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Best way to get from Paris to Versailles

My family of 5 will be in Paris early August and want to visit Versailles. Wanted to see is anyone could recommend the best route (rail/car/bus/etc) to Versailles based on our location - We are staying at Hôtel Bedford and traveling with 3 kids (15/15/2). I’ve read that the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche will get us close to the gates but any suggestions from our location will be greatly appreciated. I know there can be maybe interruptions with transportation and strikes. Thank you

Greg

Posted by
127 posts

To get from anywhere in Paris to anywhere else, just consult the transit maps. Very simple. Find your nearest metro station (no matter where you are in Paris, there is a nearby metro station) and then find the line that connects you to RER C. Take RER C directly to Versailles, get off the train, and walk across the street.

You'll need to do this wherever you go in Paris, so it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the transit maps before you go. But you can see them in every metro station anyway, so you'll always be able to find your way around.

PS...if transportation is affected by strikes, you will get as much info there as anyone else about how to get to your destination (lines that are affected, alternate routes, etc.) Strikes are usually scheduled - they don't just "pop up," - so you should be able to plan accordingly. This is just a part of every day life in France, and something visitors have to anticipate and be ready to adapt and go to Plan B, if necessary.

Posted by
9069 posts

This is the official site to map your route: ratp.fr. You can also use Citymapper or even google maps. Google maps is not a good choice in smaller towns but it does a fair job for walking or metro travel in Paris. RER C is the train that takes you close to the Palace and you can reach it from anywhere in Paris. With the new fare structure on public transport the basic metro ticket will take you anywhere in the Ile de France including Versailles.

Posted by
1079 posts

One follow-up to all the recommendations. Take a look at City Mapper the day before your trip and enter the date and arrival time that you need to be at the palace. City Mapper will give you the routes that are operational on your day of travel. For example, when we went on a Sunday, one of the Metro stops that we need to make a transfer on was not operational that day and we used City Mapper to check routes. Also, the morning of your trip, you can check for any changes or disruptions. As mentioned, strikes will be announced in advance. However, when we were returning from Versailles, there was a fire near one of the tracks for RER-C and it disrupted the RER-C for 30+ minutes and the app provides updates on alternatives, cancellations, etc.

Posted by
7498 posts

The RER C to Versailles will not run this summer, between mid-July and end August.

The easiest alternative is line L from St Lazare (walking distance to your hotel) to Versailles Rive Droite. If it is also impacted by works (couldn't find the info), then you can take RER A from Auber (next to your hotel) to la Défense, and the same line L to Versailles Rive Droite or line U to Versailles Chantiers (a bit further from the palace).

If that fails: head to Montparnasse station and take line N to Versailles Chantiers

Posted by
10821 posts

Exact dates of RER C closures:

July 12-August 23 for
Between Gare d'Austerlitz and Avenue Henri-Martin, and between Versailles-Chateau-Rive-Gauche and St-Quentin-en- Yvelines

July 26 and August 1-23
Between avenue Henri-Martin and Pontoise

June 28-29 and July 5-6
Between Bibliothèque François Mitterrand and Athis-Mons

Posted by
68 posts

General note re public transit: check whether there are any holidays during your visit. We had a route to Versailles via RER all mapped out and discovered at the station that the RER was not operating that day. We were able to improvise an alternative (all other modes of transport were running) but it took almost an hour longer. Fortunately this was not in the busy season so our tickets for Versailles were still valid despite our late arrival.

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35149 posts

uber ad from automoto reported - probably missed the community guidelines