Hi All,
I wonder if it's better to book in advance tickets for Versailles? I would be there on mid July which should be one of the highest season.
I got recommendation to book in advance for Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany due to high traffic crowds. I wonder if it would be the same case with Versailles?
TIA
Versailles is busy year round, especially during warmer months. A lot of non tour group visitors are Paris Museum pass holders. However, the hold up is the security check line which pass holders cannot bypass.
One way to bypass the line is to book one of the guided tours, info/online purchase available at the official website. The challenge is that the guided tours also sell out quickly. I wasn't able to secure a spot last month when I visited. If you're sure of the date, you might want to go online as soon as you can to reserve tickets. The information for the guided tours is very clear. It should specify if the particular tour allows a direct entry.
Hope this helps!
There is no separate security line for ticket holders and no timed tickets. But if you have a ticket in advance, you don't then have to stand in the second long ticket line once you clear security.
Hi All,
thank You for the info, really appreciate it.
Guided tour sounds great. Though I'd like to know if it's better to do the tour on our own w/ the audio guide facility or joining the guided tour. Also are we allowed to take photograph inside the Palace, Trianon, Marie Antoinette's Estate?
guided tour:
pros : skipping all queue lines; get to see additional rooms (not sure if the additional rooms are attractive/worthy enough for extra visit).
cons: might be rushed , won't have enough time wandering around
question: a. could we go back inside the palace once we finish the guided tour?
b. I think based on what I read on the website, the guided tour only covers certain rooms such as Private Apartments of the Kings, The Jeu de Paume room, Royal Chapel. Does this mean the guided tour do not give explanation on other rooms aside ones mentioned earlier? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
own self tour:
pros: having our own time within our own pace
cons: have to queue still even if i've bought the ticket in advance
question: is the audio guide speaker good enough?
also i'd like to re-confirm, if i don't plan to join the guided tour, the first queue is the security line before getting in then start another queue for the ticket (would skip this 2nd queue if book ticket online).
if i join the guided tour, I'd skip these 2 queue lines altogether.
cheers
Hi Jen, we visited Versailles 2 weeks ago on a Thursday. We purchased a 2-day Paris Museum Pass the day before. We took the 7 am train from Paris and arrived before 8. We had coffee at McDonalds (there's a Starbucks right in front of the train station too), and were in line at 8:30. There were about 10 people ahead of us. The doors opened at 9 and we had the palace to ourselves for the first hour. It was amazing. We walked around the gardens and then to the Hamlet. We walked back to the palace at about 2 and it was crowded. I really think that arriving early saved us a lot of hassle. We took photos everywhere, no problem. Taking a tour is an option, but this is what worked for us. Hope you have a great trip!
