I had considered buying a Paris Museum Pass because it costs about the same as the admissions to the museums I plan to visit. At Versailles, the pass only allows admission to the chateau and the Trianon. I tried contacting Versailles to ask about purchasing a separate ticket to access the garden, but have not received a reply. I think I need to just purchase a separate Musical Gardens pass.
Has anyone done this?
Thank you.
Haven’t done this, but I don’t see how you cannot be allowed to walk through and enjoy much of the gardens if you have access to either one of the Trianons - Grand or Petit.
I also suggest you download the Chateau de Versailles official (and free) app. On the app, I see that there are separate tix for the Musical Fountains and the Musical Garden, each at 15 Euros, that you can purchase on line. But I don’t think you need those. (The Musical Gardens and the Musical Fountans shows just run some of the time.)
The official app is great as it has maps and room by room discussions/audio tours throughout the Chateau and Gardens, such as each room in the Louis XIV Rooms, the State Rooms, the Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon, Gardens and more. Audio Tours run 30 minutes to 2 hours. I count 27 audio tours, 4 of which are for “kids” or “children.” More than you can possibly do in a single day.
You can and should spend time familiarizing yourself with the Chateau and garden complex - and the app - in advance of your visit.
For me, Versailles was a once in a lifetime experience … as in one and done. When we visited in 2023, it may have been our least favorite of 30 planned days in France, due to crowds and heat. Still, I am glad we went. I still have the app on my phone, which updates with current info.
Caveat: my experience with this was from 2018…I had the museum pass and I think I used it to get my chateau ticket on site, I know I waited in a long line…the days before pre-booking online. (Don’t do this now! You definitely need to pre book a timed entry! Also you don’t want to stand in a long line when it’s drizzling!). In any event, after leaving the chateau, there was a little kiosk where you paid for the gardens; it was not covered by the pass. Not sure if the logistics are the same now, but it was very easy to just get the gardens ticket on site, no line or anything.
On my visit, the musical fountains were a wonderful surprise as that day hadn’t been included on the online schedule. Definitely the highlight of my visit! I think it’s well worth the extra ticket price & personally, if I were going back, I would plan my visit around it.
NO the pass does not include the gardens when the fountains are running (which is the only times the gardens are interesting -- they are not flower gardens, they are architectural gardens with the fountains hidden in copses. You can get the tickets on line for 12 Euro or just buy from a booth near the garden entrance for 13 Euro. The lines are not terribly long. Also there is a (or was last year anyway) a virtual reality attraction where you visit the gardens with Le Notre shortly after it was built and see several of the features which no longer exist like the Grotto and the Menagerie. I thought this was very worthwhile, but I love good VR experiences. This can also be purchased on line.)
Fred, the gardens are nowhere near the Trianon which is included in the pass -- the wider grounds are always free to all. And if you stroll from the Palace to the Trianon you will walk through this wider park. The gardens are the fenced area behind the palace where the fountains are -- between the palace and the canal where the restaurants are. It requires a ticket when the fountains are on but is open and free otherwise. It is fenced and gated.
The gardens are the fenced area behind the palace where the fountains are -- between the palace and the canal where the restaurants are. It requires a ticket when the fountains are on but is open and free otherwise.
Janet, TY for clarifying. On our visit, there was no fountain show and I guess the gardens were free and open. And yes, the Grand and Petit Trianons are a healthy walk further away from the Chateau and its Terrace. We were glad bikes were available to rent.
The App provides info on which days/hours there are shows.
'Show' is gilding the lily -- it just means that the fountains are running; some in the morning and some in the afternoon -- it is wonderful and IMHO the only time the gardens are interesting. When people who haven't been there read 'fountain show' they envision something you watch like the dancing waters in Las Vegas. But mostly it is just that the fountains are turned on and you walk around and look at them. There is one fountain near the palace that does have something like dancing waters -- but at about 10% the level of a vegas show.
