Paris Museum Pass and Versailles

I have this same question!

Friends of mine went in early May 2008 and were told that there have been changes to the passes.

I am opting out and will plan it as a separate trip later.

From the Paris Museum Pass site:

"Entrance with the PARIS MUSEUM PASS through the Pavillon Dufour, cour d'Honneur.

The PARIS MUSEUM PASS gives access to all the sightseeing excursions open according to the season: the 17th century Chapel and Hall, the State Apartments of the King and Queen, the Apartments of Mesdames daughters of Louis XV, Apartments of the Prince Heir Apparent and Galleries of the 19th century History of France and the domain of Marie-Antoinette.

Not included: shows, musical water shows, audio guides, conferences, restaurants and transport services."

Someone has it wrong, but I won't say who ;)

Someone has it wrong, but I won't say who ;) What Martine, just say it, The readers of this thread would appreciate it.

More appreciated would be the experience of someone who has actually used the pass at Versailles recently.

Maybe the policy has changed for 2008, but last summer I used my Paris Museum Pass to get into the main palace of Versailles and I still had to pay a separate admission to view the Domaine.

I didn't really care about not getting an audio guide as there are plenty available for free download off iTunes (including the Rick Steves' Versailles audioguide) and I used my iPod for this reason.

NOTE: The "musical water shows" includes the gardens on summer weekends. So if you go on Saturday or Sunday your normal Museum Pass won't get you into the gardens. I think gardens are free on other days.

Reading the 2008 Paris guide right now and it says
"The Paris Museum Pass works at Versailles and covers entrance to the Chateau and the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette" Now I don't have a clue how you get to the Domaine if the gardens are charging without paying?

Sorry, Jenufa, I don't know who :( I've only visited the gardens. All I know is that they both can't be true.

I actually emailed Rick himself. He said that in his Paris 2009 book - the part about the Museum Pass says it covers all of Versailles.

I was just in Paris a few weeks ago, and I bought the Paris Museum Pass for 4 days. I used it to get into Versailles, and it covered the Palace itself, the gardens, and everything in the gardens, including the Grand Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's Domain. The only thing I paid extra for was the audio guide. Personally, I thought the palace was a bit overrated, probably because I was there in late June, so there was about a million people there. I only spent about an hour inside, and didn't really take the time to listen to the audioguide, though I am sure that if I was to visit in a less busy time, the extra information would be excellent. The gardens, however, are amazing, and the Grand Trianon and Domain are well worth a few hours - I spent most of the day walking around outside.
The Paris Museum Pass was the greatest thing I had in Paris, since it covers almost everything, and it lets you cut the line. At Versailles, there is one line for both ticket holders and pass holders, but if you read the Pass, it says that you are supposed to get priority access. So I went up to a security guard and showed him my pass, and he said to wait in line (which was about 3 hours long), and when I said no, I was supposed to get in right away, he said "come with me", and I walked in right ahead of about 500 people! I don't know if this was just pure luck, but I would definitely recommend asking! Have fun, Paris is wonderful; let me know if you have any more questions - this website really helped me prepare for my trip, so now I would love to return the favour!

First time poster. I searched and did not find an answer to my question. I did, however, find someone else asking my question!

Carol wrote: "Reading the 2008 Paris guide right now and it says "The Paris Museum Pass works at Versailles and covers entrance to the Chateau and the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette" Now I don't have a clue how you get to the Domaine if the gardens are charging without paying?"

The same is true of the 2010 guidebook. (I'm reviving a two year old thread, but it is a good one.)

If I go to Versailles with a museum pass on a summer Saturday when they are charging for the fountains in the garden, how do I get to the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette? Many thanks.

Emily - This past summer our family used the Paris Museum pass at Versailles. The only draw back was going on the weekend you have to pay to access the garden, because of the music and fountain show. I think access to the garden was between 6-8 euro. I enjoyed the palace, my two teenagers enjoyed the gardens and Marie-Antoinette's Estate.