Versailles for a weekend trip to Paris?

First trip to Paris and just a week-end? If so, I would suggest skipping Versailles and just enjoy Paris. And, I’d also suggest one large museum at most.

BTW what weekend? This one coming up? Or sometime this month or next? Crowds will be an issue. Smaller sights or neighborhood walks will allow you to avoid crowds and lines.

FWIW, our third trip to Paris is coming up next month. 3 nights, 2-1/2 days, so like a weekend but with Monday closure issues. Our forum query and responses might be useful to you. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/paris-suggestions-s-il-vous-plait

LATE ADDITION. We decided to skip the Louvre and avoid those crowds and see just one large museum and two small ones. We’ll also enjoy neighborhoods, Notre Dame and music, more likely jazz rather than classical. If jazz is of interest, see https://www.parisjazzclub.net/en/agenda

And, if hot weather is in your forecast, consider Les passages Couvertes. https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/covered-passages-paris.html

Rick's top sites are listed here: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/paris
And his day plan here: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/paris-itinerary

France has and amazing number of museums but the top two for tourists are definitely the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay. The Louvre is amazing but also massive and crowded. Musée d'Orsay is much more manageable and if the Louvre doesn't call to you then I'd recommend that one. There are also modern art museums, Picasso, Rodin and other specialized museums if a specific artists or genre speaks to you.

I think Versailles is a step too far for your first visit and only two days and even Rick puts on Day 3 of his short day plan.

One of the things about Paris is that aside from all the sites it is just a great city. Take some time to wander the city and explore rather than just knocking off a list of sites to see. There are plenty of people on the scavenger hunt check-list of Paris "things seen" but they are wasting hours in line to see the Mona Lisa. Get a sample of the city and a grasp on how big and small it is at the same time and I'll bet you'll be back with more time reserved in the future.

Enjoy Paris,
=Tod

You don't have to do any of those things. You will not be graded on whether you saw the right things on your trip to Paris. I suggest you read a guide book or otherwise do your own research to see what interests you in Paris and do those things. Better yet, consider your wife's interests and find out how to engage those during your limited time in a what is widely considered the most romantic city in the world.

I love G3rryCee's post! Yes, don't visit something because others are telling you to go there.

I'm on the side of not spending time going to and visiting Versailles if you are just there for 2 days (3 nights??). To me it takes a full day. The Palace is hot and crowded especially if you are going soon.

Do you and your wife have an interest in museums? churches? gardens? Walking around and seeing sights from the film Midnight in Paris? Any other things that are of particular interest to you?

I kind of laughed at the itinerary. I got as far as buy a pastry and walk 14 minutes to Luxembourg Gardens. Surely there is a good boulangerie closer to Jardin du Luxembourg than that! AND it depends on where you are staying! The next suggestion is to walk to the Orsay and spend 90 minutes there. For myself 90 minutes is not enough and this person is not accounting for time spent in line to get in...which you have to do even if you have a timed entry as the Security Check (for everyone) is slow.

IF you want to pick up a lunch to eat near the Eiffel Tower, I like a boulangerie on Avenue de la Motte-Picquet near Rue Cler a lot. I've not been to Grand Epicure but have seen videos of it and really it's too over the top for me.

Now they suggest going to Saint-Germain des Pres for a walk which is interesting since the Orsay is in that neighborhood so they've got you ping-ponging back and forth all over town. IF you want to do their suggested "pastry walk" do it after the Orsay. Pick up a sandwich from a boulangerie on Rue de Bellchasse which runs in front of the Orsay doors then take it over the foot bridge to the Tuileries. Then walk thru Saint-Germain-des-Pres and do go into the Eglise de Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

I think you can come up with a better itinerary on your own doing things you want to see!

Editing to add: Just finished reading that itinerary. They have you seeing a week's worth of sights in 2 days. To me it's ridiculous to do Musee d'Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, picnic on the Champ du Mars, do a Pastry walk, "wander" along the Seine, have dinner and then do a Seine Cruise in one day. Seriously, you will be sprinting to and thru things to do this itinerary. Are any of these sights what you want to see? How could you possibly be hungry for dinner after stopping at all her suggested pastry shops? Yikes.

Bobby,
Regarding the itinerary suggested for one day....what Pam said. It is highly unrealistic and also sounds exhausting and very unenjoyable. I would pick just two sights to visit each day, interspersed with walking around, sitting at a cafe for coffee or an aperitif, and soaking up the Paris ambience. You could be more spontaneous if something catches your eye. (e.g. I am a fan of walking along the left bank of the Seine and checking out the bouquinistes there...a classic Parisian scene). Yes to a ride on the Vedettes de Pont Neuf in the evening (one hour, inexpensive, narrated). Get in line a bit early to snag a seat up top for the best views. I agree about skipping the Louvre because it takes up a lot of the time in your two days. Paris has SO many museums you can't go wrong in choosing one or two others.

