Website shows you have to book either ONLY PALACE and/or ONLY TRIANON. What the heck? And what about the gardens? Anyone have any experience with this?
How would I know, today, how long we will take (next week) in the palace, and what time to book the Trianon on that same day. As the Fins say, "It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future."
The gardens on a fountain day are not covered by the Museum Pass -- it is I think 13 Euro on the spot and 12 if you reserve on line. If the fountains are not running the garden is not IMHO interesting, but it is free.
The Trianon doesn't have a line to speak of and doesn't need a reserved time slot. IMHO unless you have seen very few chateaux it is a low priority. Organize your day around the admission to the palace where there will be crowds and a huge line even with tickets.
I was just at Versailles yesterday. I had a 9am time slot, and was in line at 0830 with about 100 people ahead of me. I spent about an hour and a half in the palace then went out into the garden. I had a combination ticket for everything, including the Trianon. The gardens are huge, and tall trees make it difficult to find your way around. The Trianon doesn’t open until 12pm, and I was there by about 1230 and there was a bit of a line. I found the grounds here to be much prettier with the fall colours coming out than the Versailles gardens ( fountains off, flowers done). Marie Antoinette’s village is very picturesque. Be aware that it is a long walk to the Trianon, and then the village. I was done by about 3:30, and probably missed a few things, but had almost 30,000 steps so my feet were done. The little hop on hop off train might have been a good deal at 9 euros!
Museum Pass question:
How do I decide on a particular timed reservation slot if
1) I don't know how long the line will take (security, tickets validation, crowds) and,
2) I don't know how long we'll spend at the Palace, so I don't know what time to book the Trianon.
Could I just book book both for the same time slot?
"you can enter the Château within half an hour of your chosen time slot. Available to holders of a Paris Museum Pass (PMP)"
Do they allow some flexibility here if the lines are what cause a delay??
They usually don't allow flexibility because there are always lines. You just have to plan for that and get in line early enough. Maybe you will get a sympathetic person.
You don't need to book the Trianon. Get in the line for the chateau a half hour ahead of your time slot.
You might consider doing the Virtual Reality experience of the tour of the gardens with Le Notre -- where you see things that have long since been abolished like the menagerie and maze. It is in the building on the left as you proceed to the main garden entrance ticket booths.
