Take a guided tour of Versailles or not

I've been to Versaiiles a couple of times and on Sundays and I don't think there is a way to avoid the crowds no matter when you arrive. We did book at tour once we arrived, I don't remember which one but it made for a quicker admission and was a much better option given the crowds. I don't think the tours are expensive and would probably book ahead of time instead of taking a chance that something that would be available.

Judy,

If your budget will allow, taking a guided tour is certainly one option. If you're travelling with an iPod or similar device, you could also download the RS Audio tour and use that.....

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours

The audio tours are free, so the price is definitely "right".

For only like 9 euro more you can get the guided tour, skip the line and have access to places most of the general public does not get to see. We did the Kings Apartments and loved it. After that tour we did the gardens (with a golf cart) then did the rest of Versailles in the afternoon. I am glad we took a break from the palace and did the gardens as there was plenty of golf carts available. When we returned it in the afternoon there was a long line waiting for returned carts. There are places to eat in the gardens also.

This past August (during the last week of the month),we also took the King's Apartments tour - thanks to a tip I read in this forum. We purchased our tickets online a day or so in advance. Signs pointed to tour entrance upon entering the courtyard. There is a small and comfortable waiting room with bathrooms! to bide your time until your tour begins. Informative and super convenient. I thought we paid 7 euro per person. When the tour concluded we were on our own and joined the crowds to see the rest of the palace at our own pace. We spent almost the entire day, walking all over. It was our third visit in many years but the first time we saw Marie Antoinette's hamlet..very cool. We will return with friends next year who have never been to Paris and will do it exactly the same way ( except wth these folks, I suspect we will only walk as far as the first snack vendor or ice cream cone, but we shall see). You might look at en.chateauversailles.fr for info. Good luck and safe travels.

The ice cream vendor at the bottom of the gardens has unusually good ice cream -- I was shocked since my experience of ice cream kiosks in Europe has not been good -- this one was.

We took a bike tour of Versailles and thought it was great. When we rode by the entrance at the start of our tour, the amount of people was enormous. We pedaled through the gardens, went to the Trianon, around the canals, ate our lunch and visited Marie Antoinette's farm. Then we returned to the Palace to visit on our own (but with our tour tickets I believe). We got there about 3ish. The crowd was nothing like we saw in the morning. It was perfect for me as I did not need to spend a great deal of time in each room.

Versailles can be a nightmare with the multitudes of visitors. The entrance line can snake all around the huge entrance pavilion and once inside it can be wall to wall people. It's also horribly frustrating to be trapped in the middle of (or behind) one of those ENORMOUS tour groups.

Ken, I think I can manage the extra 10 euro for the private tour. I am saving on the cheaper hotel room with no view.

Letitia, how can I find out more about the golf cart tour of the gardens?

Padams, where did you rent the bikes for your tour around Versailles, that sounds like fun?

Thank you everyone else for your suggestions. I appreciate them all.

Judy

For the bike tour we used bikeabouttours.com and we loved the young woman from Canada who was our guide. With our bikes, we stopped at the market in Versailles and all bought picnic items which we ate on the grounds. The price of the tour included the train trip from Paris and the bike rental. I believe we paid less for the tour because we had a Paris Museum pass; otherwise, you would pay for entrance to the palace as well. I believe there are other companies as we saw other groups riding around too.

Judy- The golf carts are self driven, no tour. There is a kiosk to rent the carts, I think it was 35 euro an hour? I left my California drivers license as collateral and we just took off. They give you a map of where the cars will work and were they will not (they just stop). You can park outside of the different palaces on the grounds and gain entrance if you have the Museum Pass, otherwise each palace has a separate entrance fee. (The museum pass covers Versailles and all the other buildings on the ground).

Padams and Letizia, thank you for the info. I appreciate the help it will give me in my trip to Versailles.

Judy, we took the Private Apartment of the Kings tour this September and can't recommend it highly enough. Small group (25-30 max I think?) and you get an audio set so you can hear the guide perfectly. Great tidbits of information and gorgeous rooms. Hang to the back and you'll get to enjoy them all to yourself for a minute before moving on. When the tour is done, you get dropped off in the palace just before the major attraction rooms (like Hall of Mirrors) and tons of people. Seeing the private rooms in such a quiet, people-free setting almost ruins the experience of the regular public rooms. :)

Yes, you do get to skip the long security line with this tour.

Looking back, my approach would be to book the Private tour for the latest time slot in the afternoon. I would get to the palace as it opens, and explore the gardens and grounds. I would head to the Petite Trianon for it's opening time, and after visiting it, head to the Hamlet. I would then go to the Trianon (we missed it this past visit) and eventually head back to the palace for our afternoon tour. It takes a REALLY long time to walk from the Palace to the Petite Trianon since the estate is so big. In hindsight, I would have bought tickets for the little train that runs around the estate. They wouldn't let us buy tickets by the Trianon; I guess you can only buy them right at the Palace? Others may know more about that.

Was just there a few weeks ago. Note that bag checks are in place at the different entrances (e.g., in addition to the main chateau, there's a bag check at Le Petit Trianon). In some places (not all) you may have to go through the security or ticket/museum pass line just to get to an area where there's a toilet. This set-up could change by the time April gets here. At various museums and buildings, I could tell the security set-up was still a work in progress.

Also, don't underestimate how expansive the grounds of Versailles are. Wear good shoes with good insoles (plenty of cobblestones and gravely/tree root ground). The paper grounds map could be improved (do you hear me, Versailles, maybe you can pay me to improve your map! ;) and the outer reaches and paths are not signed as well as could be. Granted, this adds to the atmosphere of ambling along a path as it would've been at the time, but sometimes you want to find the most direct way back to base or the toilets.

Julie and April,

Thank you for all your insights on your time spent at Versailles. I really appreciate all of it.

Judy