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Versailles, gardens & bike rental questions

Posted by (Apex, NC, United States) on

Our plans are to arrive early on Saturday, July 12 before opening. We will have museum passes. We would see the palace first. I understand I need to buy tickets for the gardens that day for the fountains' show. We would want to find the bike rentals and see the other sites in the gardens. My questions:

  • Can/should I buy the fountain show tickets in advance? Or are they able to be purchased just there?
  • After renting the bikes (say half a day), can we exit the gardens & ride off site back to Versailles to eat or get a picnic lunch and then ride back into the gardens without an extra charge?
  • Does bike rental sound like a good plan for seeing the gardens and sites such as Trianon Palaces?

thanks

Posted by
4105 posts

Bikes make it very easy to get around the gardens. Just make sure they give you the lock and chain.

Funny story!

Posted by
9420 posts

We love renting bikes to ride all over the grounds, including the woods, and out to the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet... we've done it many times. You can get them right near the start of the Grand Canal and the rental price is reasonable imo (can't remember what it is). Dick's rec of the rental place by the station sounds good too. If you rent from the station, you'd then have to go around to the right or left of the palace and ride a ways before you can ride into the grounds. If you rent by the Grand Canal, you can easily ride from the grounds into town, and no, you won't have to pay to get back in.

Posted by
64 posts

Thanks everyone. If we rent from Phébus, can we drive up to the Palace on the bike and is there a parking area for bikes (I assume Phébus provides locks), that we can leave the bikes while we tour the palace, and then hop on them and ride around the palace to the gardens?

Posted by
154 posts

As a few other travelers stated having a bike rented will make it easier to get around. Rick recommends the bike rental station near the Grand Canal. You won't be able to take your bike into the Trianon Palace but you can park it at the entrance. I'm not sure if you can take the bikes off the park grounds but you can ask the rental station. If not there are some food options within the park. For the fountain shows you can just buy tickets from the booths right next to the palace.

Posted by
4535 posts

You just buy your garden ticket as you enter the gardens. There may be a short line to do so, but nothing long.

If you rent a bike near the Grand Canal, and are allowed to ride it off grounds, you can easily do so through the Queen's Gate (Reine). That gate is not part of the fountain show entry fee. Just outside that gate is Blvd du Roi, Blvd de la Reine and Rue de la Paroisse - which will all have restaurants along them. That is also relatively close to the Trianon palaces and hamlet. I always like the idea of getting a picnic lunch and eating it in the gardens or along the canal if the weather is nice. Or you could buy something from a food vendor in the park, there are several ranging from sit down to take out.

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