Palace of Versailles with a 4 year old- worth it?

based on reading this- I am guessing the asnwer is no

https://www.teawithmum.com/visiting-versailles-with-kids/

basically a long tour with no food allowed and possibly no strollers as well- sounds like a no-go for us.

Well, kids certainly hang out around the boat house and snack bar on the grounds, but the palace would be a nightmare.

Wait till she is 14. The old farm house area and some the grounds MIGHT be interesting to a young 4 year old but not the palace. Just not age appropriate.

thanks all- confirmed my thoughts as soon as I started looking into it!

Before COVID they didn't allow strollers in the palace; they had to be left at 'left luggage.' when they closed that for COVID they allowed people to take strollers into the palace -- not sure what the actual status is now.

The experience for a 4 year old is going to be butts. The place can get crowded and a small child overwhelmed.

My son is 17 now. I took him to Versailles when he was four going on five. This was in the pre-stroller days and he was almost trampled by a tour group. We joke (and it is only a half joke) that he is still traumatized by the experience. I'd skip it with a four-year-old unless she has an exceptional and unusual interest in French history.

The crowds inside the palace are claustrophobic even for adults. Would not be fun for any of you!

Well, Louis XIV became king of France at the age of 4, so he could handle Versailles at that age -- but he had a lot of support that you will not! (plus it was not then what it later became, and he had a difficult childhood with the "Fronde" revolt). I agree with all the advice about saving this for later, but if you do go, your daughter might remember that all this was once ruled by a child her age.

We are taking our four-year-old to Versailles this summer. However, we are also traveling with our two older children so we certainly aren't going for her. My husband and I have both already been so one of us will likely duck out into the gardens with her when she's had enough and one will stay with our big kids. We are going on a Fountain Spectacular day this summer and I do think she'll enjoy that thoroughly.

thanks for all the advice, I think we are gonna skip it - there is more than enough to keep us busy for week in Paris without going to Versailles. Like I always say, leave something to bring you back next time!

If you want a taste of Versailles without the mobs then tour the Trianon area. It was still gilded and fantastic but more low-key with less crowds. We did this with out kids a few years ago. there was plenty of time to walk outside and we went over to the main palace (there's a little train that can take you too) and walked around the fountains/gardens, which are spectacular. It's huge so we rented a golf cart-the kids loved that.

I actually wouldn't do the Palace inside tour at all if I went back to Versailles. I could only take a small amount of gilded, draped rooms. I much preferred just walking around the gardens, fountains, and structures outside--but this is of course a personal issue of not being a museum fan for more than an hour or so. I can't imagine a 4 year old taking in the Versailles ambiance.