Paris and the Heart of France Tour

Versailles is a 30 minute train ride from Paris and trains run frequently, so you should have no trouble fitting this into your extra days in Paris. There is plenty to see there, plan on spending most of the day. I think you get a copy of the RS France guidebook when you sign up for the Paris & Heart of France tour, and it has a long section on Versailles, so you would want to have a look at that while planning. Getting an entry pass in advance is recommended to avoid some of the time spent waiting in line, and Sundays and Tuesdays are the most crowded days. Hope this helps, have a wonderful trip!

Definitely add a day or 2 before your tour starts to give yourselves a chance to recover from jet lag. I also recommend staying at the tour hotel for those days if there is availability, which means you should book as soon as you have the name of the hotel. A day or 2 at the end is good too, lol.

You may want to consider purchasing a Paris Museum Pass (available for 2, 4 or 6 days) that includes entry to many sites, including Versailles. The Pass enables you to skip the lines (you still have to go through security) and will save you time.

Also, if you want to go up the Eiffel Tower, think about getting tickets via the official website. They are available 90 days in advance.

You've selected a great tour - hope you enjoy it!

Plan a full day for Versailles. Leave early to be there when they open, grab a bite for lunch, and spend the full afternoon. Get back into Paris for a later dinner. That is, if you want to see most of it.

A few comments......

" The Pass enables you to skip the lines"

Just to clarify, you'll be able to skip the ticket purchase lines, but there still will be lines to get in. For example, at Versailles I waited in excess of an hour and a half in the "Passholders line" to get into the Chateau. There will also be similar lines at other popular sights.

When planning your trip to Versailles, give some thought on which day you want to go there, as some days are busier than others. Some days are dreadfully crowded (Tuesdays as I recall, as the Louvre is closed that day). Details in the guidebook.

From some time in April until some time in October there are musical fountain shows on the weekends, which means more crowds. There are also shows on some weekdays (used to be every Tuesday, only in summer). On these days, it's also more crowded. The rest of the time, the fountains do not operate.

I'd recommend adding at least one night in Paris before the tour to start recovering from the jetlag and long-haul flight. Don't expect to be able to do too much on your first and possibly second days. So I'd also stay a couple of nights after to enjoy a little more of Paris.

I signed up for this tour too! When are you going? I am going in September 2015 and staying five extra days in Paris at the end of the tour. Ann

When you do go to Versailles on the RER-C, be sure to take the train that goes to the Versailles-Chateau-Rive-Gauche RER stop, this is the correct station you want. Also, if you get there about 45min. before it opens you should be near the head of the line to enter. Once you pass security follow the signs to the Hall of Mirrors and get your pictures before it fills up with people. Then you can head back towards the entrance and stroll through the palace. I did this back in Oct and there was only myself, another lady and two security guards in the Hall of Mirrors. Got great pictures of no one in the hall.
Enjoy.

Ann - we are going through the middle of June - for the tour of 9th to 19th, but we are arriving on the 7th (Sunday), planning to go to Versailles on Monday, then the tour starts late afternoon of the 9th. I've also added a day at the end of the tour before going home because it seems at the end of our previous tours, someone in the tour group always mentions something they loved that they saw on their free time that we didn't see.

Thanks to everyone that has replied so far - really helpful! Does anyone know anything about bicycle tours of Versailles? A co-worker mentioned that she and her husband had done that - a 15 minute bicycle ride to Versailles, then all around the grounds, and included a guided tour through the building itself. She said it was the best thing they did on their entire trip.

Paris Fat Tire Bike Tours, http://paris.fattirebiketours.com/tours/versailles-bike-tour, offers a Versailles package. A bit expensive and its a good 9 hour day.