Versailles Questions. Should I do a bike tour or tour Versailles on our own?

Kelly ,, if you want to see the Kings Apartments you have no choice.. you must book and take the Kings Apartment tours.. it is not open to public admission. This is ok however as if you book and take that tour you do skip lines as you have a timed entry . and separate entry ..avoiding long security lines that even ticket and pass holders cannot avoid .

Buy tickets for Kings apartment online on official Versailles website.

now.. if you can skip the kings apartments.. yes.. take a bike tour.

I have been to Versailles a stupid amount of times over decades.. and about 5 yrs ago took bike tour there with Fat Tires.. on urging of a friend I had taken for her first time to Paris.. its a good tour and a lot of fun. However does not include Kings Apartments.

In over 40 yrs and over a dozen visits I have never done Kings Apartments.. but never felt I was missing out.. take that as you will.. however..crowds are so very much worse then they ever were. so the tour , either bike or Kings Apartments.. is a good idea.

Hi Kelly. We did the Fat Tires tour a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. It was pouring rain at times, but that didn't spoil it -- it actually made our picnic all the more memorable. We did a night tour of Paris with Fat Tires too. They seem to be a well-run company.

Thank You for your help and comments!

I have more questions if you don't mind. :-)

If I booked the Kings Apartments will we have access to all the other areas of the Palace or do I need to buy additional tickets?

Is the Kings Apartment a guided tour? Would the rest of the Palace be an audio tour?

Pat, we will be there Sunday, Aug. 2nd. Do you know if they have a Musical Fountain Show and Musical Gardens on the weekend and if there is a free concert in the Royal Chapel because it is the first Sunday of the month.

I looked at their website and it confuses me a bit.

Did Fat Tires have a tour guide in the Palace and did they have Skip the Line access?

Did Fat Tires go in to any other buildings on the property or just did a drive by? Was the commentary helpful?

Do you know why the bike tours go to the gardens in the morning and tour the Palace in the afternoon? Is it because of the heat or crowds?

We will be with a river cruise docked at Le Pecq and I don't think Fat Tires will just let us meet them in Versailles so we don't have to go all the way back into Paris. Bike About tours said they would meet us.

Do you know anything about renting a bike once we got there?

An alternative to a bike tour would be to go on a King Apartments and Palace tour and then rent a bike to tour the gardens in the afternoon or vice versa.

Does it rain in France very much the end of July? Will it be very hot? That may be the deciding factor if we bike in the morning or afternoon.

We are going to France with my daughter and her husband who will be celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary and I just want to make it the best vacation for them. They don't get to travel very much with small children at home and when they do, I am their babysitter so this is a treat to go with them!

Thank you again!

Kelly

PS: Rick, I have a cousin that lives in San Rafael, CA - it's beautiful there!

The King's Apartment tour is interesting, you get to see how they actually lived, away from the ceremonial rooms. And you see the magnificent opera house. I recommend it. The tour is guided and it ends in the main part of the chateau, and you can then view the rest of it -- Hall of Mirrors, etc.

Thank you!

I went to the website and tried to buy 4 tickets but it only showed up to 3. Do they only sell 3 at a time or does that mean that only 3 are available?

Also, would I have to buy this and a passport ticket?

Then buy additional for the other gardens and buildings or does the passport cover everything?

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

You can also rent bikes at Versailles and ride around on your own rather than take a bike tour. Unless you are in great shape, it's definitely a good idea to use bikes or the "minitrain" transport to see the entire site.