Versailles and Chartres in a day

Are you planning to go to both via public transport?

Yes..RER to rive gauche.. Chartres from versailles chantilles station..

If you mean Versailles Chantiers station, it should be doable. Trains leave about once an hour and take about an hour to Chartres. I'd suggest a taxi from the Palace to Chantiers, it would be a long walk after traipsing through the palace, grounds, etc.

Leave time to do both sites justice. Versailles can take most of a day. Chartres easily half a day, or longer to explore the town. Overnight in Chartres should make this possible.

Yes..chantiers, sorry for the spelling mistake.. Thanks for tips..

I have done it, though I've been to both before. It makes for a long day but staying overnight in Chartres makes it work even better.

I was worried about your luggage, but read on the Versailles website (chateauversailles.fr) that they have a place you can leave it for free.

I will b leaving my luggage at my paris hotel as I go back there next day..so I will only have a small day pack to lug around..

We visited Chartres last week, and really enjoyed an evening event called Chartres en Lumière, which you could do if you were spending the night there. The link is below - you can walk around for free and see the show, or take "Le Petit Chart'train" and chug along the streets from 10:30-11:30 p.m., which we did. I believe that there is a later train, too, but we went home then!

The train is first come, first served, and has a small cost - and we held our spaces from 9:30 on. It was really fun to ride around the town at night and see the different illuminations, some of which were dynamic and lasted for several minutes at a time, on buildings and bridges. The finale on the cathedral façade was really spectacular.

http://www.chartresenlumieres.com/en/

Laurie

Don't know about Chantiers, but was just at Versailles yesterday. Definitely a good idea to get there early. Line (just to get in, already had tickets) was two hours long. If you do a tour, you can avoid the line. Depending on what you want to do at Versailles, you could manage it in just a few hours. RER is closed at certain parts of Paris. Javel to Versailles is open.

If you just want to skim the surface of Versailles then, yes, it's doable; but if you really want to experience Versailles, you would need at least a whole day there alone. In Chartres, try to schedule with the goal of joining a tour led by Malcolm Miller. He "reads" the cathedral to you and has fascinating history to share. Have lots of fun! Both places are fabulous!

I spent a month in Paris in April. To me, Versailles was a full day. Chartres was a full day. I would guess you could do both in a day but it would be hectic but doable if you are staying overnight in Chartres. The museum pass doesn't save you much time at Versailles. As someone else pointed out, the real waiting in line is going through security and pass holders are just part of the line like everyone else. In mid-April on a slower mid-week day, we were in line for a bit more than an hour. Expect a wait, although an October line should be less than one in summer.
If I were to do things again, I would skip Versailles and have fun in Paris. Versailles is a crowded mess. It has history but it is hard to feel it. Each room requires the mob to squeeze through another small doorway. In the smaller rooms you find yourself looking over the crowd's selfie sticks to glimpse whatever is there. The gardens, Trianon and Marie's estate were the highlight and quite enjoyable. Most attendees don't seem to make it to the outlying grounds. However, if you are going on to Chartres that day, you probably won't either. Walking around Chartres was a pleasure. Le Pichet 3 severs a great lunch.

Thanks for all the tips.. Any ideas how crowded the palace is in Mid October?? Plan to be in the line with a museum pass 15-30 mins before gates open. Should that be enough??
Any restaurant suggestions in Chartres for vegetarians??
Also how crowded are the trains back to Paris Montparnasse in the morning around 9 from Chartres??

My friend and I ate at La Passacaille, a wonderful Italian Restaurant (lol!!). I am vegan and they were able to accommodate me with a terrific cheese-less pizza. Really, really good. Altho we were not on a RS tour, we met up with some friends who were on the Loire to the South of France tour and they indicated they had had their Welcome dinner here the night before.

http://www.lapassacaille.fr/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187122-d816769-Reviews-La_Passacaille-Chartres_Loire_Valley_Centre.html

Hmm. I'm going on the RS trip that starts in Chartres next month. I'd be very disappointed to have a welcome dinner at a pizza restaurant!

French pizza is very different from Italian Pizza. La Passacaille is a fabulous. I love their pizza with crème fraiche, caviar, and salmon. I recommend to everyone visiting France to try a French pizza.