That being said, one good day's loop to see a lot would be seeing the Eiffel Tower (not ascending) from the Champs de Mar in the early-ish morning, walking to the Invalides (army museum) to see Napoleon's tomb and some of the exhibits (or not), then walking to the Rodin Museum to admire the sculptures, especially in the garden. (One of my favorite places in Paris). You could eat a lunch you picked up earlier while there, or eat at the nice cafe on the grounds. After that you could walk to the Pont Alexandre III, cross the Seine, and see the Grand Palais and/or the Petit Palais, then head for the Arc de Triomphe to look down the Champs Elysees toward the Place de la Concord. (Lots of walking, but it's Paris, so you could stop and sit in a cafe to rest, or drop something I've suggested.) There are no rules. I just like this route as it covers a lot in a logical, no backtracking way. Have dinner anywhere you have chosen, as the metro will get you there easily. Or if you are tired, splurge for a cab. Of course, you could drop any of these things if you get tired or overwhelmed with the sights. It's your weekend!

Day two Notre Dame and Ste. Chapelle, plus a walking tour of any area (the Marais perhaps). Be sure to reserve as early a time as possible for Ste. Chapelle, as their security lines move slowly. Go upstairs first, then the lower floor. Notre Dame is a fairly short walk from here. If you get a reserved time for Notre Dame, make it at least three hours after your Ste. Chapelle time to allow for delays in the lines. If you find you have extra time before ND stop for a coffee and people watching. Or get in the ND no reservation line in the off chance you can get in earlier. Or just walk more slowly from Ste. Chapelle and soak up Paris. With luck you will be ready for lunch after ND. This is a good time to wak around some nearby neighborhoods or visit any museum you have chosen. Your afternoon is wide open for whatever you choose.

Whatever you decide, enoy!

Hi Bobby -

The top sites we've been told to visit are typically something like:
Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Catacombs.

I love G3rryCee's post too! Someone else's top sites might not be yours depending on your personal interests. For instance? Versailles and the Catacombs were not at all near our top of list during nearly a week's stay in the city. The Eiffel? We were fine with a look at the thing sparkling away at night from the Trocadero and as a backdrop in photos here and there.; no need for us to ascend the thing but you may feel differently. That's fine; it's your trip!

Our chosen sites were based on our own interests: Louvre; Musée d'Orsay; Musée de l'Orangerie; Musée de Cluny; towers of Notre Dame; Arc de Triomphe; Opéra Garnier; Les Invalides; Sainte-Chapelle; Panthéon; Père-Lachaise; Père-Lachaise; Musée Rodin; Jardin du Luxembourg; Jardin des Tuileries; Conciergerie; Sacre Coeur; Saint Étienne du Mont; Saint-Sulpice; Saint-Séverin; Saint-Germain-des-Prés; Cimetière de Montmartre; a walk about Ile Saint-Louis and some other areas...

That's just what we managed to get done at enjoyable speed; the wish list was even longer (!!!) but we ran out of time so we'll have to go back. With just a weekend, your list will need to be much shorter and customized to what trips your particular trigger but I'd sure spend what little time you have in the city and save Versailles for a return trip.

Editing to add: cycling Versailles wouldn't be all that much fun in the rain so a Plan B would wise anyway should you end up with a wet weekend.

Thanks for all of the great insight! We have decided to not visit Versailles and to limit ourselves to only a few sites a day, giving us more flexibility and time to enjoy ourselves. Now comes the hard part of selecting a hotel and identifying just a few sites. I guess we'll have to plan a return trip!

I have to agree that, with only a weekend, Versailles would not be my choice of where to spend a day. And, unless you really want to go to the top, you can see the tower from a lot of other "sites". Take the Metro to the Arc d'Triomphe, then walk down the Champs d'Elysee to the Trocadero in the evening and you cross a lot of the major tourist stuff off in one hour (or more if you stop, which you will.)

I think most of the touristy sites are good for one thing, congregating the masses and keeping them away from the really good stuff. There are exceptions, like the Louvre, but even there the Mona Lisa draws the crowds and you can walk some of the rooms almost alone. So, that being said, what do you like? Because the Louvre, the Invalides, the d'Orsay are all fantastic, and any one of those can easily take up a day or two on their own. The Petite Palace, the Musee Marmottan, or Palace Royal get a lot less traffic and are world class too. And seriously, you want to just walk; along the Seine, through the parks, even just in the neighborhood you find a hotel in.

Do you really want to spend your very short time in Paris waiting to be one of the 15,000 people a day being shoved through the Notre Dame? Or jammed into Shakespeare and Co. (when there are half a dozen bookstores within half a mile where you can actually browse)?

If you're going this coming weekend be advised it's going to be hot, without AC, and crowded. Find something to do inside in the morning, take a siesta, and plan on your evening meal around 7:30-8:00 pm. And frankly, if you don't already have tickets, your choices will be limited.