We are planning a trip to visit Versailles from Paris on Jul 20th. Need feedback / suggestions best way to avoid crowds. I understand its busiest season but what can I do my best for a good experience ;
any other tips / suggestions ?
Having only been in Versailles in May and October, I can only imagine how much more crowded it will be in July. Pretty much everyone buys their ticket in advance. It's the security line that is time consuming. Back in May, we got in line at 820 and it took 45 minutes to go thru security. We were warned by other tourists we befriended who had arrived at 11 am and waited 3 hours to get thru security. And this was in May. Once inside, it's a minimum 2 hours just to get through the palace. If you're only planning a half day, you can call it a day after that. You wont have time to see the beautiful gardens or the Trianon. Actually we were there for about 8 hours and only had time for the palace and some of the gardens. Versailles is immense.
The one thing that can save you time is if you get tickets to the Kings apt guided tour. This will allow you to avoid the long security line in front as you go through a separate entrance. However, this guided tour was also about 2 hours so if you take that, you'll have to budget some time to see the rest of the palace. Hopefully, you can adjust your trip to allow for a whole day as there really is so much to see.
And beware of "sidlers" - you'll find them all over Europe at long lines. People who want to get in front so they just kind of join you in line rather starting in the back where they belong. Don't be afraid to call them out and point to the back of the line.
We went with friends and they had bought an extra ticket for a private insider tour. I think it was expensive but we didn't deal with crowds.
See what they offer on the website.
We visited Versailles last Friday and here is what we did.
We arrived around 11am and immediately went to the garden which had no line, and then to the Petite Trianon and Hamlet (opens at 12pm). We really enjoyed walking in the garden and the Hamlet. We then took the 3:30pm King's apartment tour (pre-purchased, 7 Euro from official website) which used a separate entrance and security check. The tour lasted about 1.5 hour with only 14 ppl and the guide we had was very good. Afterwards we toured the rest of the palace. By then the crowd was not bad at all, so the whole trip was a great experience. If you don't have time for the tour, the regular security check didn't seem bad around 3pm. Maybe 10-15 min wait.
Hope this helps.
I visited last year, I booked the King's Apartment tour, we went early 9:30am and after the tour, they drop you off and you can tour the other parts of the palace (with the other entrance ticket). It was crowded and hallway of mirrors is jammed pack with people. However, once you head out to the gardens, the crowds are dispersed and it was very nice.
We just saw Versailles on Saturday. We started with the gardens and ended with the palace. It was still really crowded in the palace even at the end of the day. Half a day isn't really enough to see Versailles. The gardens are more immense than you might realize and of course the crowds slow things down too.
I agree with Claudette. We were there last year from the time they opened to around 4 or 5pm and we felt as if we hadn't seen all of Versailles. Versailles is huge! Budgeting only half a day would make me feel empty when leaving Versailles.
Thanks for the feedback. We will be going to Versailles on a Saturday for the fountains. I would be happy with just that but we are taking our grandson who wants to do the Palace. The later afternoon sounds like a plan.
Tim--sidlers make me crazy! I encountered one particularly annoying man trying to weasel around the stanchions in the line at the Van Gogh in Amsterdam, and between me and 2 women from London we kept him where he belonged, after loudly calling him out. He just looked sheepish.
I visited Versailles with my Museum Pass at around 11 am on a rainy day in May and it was a mob scene at the palace, much more peaceful and enjoyable to spend more time at the Trianons and Hamlet area. I left around 3 pm and the palace area still appeared crowded. Versailles is quite worth dealing with crowds so just be ready for them.
Either get there before they open (and before the tour buses) or plan on getting there late after the crowds thin out. With limited time I wouldn't bother since it really deserves a full day. I didn't go to Versaille until my third trip to Paris.
While Versailles is huge and can take a full day to fully see everything, don't be discouraged at having only a half day. If you plan well, you can see the main highlights.
Either show up before the doors open (which means leaving Paris early), tour the chateau and then wander the gardens. If time allows, go out to the Trianons and/or the Hamlet and at least see the exteriors (the interiors may not be open yet). This allows for a late lunch in town.
-or-
Show up about noon and explore the gardens first. You can tour the Trianons (probably choose only one) but watch your time. Tour the palace late afternoon. This means having a substantial breakfast or picking up sandwiches in town and having a quick picnic down by the canal (don't waste time at the on-site restaurants).
Either way the palace will be crowded. The goal is to limit wasting time in line. Set yourself a schedule so you know when to move on (you can spend a lot of time exploring the gardens they are so massive).
