Versailles King's Apartment Tour

The apartment tour gets you into some pretty cool places and you don't have to wait in any lines. We felt it was worth it. Enjoy your day there. We walked it ALL and then took the little train back to the main palace. It was a hot day when we went. Enjoy your time there!

Not sure how soon in advance to book tickets -- but for sure the demand is not the same as Eiffel Tower tickets.
Either way Versailles is great, whether you do king's apt. tour or not -- though I recommend it.

Why not try booking some tickets for next day or two now? See if its easy to get them, it won't be much different in August.

Thanks for the replies. A good idea Pat...I will try that to test the waters. Because this is number one for the nephew it is likely we will book in advance. The main appeal, besides the additional touring , is to reduce line time. I doubt he would care about waiting, and we can handle that as well, but this seems like a win-win plan. Thank you again. Bonne Fete National! (We've been reminiscing all day...it was 43 years ago today that we were in Paris for the first time).

Hi, We did the Kings apartment tour in June (family of 4). We booked it on the spur of the moment on the day after looking at the line to get in. We had no issues, got in the next tour one hour later, then had no lines and no wait. You may not always be that lucky but it worked for us.

We just came from Paris this weekend. We booked the Kings Apartment tour the morning we arrived. Aside from it being an excellent and informative tour, it got us into the Palace despite what would have been a 4 hour wait according to our guide (the security line to enter with tickets in hand). Of note - once you exit the palace and go into the gardens - you would have to re-enter through the same long line. So, do the tour, then wander the palace, then do the gardens/Trianon. Or reverse the order if you guided tour is later in the afternoon. Booking is very easy online - you can have that option the day or two before and pick up the tickets at the information desk.

Expect a very long wait if you don't do a tour. I would book a day or two in advance to make sure the weather is good for exploring the gardens. Tuesdays the fountains run if weather permits, but it is also very crowded Tuesdays. It is absolutely gorgeous but the crowd and long lines can ruin it for some people. How old is your nephew? Is he short? With the crowd it can be hard to see everything, but if you do a tour the guide will take you right up to the roped off area. If taking the RER be aware that part of it is closed for renovations. Javel to Versailles is open on the RER.

Thank you all for the updates. The nephew is 20 so height isn't an issue. His uncle's patience may be the problem:-). We arrive in Paris 23 August. Concerning the RER, perhaps I read (somewhere on this forum?) that construction may be completed by then? If not, how does one get to Javel, which seems to be the first available stop to access the RERC to Versailles? Alternative modes to RERC? We will be staying near the Cluny, St Michel metro stop but can get anywhere we have to to access transportation to Versailles. Any info would be appreciated. Maybe just wait the month and see what's happening then, but forewarned is forearmed. Thanks for this and any other help.

I think I found some answers on an older post "Some RER and metro closures..." Thank you Kim, and Sam.