Palace Of Versailles

The PARIS MUSEUM PASS includes access to all unguided tours, open according to the season: the "Grands Appartements", the Hall of Mirrors, the King's Bedchamber, the Queen's Bedchamber, the apartments of "Mesdames" Louis XV's daughters, exhibitions, the Trianon Castle and the Estate of Marie-Antoinette. Not included: shows, musical water shows, musical gardens, conferences, restaurants and transport services. Please note that during the « Grandes Eaux musicales (musical water shows), the musical gardens and the shows, the gardens and the grove are not accessible to the holders of the pass. Chateau is the main building, Trianon is the building sort of connected next to it with more beautiful rooms, the Grove is part of the huge garden and outdoor area, Marie-Antoinette's estate is an area nad building towards the back of the garden with a lake/pond.

Frank's post has several errors: The gardens are absolutely accessible to passholders, even during the fountain days. The catch is that you will have to buy the separate ticket for the fountain show. To do so, you just go to the garden entry and pay a few euro. On days when the fountains don't run, all of the gardens are free. Passholders do not need to stand in line to buy palace entry tickets. You simply go to the line for entry into the palace and show your pass. The Trianons are not connected to the main palace (or are anywhere near it). There are two Trianons (Grande and Petite) and both can be toured. They are in the gardens - reached by going down to the canal and then going to your right. While technically they can be reached for free during fountain shows, realistically you will want to go through the formal gardens (pay) to reach them. Marie Antoinette's Hamlet is further beyond the Trianons and is also well worth a visit. It was constructed to look like a Medieval peasants farm village.

Ah things are never as simple as they should be, lol The extra fee for accessing the FORMAL gardens behind the palace where the fountains are is 8 euros each extra. If you have the Museum Pass you simply get in the passholder/ ticket holders line for security and go into the palace. After you tour the palace you will exit into the back of palace, at this juncture you can now pay the extra fee( 8 euros) OR you can decide to save that extra 8 euros, how.. simple. Walk out the palace by front gates. Turn ( with your back to palace) left ,, walk around palace and formal garden walls,, this is a good 10 -15 minute walk . You will then come to the PUBLIC entrances to the grounds of Versailles. You see, the grounds of Versailles, other then the formal gardens, are actually a public park and accessible at any time by anyone ( other then middle of night I assume)
You will be entering by the head of the canal. Sugggest you look at a map of the grounds , on the website. It will make a lot more sense then . You are then free to use your Museum Pass to visit the Trianons and Marie Antionettes Hamlet. Ta da,, you have saved 8 euros a head( hey for a family this can add up!) . But of course, if you wish to see the fountains then simply pay the 8 euros, as I said, its not going to affect another line up really as once you exit the palace there is rarely any line for fountain/garden tickets as most people have prepurchased, and its only MP holders upgrading usually.

you are right, my information is incorrect on the trianon, it is not really connected to the main palace. I remembered it being connected somehow, i guess everything is really just a short 5 minute walk away, I felt like everything was connected via some kinda walkway except for Marie-Antoinette's estate. That one I remembered walking a bit further to get to. Point being is, your pass covers all that except for the water shows. that you have to buy separately. and we didn't have to stay in any line and walked right in with our pass. but at the end of the day I never really understand questions like these, because all the official answers are a short search away such as: http://en.parismuseumpass.com/musee-musee-national-des-chateaux-de-versailles-et-de-trianon-64.htm on there it shows you what it covers, if it has priority line or not, what kind of priority line it is, a link to the official website, on the official website it has an interactive map...

....but at the end of the day I never really understand questions like these, because all the official answers are a short search away.... But then what would all the Helpline volunteers do with all the hours they spend answering the same question over and over, in substantial detail, as evidenced by the generously gracious, lengthy responses above. ;)

i guess everything is really just a short 5 minute walk away, Not hardly!!! The Trianons are a good 15-20 minute walk from the palace. The Hamlet is fairly close to the Trianons, but people should expect massive walking. That's why there is a tram that takes you around if needed, you can rent carts or you can rent bikes. Pat gives more detail on how you can avoid the fountain show fee and still see the Trianons and Hamlet, but consult a map carefully to avoid getting lost. And expect that walk to be 30 minutes total, with no alternatives to walking. You also have to return that way even though you can walk all the way to and around the canal for free.

If you want to see the trianons, Marie Antoinette's Petite Hameau, as well as the beautiful wheat fields and forests, then you may want to consider renting bikes. It's a LLLOOONNNGGG walk out to all of these from the chateau - really long. Trying to get to all of them on foot is a bit much in my opinion! Go to the back of the palace, walk towards the Grand Canal (straight ahead, down the steps and through the formal gardens), and veer to the right of the canal. There is a bike rentak kiosk right next to the canal and you can rent bikes to get around more quickly - we did this several times one summer when we were staying nearby and it's one of the best memories of our time there. Big time-saver if you are on a schedule! Another idea if you have a car, is to NOT park in the expensive lot at the front of the chateau. Drive around to the north side of the grounds and there is a side entrance. You can drive onto the grounds and park next to the grand canal, by both trianons, by the Petite Hameau as well as several other car parks in the grounds. Most people don't realize this and spend big bucks in the front lot when parking on the grounds is far cheaper and more convenient.
Enjoy your day at Versailles!

Gold star awards to Pat and Anita for giving insider tips not found anywhere else, not even in earlier posts on Versailles, of which there are hundreds. It's info like this that makes scanning the Helpline worthwhile, even for those who have visited these places before. Bravo to Rose for pointing out their kindness. Haven't been there since the early 1980s (pushed a baby stroller around the gardens one of the first Sundays they turned the fountains on--boy did that stink up the air after 200 years of dormancy). With this good info, maybe I'll go back now.

Great information. Thanks so much. Every one! This really helps