Visiting Versailles from Paris
The Palace of Versailles
Former seat of the French monarchy and current cultural landmark, Versailles is a palace like no other. Rooms so opulent as to be obscene, sprawling gardens in which one could easily lose their bearing if not careful, and an overall estate size so large as to necessitate the modern-day use of trams and golf carts — it is a place that must be seen to be believed. After years of vicariously experiencing Versailles through the photos of others, I had the chance to see it in person last year with my husband, and what follows is an overview of our time there.
Morning: Travel to Versailles and Tour the Palace
After a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal and fruit at our rented apartment in the 7th Arrondissement, my husband and I set off for Versailles a little before 10:00am. We hopped on the C line of Paris’ subway at the Musée D’Orsay stop and remained on the train until its terminus at Versailles Château-Rive Gauche. The entire ride took about one hour, and from the train station, the palace was only a short ten-minute walk away.
Helpful tidbit — The walking route to the palace is well signposted. It is also heavily trafficked, so even if you cannot locate the signs, the hordes of tourists should point you in the right direction.
Walking to Versailles
We arrived a few minutes before our timed entry of 11:00am, but despite our timely arrival, we still had to wait in line for 30 minutes. The line was reminiscent of those at Disney World: unfathomably long and also deceptive. The line would move, only to stall for several minutes, and just when you thought you had reached the end by making it inside, you would realize that you were not out of the woods quite yet.
Waiting in line at Versailles
Eventually, our trial in patience ended, and we found ourselves on the other side of the palace’s gilded gates looking at the line for the next entry group. Our first order of business was to secure a couple of coffees, as we had not had our daily dose of caffeine yet. We found a small café and ordered a couple of americanos, which are about as close to drip coffee as you can get in most of Europe.
Caffeinated, we then began our tour of the palace, entering through the designated door. One of the first sites that we came across was the Royal Chapel, a breathtaking space with gilded accents, Corinthian columns, and a cathedral ceiling covered with murals. Unfortunately, the chapel is only accessible via guided tours, so we were unable to truly explore the space.
The stunning Royal Chapel
From the chapel, we made our way through a series of slightly underwhelming rooms, starting with one on the history of the palace. From there, we walked through several rooms that were empty, save for portraits on the walls. These rooms were also super crowded, packed cheek by jowl, and sadly for us, the crowds did not thin out after leaving this wing of the palace. If anything, they became even denser.
The impressiveness of the subsequent rooms, however, made up for the near constant shoves and elbow jabs. The next cluster of rooms was part of the so-called Grand Apartments, comprising the king and queen’s chambers and the world-famous Hall of Mirrors. The first stop on our tour of this space was one of the king’s bedrooms, which was swathed in garishly red wallpaper and housed an over-the-top bed surrounded by thick, crimson curtains topped with plumes of ostrich feathers.
One of the king’s bedrooms
The bedroom led into a throne room sans throne, which emptied into the Hall of Mirrors. The mirror-clad hallway was an undeniably stunning space; I only wish that it had not been so jam-packed so that I could have enjoyed the experience a bit more. It was by far the most crowded room in all of Versailles, with a constant flow of people entering and leaving the space.
The Hall of Mirrors
From the Hall of Mirrors, we explored more of the king’s apartments, including another resplendent bedroom and the Council Room.
Another breathtaking room inside the king’s apartments
After exiting the king’s apartments, we took one final look down the Hall of Mirrors before making our way to the queen’s apartments. Just as extravagant as the king’s quarters, the queen’s rooms featured a lavish bedroom, two richly decorated antechambers, and the Guard Room, where the queen’s personal guard once kept watch night and day.
The Queen’s Bedchamber
While many people opted to end their tour of Versailles at this point, we decided to see as much of the palace as we possibly could and thus made our way to the ground floor to view the chambers of the Dauphin and Dauphine, as well as those of the daughters of Louis XV. As so many people had exited after the queen’s apartments, there were significantly fewer tourists in this wing of the palace, which made for a much more pleasant experience. We were able to take our time and truly appreciate each room, and these rooms were every bit as impressive as those comprising the Grand Apartments.
Madame Victoire’s Chamber (one of Louis XV’s daughters’ apartments)
Our tour of Versailles wrapped up shortly thereafter; we had spent a little over an hour meandering through its seemingly endless sprawl.
