Small group tour to Versailles and Giverny?

I have no recs as we have always gone on our own. I wouldn't try to see both in the same day. Versailles is huge and IMO takes just about all day to visit the chateau and see the grounds (with the Petit and Grand Trianons, plus the Hameau). Giverny can be seen comfortably in 2 hours, but the drive from Versailles to Giverny will take an hour of your day. Versailles opens at 9:00, and Giverny at 9:30, although you can get in line earlier to be at the beginning of the security check line (unavoidable, no skip the line here). A Google or Trip Advisor search will turn up companies that will do both in one day. Some may arrange the ticket purchases for you, others may require to reserve yourself. Reserve times are needed. I don't know the size of the groups, but my guess is the smaller the group, the higher the price. Do be aware that even if on a group tour, you will still be a part of the crowds within Versailles chateau.
Plus, you will want to fit in some time for lunch.
My suggestion is to visit Giverny on a different day from Versailles. It can be a half-day excursion from Paris, whereas Versailles really needs the whole day.

Paris city vision (except they just got a new name) does a day trip with both of those. I used them for transportation to Monet's gardens but there were others on the bus going on to Versailles for a long day. I'd go on my own now but at that point in my traveling, it was easier for me to do it with them .

I agree with Judy. Trying to see both places in one day does a disservice to both. We found that you need the better part of a day to fully visit Versailles, including travel to and from Paris. And Giverny needs half a day, including travel there and back. I've been to Giverny twice, and never felt a need for a guide. And on the 3 times we've been to Versailles, we've just used Rick's audio tour and guide book. And it is also correct that going with a tour group, even if you splurge out on a private one, doesnt bring any relief from all the other visitors who are also there.

Thanks for the feedback.
Sadly we don’t have enough time to do a day at each place. Hence the desire to do the full day covering both, we know that it will be a very long day.

tawrounds,
At the risk of sounding like the old lady that I am, I would probably skip one of them to more fully enjoy the one you see. I hope and bet that you will return to France and can visit the one you missed this time. It took me 4 visits to France to get to Giverny, Jumiege Abbey and Fontenay Abbey ,and seven visits to get to St. Sulpice church and the Cluny Museum in Paris.

If you do decide on this long day's excursion, get a good rest the night before and eat a hearty breakfast. Pack water and your patience and cultivate your mellowness, especially for Versailles. Bonne chance et amusez-vous bien!

Thanks!
We are 69 and this is our 3rd trip to Paris together (my 4th). Shockingly we never did these spots before, and there's still so much world left to see! Haven't been to Spain or Greece or Germany or Scandinavia or New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, etc.
So, I think we will suck it up and do the grueling one day ;- )

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Have a fun and successful day!

If you are traveling in hot summer weather, my suggestion is don’t do this and I will explain why.

We’ve been to France 4 times. Only visited Versailles and Giverny on our third trip - a month long trip in May/June 2023. Weather was mid 80s and fairly humid.

Versailles was very crowded, very hot outside, and those vaunted gardens lacked the elegance and artistry of gardens we saw at Loire chateaux - particularly Chaumont and Villandry. We stayed the night in Versailles before we went to the Chateau, so we were in line with our tickets in hand close to 30 minutes ahead of the palace’s 9:00 am opening. Of 29 days in France on that trip, Versailles was our least favorite day. My wife was actually pretty miserable due to the heat - and that was mid 80s, not 90+.

A few days later we went to Giverny. Again, quite crowded and it felt quite hot in the mid 80s. Humidity was definitely an aggravating factor.

I get that these are bucket list items. But if the weather is hot, don’t make yourself miserable. Have fun doing something else with fewer hot and bothered crowds surrounding you. You only have 4 days in Paris. Enjoy Paris.

If the weather is mild and you’re traveling in March or October so the crowds aren’t bad, that’s a different story.

Even still, between the Palace, the Gardens, the Petite Trianon and the Grand Trianon, you simply cannot see much that Versailles has to offer, if you cut your time short.

Get the Chateau de Versailles official app. Download it to your smart phone or computer. It’s free. You will see that the official audio guide includes

• The Louis XIV Rooms (45 minutes)
• The State Apartments (90 minutes)
• The Empire Rooms (60 minutes)
• The Apartments of Louis XV’s Daughters (45 minutes)
• The Grand Trianon (60 minutes)
• The Petit Trianon (60 Minutes)
• And there are still more audio guides for the Gardens, the Queen’s Hamlet, the Gallery of Great Battles and more, yet.

One final note. I had both the RS audio guide and the official app on my phone. I started with the RS audio guide and I quickly got lost in it due to the crowds at Versailles, the numbers of rooms and the fact that it is audio only. The official guide easily allows you to go the room or location where you are, tap the screen, hear what they say and see a picture of it on your smart phone so you know it all matches up. Vastly superior to the RS audio guide.

LATE NOTE - Plus, with the official guide, you can easily skip over a few rooms if they don’t appeal or the crowd is too much to bear.

Fred-
Thank you for your very lucid reply. We are re-thinking our plan. We had blocked out an entire day for this. We head to the Switzerland and the Alps for 6 nights after Paris, and then join friends for an AMA Waterways wine cruise in Burgundy.
Do you have any suggestions for a day trip from Paris that isn't too onerous? We have been to Chartres before.

tawrounds,
Vaux-le-Vicomte would be an excellent alternative to Versailles...Versailles was modeled after V-l-V. You can do a search on this forum for comments about it. All the ones I have read are very positive. About an hour outside Paris.
Bonne chance!

VLV is beautiful. Though I also really enjoyed Marie Antoinette's hamlet and animals at Versailles.

I will defer to others on day trips from Paris. Judy and pbscd have already chimed in.

Of course, there is always Paris … where we’ve spent maybe a total of 12 or 13 days on three trips. There are gardens and parks and smaller museums and homes of literary giants. A morning in some of the Passages Couvertes was a respite from heat for us in June 2023. There are neighborhoods to wander, galleries, book stores, lesser known churches, patisseries, boulangeries and cafes.

I will direct message you with a possible resource and our most recent TR from 2025. Also, I think the Paris app, https://parisjetaime.com/eng/ can be pretty useful both for neighborhood ideas and for seeing what might be current or upcoming events, such as music, theatre and special exhibitions.