We're taking the train from Paris to Versailles on a Friday in September, so we'll have our bags with us. Following the day in Versailles, we're headed to a B&B in Giverny to see Monet's Garden the next day, then off to Normandy. Would you suggest (1) picking up the car in Versailles and driving to Giverny, (2) taking the train from Versailles to Vernon and picking up the car there either Friday night or Saturday? And what about our luggage while we're touring Versailles? Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Posted by
Philadelphia
655 posts
If you collect the car when you first reach Versailles you can stow your bags in it from that point on.
We made a similar journey except that we picked up the car in Paris, drove to Versailles and on the Giverny for two nights. We were lucky, we departed Paris on a Saturday and traffic wasn't too bad.
With the benefit of hindsight, we were unimpressed at Versailles. It was extremely crowded and poorly organized. The delay to get in was long, and the rest rooms a mess. We should have gone directly on to Giverny.
Posted by
Aurora, ohio, USA
80 posts
Make sure you get a gps with your car. We have just returned from N France and got lost even with the gps.
I thought the whole town of Versailles was a mess. Hard to get around town in a car (traffic and one-way streets) and the palace itself was anticlimactic. Would the rental car office be a far walk with your luggage?
Versailles employees lied about what our tickets included (not the fireworks) And one you exit as we did for the bathroom, you cannot re-enter!!
The Paris opera House and the Nap. III apartments at the Louvre would have been enough for us and we should have skipped Versailles.
On Saturdays it is open late at 6:30pm of 18:30 as they call it. You have to get a ticket which is separate from the daytime ticket. Evening ticket does not include gardens. There are large parking lots at the entrance of Versailles.
Oh yeah, and i got crapped on by a Versailles pigeon.
Posted by
Sherborn, MA
73 posts
We picked up our car in Paris, so I can't address your question about Versailles vs Vernon, but I can tell you that many car rental places in France are closed on Saturdays, so find out whether yours is open. We rented from Europcar, which did have an office (only one) open on Saturday morning in Paris, and also offered the best rate. The rates varied widely, so shop around. It was also much, much cheaper to rent a standard rather than an automatic. It's also less expensive to fill up.
My only concern about luggage in the car while you tour Versailles would be the risk of theft. We try to avoid leaving luggage in the car for very long no matter where we travel. The car we rented was a Renault Scenic, which is basically a French station wagon, and you could see everything inside.
I'm surprised by all the negative stuff about Versailles. Yep, it's crowded--it's Versailles after all, and everyone wants to see it--and the day we went, July 16, 2009) was brutally hot, but we didn't find it disorganized at all. The lines moved smoothly, and people were very polite and friendly.
Our only complaint was that there weren't enough ladies' toilets to accommodate the crowds. My daughter and I stood in some really long lines, but we met some very nice people, including a French woman who gave us some of her sunscreen.
One last comment about Versailles: the line for those with museum passes and tickets was just as long as the one for those who had to buy them on site. Having a museum pass definitely saves money, though, if not time!