Afternoon: Lunch, Tour the Rest of the Estate, and Head Back “Home”
All of that walking had left us a bit peckish, so we popped into a small café within the palace for a quick lunch. The café offered ready-made, grab-and-go lunches, and there were surprisingly a few vegetarian options. I settled on a pesto pasta bowl with parmesan flakes, arugula, and small chunks of mozzarella, and while it was nothing to write home about, it was hands-down better than most of the lunches I have had at comparable American sites, which typically consist of wilty, over-dressed salads.
Helpful tidbit — Tables at this café are sparse and hard to come by, so if the weather is nice, you might consider an al fresco lunch on the steps at the back of the palace. The view from there is second to none – plus, the people watching is quite good.
My lunch at Versailles
Refueled, we set out to begin our exploration of the palace grounds and gardens – but not before taking a requisite selfie in front of Versailles.
Selfie time
Once we had ticked off that super important task, we began ambling through the gardens. The first site that caught our attention was Latona’s Fountain, a massive, multi-tiered fountain featuring marble and gilded statues depicting the story of, well, Latona.
Latona’s Fountain
From there, it was a short walk to the entrance of one of the so-called groves, hedge and tree-lined walkways leading to tucked-away fountains and marble statues. They are akin to hedge mazes; only, they have fewer twists and turns and are not quite as easy to get lost in. Still, walking through them was an adventure, as you never knew what site would await you at the end of a given path.
Strolling through one of the groves at Versailles
Upon exiting the grove, we were rewarded with a spectacular, Instagram-worthy view of the palace. So, naturally, we stopped for a quick photo op.
Posing for a photo behind Versailles
We then began the trek to the Estate of Trianon, casting envious glances at all of the tourists who sped by us on golf carts. Trianon, however, was well worth the sore feet.
Helpful tidbit — If you want to visit the Estate of Trianon, consider purchasing a Passport ticket, which grants you access to the Palace of Versailles, the Estate of Trianon, and the gardens.
Inside the Grand Trianon
The first structure that we came upon within the Estate of Trianon was the Grand Trianon, a “small” palace clad in pink marble. The rooms inside were as opulent as those at the main palace, but unlike the rooms at Versailles, these were not filled to the brim with people. Indeed, there were not that many visitors, so we were able to peruse the palace at our own pace.
One of the lavish rooms inside the Grand Trianon
After completing our tour of the interior, we took several minutes to explore the palace’s gardens and appreciate their understated beauty.
We then continued on to the Petit Trianon, a palace smaller in size but equal in grandeur to the Grand Trianon. It featured resplendent, lavishly decorated rooms and gorgeously landscaped, meticulously manicured gardens. Like its big sister, the Petit Trianon was also not overcrowded with tourists, so we were able to explore the space at our leisure.
Exterior of the Petit Trianon
The last site we wanted to see in the Estate of Trianon was the Queen’s Hamlet, a collection of rustically designed buildings abutting a pond, which was sadly drained when we visited. The Hamlet was a 10-minute walk from the Petit Trianon, and between the nonexistent pond and ongoing restoration work, it was unfortunately not a worthwhile detour. That said, I would love to return once its restoration work is complete so that I might see it in all its glory, as opposed to a shell of its itself.
The not-so-spectacular Queen’s Hamlet featuring a drained pond and dying grass
By the time we had concluded our underwhelming tour of the Queen’s Hamlet, it was half past 3:00pm, so we decided to make our way back to the entrance of Versailles. We had planned on catching the “Little Train” back to Versailles, but after waiting for over 15 minutes without so much as a glimpse of it, we opted to cut our losses and schlep back. Thirty minutes later, we were once again standing at the palace gates.
One final look at the Palace of Versailles before exiting the estate
After a brief rest on a bench outside the palace grounds, we began the 10-minute walk back to the Versailles Château-Rive Gauche metro stop. Along the way, we made a pitstop at a small café to grab a couple pan de chocolates. After all of the steps that we had racked up, we figured we deserved a little treat 😁
Once on the subway, it took us a little over an hour to get back to our apartment. It had been a long but absolutely delightful day. I cannot wait to return to Versailles in the future and explore more of the grounds (we barely scratched the surface during our visit), as well as see areas of the estate that are only available via guided tours.
As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments section below. Happy travels!
-Julia
P.S. Curious what else we got up to during our time in Paris? You can read all about our six days in Paris in this earlier post.
