My Paris and the Heart of France tour starts on Friday, Oct 3rd. I am arriving in Paris at 0800 on Wed. Oct 1st, so will have two whole days to fill before the tour starts. I am staying in Paris for five days, Monday-Friday, after the tour. Flying home on Saturday. I am moving locations to the Marais district after the tour. My pre-tour hotel is not far from Gare Montparnasse (it’s actually right across the street from the entrance to the catacombs).
My question is, would it work better to go to Versailles on the Thursday before the tour starts, or wait until the week after the tour when I will likely buy a museum pass for the rest of my stay and Versailles is included with the museum pass, but still requires reserving a time slot. Where would I catch a train to Versailles from where I am staying in Marais near the national archive building. The Hotel de Ville metro station is about a five minute walk.
Posted by
The States
113 posts
Personally, I would go during the week after your tour. On the first full day of a European trip, I am still always a bit tired. Versailles requires energy for not only exploring the palace and navigating the crowds, but also walking the extensive grounds. In fact, I've been to Versailles when the palace is closed and just enjoyed the wooded grounds surrounding it. Plus, if you wait until after your tour, then you can get advice on how best to visit Versailles from your tour guide and tourmates.
I see the Hôtel de Ville metro stop is an 11 minute walk from an RER-C station, which takes you directly to the Versailles-Chantiers station. There are other options where you can take the metro and then transfer to a train at another station. Also, you can reach Versailles by getting off at the Versailles Rive Droite station, which is serviced by other train lines.
Posted by
San Franciso Bay Area, USA
1077 posts
We just got back from Paris and I agree with Laurie C that you will enjoy Versailles much more after your heart of France tour. As Laurie mentioned you can walk to RER-C from your hotel near the Hotel de Ville metro station. I would recommend that you book the first time slots to avoid as many of the tour groups as possible. The inside of the palace has many rooms that are quite small and it can be very crowded.
One note for transport. The City Mapper app worked well for me in Paris, providing a wide variety of transport options, including RER, metro, buses. It also allows you to choose the day and time which is important as we were going on a Sunday and one of the stops was not open on Sunday. City Mapper is great if there is a disruption so that you can avoid potential issues. For example, we were on the RER-C returning from Versailles and we were stopped about 30 minutes. We learned from the app that there was a fire along the tracks and we got continuous updates on when we would be moving.
Posted by
OP
RIchmond, BC,Canada
1018 posts
Thanks for the suggestions. I had input Paris to Versailles by train into RometoRio, and it came back with just the one result from the Montparnasse train station. Says it only takes 12 minutes. When I put in Paris, Marais district, I also get just one result, and it’s a different route that takes almost 40 minutes.
How busy are the trains? Are they so crowded that that I may not get on right away? I think you have to enter the palace within half an hour of your scheduled time.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2100 posts
I have heard that Rome to Rio isn't the best site to get rail info. The RER C line will take you to Versailles in about an hour. RER C crosses Paris east-west with various stops. The Bonjour Ratp website has a map of the RER C stops and route.
Posted by
SoCal
1736 posts
Let me add that the garden at Versailles is IMO by far the best part of the experience. Just gorgeous.
Posted by
The States
113 posts
Anita, I used Google Maps to route your trip from the Hôtel de Ville metro to Versailles. Checking at Rome2Rio, it suggests the same route on the RER-C. When traveling in France, I usually rely on Google Maps. If I am taking a train that is not an RER, I use the SNCF Connect site, which has a handy app.
Posted by
OP
RIchmond, BC,Canada
1018 posts
I’m just wondering why it shows a considerably shorter time from Montparnasse, and does it make sense to go to Montparnasse to catch it, or would the time it would take to get to Montparnasse cancel out any time saved with the shorter train ride.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2100 posts
I honestly don't see why Rome2Rio says the train takes 12 minutes. It seems odd.
Posted by
OP
RIchmond, BC,Canada
1018 posts
I found another web site that makes this statement: To travel from Paris to Versailles, you can catch a Transilien line N train from Montparnasse main railway station which will take you directly to Versailles – Chantiers train station in Versailles. Visitors staying near Montparnasse will find it is the easiest way to travel to Versailles. This train journey takes less than 15 minutes and is the fastest way to Versailles by train.
But the later says this: The last option for your Paris Versailles trip is to take the train TER N from Paris Montparnasse. If you choose an hotel or apartment in the south of Paris, that’s the right option. This train will take you from Montparnasse train station in the south of Paris to Versailles Rive Gauche chantier in about 50 minutes
I don’t know why there are two different travel times given, but I think the least confusing option is to walk to the St Michel station and get the RER C line from there.