Palace of Versailles advice

Hi Brad, I'll take the other position. We visited Versailles the first week in June. We took an early train from Paris, got coffee at McDonalds, and were in line by 8:15 a.m. We had a Paris Museum Pass and were among the first 10-15 people to enter. We went directly to the Hall of Mirrors and had it to ourselves for about 15 minutes. By the time the Palace started to get crowded, we were ready to proceed to the gardens. Worked out great for us. Don't miss Marie Antoinette's Hamlet.

Donna,
I am leaning towards getting there early as well and taking our chances with a line. Great advice on going straight to hall of mirrors! If we did this, is it possible to go back and revisit some of the other rooms we would have rushed through (in order to be in hall of mirrors right away)? Just not sure how strict staff is in palace with keeping people moving in one direction.

Also, will be sure to explore the Hamlet area. Thanks for input!

We have gone twice in July and we simply got there early and toured at our own speed. The tours are sine but they are rushing you through at their speed and my wife stops to take a lot of pictures. As long as you get there by 8 with the museum pass you will be fine. There will be crowds but I would simply follow Rick Steves audio tour.

Hi Brad, we weren’t on a tour so we were able to go back through the areas of the house that we missed. We didn’t feel rushed. The gardens weren’t busy early in the day but by the time we left (mid-afternoon) there were crowds. Hope you enjoy your trip!

We've booked the King's Apartments tour to kick off our visit to Versailles, we booked a 9am (might be 9:30) tour, you might want to look into it as you don't go through the regular security line. It is a supplemental cost in addition to admission or the Museum pass and you're left off to tour the rest of the palace. It was only 10 Eur pp.

I would love to get a golf cart.. didn’t know that was an option. How do you go about booking that?

I went early. We got in quickly and toured the parts of the palace we wanted, then spent most of our time in the garden. It wasn't that busy (late September), probably because rain was forecast that never really materialized. I did learn you can take a folding umbrella into the palace but not a full size one.

I did the expensive escorted tour the first time and then did it on my own the second time. I recommend doing it on your own. Book the separate King’s apt tour which has its own entrance and has no lines. After this tour, you are dropped off at the beginning of the regular tour. If you decide not to book the King’s apt tour, then getting there at 8am is a good plan. Booking a golf cart ahead is a good idea. They were out by the time we wanted one and we were so tempted to stick our thumbs out and hitchhike on one of those golf carts because those gardens are immense! Bring snacks and a drink as well because all that walking will make you hungry.

We had the same experience as Donna a few years ago in May. We arrived at about 8:15 and were the very first people there. The hardest part was figuring out where to start the line because it wasn't marked. We got into the Palace first and went straight to the Hall of Mirrors. We had it completely to ourselves for about 10 minutes, and it was one of our absolute favorite travel memories. The pictures we were able to take were just beautiful. One downside is that you can't backtrack, they only allow you to go one direction. So we finished the Palace and then returned to the beginning to see the rooms before the Hall of Mirrors that we had rushed through. By that time it was about 30 minutes after opening, and it was miserable. We were packed in shoulder to shoulder and had to move at the pace of the crowd. It was difficult to see anything. If I had it to do over again I probably would have just taken my time going through the first time, as I would have been one of the first to arrive to each room and would have arrived in the Hall of Mirrors before it was too crowded, although I can't say I'm really disappointed I did it the way we did, as the Hall of Mirrors was just spectacular empty. After that we never experrienced crowds the rest of the day. The gardens have lots of space and we enjoyed the Hamlet very much.

I agree about booking a tour. We were there in a Sat in October. We did the opposite of most people and toured the gardens and fountains first. We booked the fountain and music tickets which allow you to enter the gardens as many times as you want during the day. While everyone was waiting in long lines we meandered through some of the gardens with few people. We went in the palace around 11 saw some of the rooms, ate lunch at Angelinas and then had a 1:30 tour of the Kings Apartments. The tour was fascinating and only accessible on private tour. After seeing the palace we were able to see the rest of the gardens and relax by one of the giant fountains listening to the music. We were there all day and didn't feel crowded or rushed using this method. The gardens are amazing and if you can schedule to go on a day that the fountains are flowing it will be a highlight. We walked over 12 miles that day and it was a treat!!

I just booked a private tour for 3 of us in April. Cost was 10E each and was very easy to purchase. The only Kings' Apartment tour in English on that day was a 9:30. I wanted to do the tour specifically to avoid the possibility of having to stand in line for 1 or more hours. The entrance is on the Right side before you enter the Grille d' Honneur. There is a waiting room and bathrooms. I am so excited to go !