass. No timed tickets back then just a really long line to get in but to avoid that we took the GUIDED TOUR - THE KINGS' PRIVATE APARTMENT which I just checked and they still do it. At end of the 1 1/2 hour tour they just let you loose to get audio tour for the rest of the chateau. The museum pass gets you into everything on the property. Otherwise you do need a ticket to chateau to show them at beginning of the guided tour. The guided tour was very interesting and took you to parts you cannot see with the regular ticket.

Like the previous commenter, we booked a guided tour (visite guidee) and found it well worth it. Our guide spoke fluent English and took an interest in giving very informative answers to questions asked by people in the group.

The Paris Museum Pass enables you to skip the line for tickets, but you still have to go through the airport-style security. With the guided tour, you enter at the other side of the courtyard, away from all that hubbub. Our experience was like that of the previous contributor -- once the tour was over, we were allowed to go around on our own inside the public areas of the palace.

Back in 2014 the longest line was for security. You have to go through that regardless of your ticket.

We went to Versailles yesterday and not sure if you'd be interested, but we did a bike tour. It is definitely more expensive than just getting a passport ticket but for us, the extra cost was well worth it. The Chateau & its gardens are enormous and having a guide + bikes helped us cover a lot more ground and we felt like we got so much more out of our visit. We used Boutique Bike Tours (a recommendation from another post) and they were wonderful. https://www.boutiquebiketours.com/versailles-bike-tour/ and did a great job of timing our tour so we hit certain parts of the Chateu/gardens when the crowds were at a minimum & we got to see the "dancing" fountains when they were actually on .

I know you mentioned going on a Tuesday, but if you have any flexibility, I'd suggest trying to go on a Saturday or Sunday as the water fountains are not on during the week. On the weekends, the the musical fountains are on. Sundays are particularly good as they have the full market open.

The whole point of the timed ticket is you skip that long long line out front. You enter at a different point within half an hour of your stated ticket time. So the timed ticket means you do not stand in the regular long long security line.

A regular ticket requires waiting in the long line. There is no such thing as a 'skip the line ticket' -- that is a marketing ploy and sellers are just selling the ordinary reserved time ticket.

Before COVID if you had a ticket for the Louvre or other museum, you were able to use a different security/entry line than if you did not. This was particularly important at Musee d'Orsay. I don't know how the current situation has affected that.

FWIW. the Museum Pass did not allow skipping the line at Versailles but you did have access to shorter entry lines at most museums.

Wow, I love the bike tour idea posted by Joe I! The times I've been able to visit Versailles the schedule has been too tight to see the vast gardens and the structures out there. I really hope to go back someday. If I'm not strong and agile enough to bicycle, the golf cart rental would be my next choice.

We always rent bikes in the gardens at Versailles, by the Grand Canal, to get around. Rates are very reasonable and it’s fun. Fat Tire Bike Tours also does guided bike tours from Paris.

We went to Versailles a few weeks ago with a timed entry ticket. When you get there, in the big cobbled square, there will be a line for the "current" time of entry into the palace and the "next" time of entry (30 min windows). Choose the CORRECT line or you will be routed to the end of the correct one later. The current time of entry line will be moving as folks slowly enter, show their ticket, pass security, prove COVID coverage, etc.. The next line will be steadily growing and not moving until that time "opens", at which time a new line for the next slot will begin forming.

The lines moved fairly quickly, but at the beginning of each period, the like was easily 100+ folks long and stretched hundreds of feet across the square.

The only folks I saw that "skipped" the lines were very late arrivals - eg. a 10:30 ticket just as the 11:00 line opened up for entry. I feel like the best way to avoid the line - as much as possible now - is to get a time - say 10:00am - but show up LATER rather than early or on time. Arriving at 10:20 or 10:25am, you're still good with your ticket, but all the folks anxious to get in at 10 are already in, and you'll be with a smaller group of dawdlers.
Of course, if there are two or more of you, the wait isn't bad as it lets one person hold the place in line, and the others can take turns using the restroom, checking bags, taking exterior photos, etc..