Your Essential Travel Guide to Versailles

Ready to explore the Palace of Versailles? Here’s some essential information to plan your visit:

If you wish to visit the entire estate, a ‘Passport’ ticket is your best option. It gives you access to all the above, as well as temporary exhibitions and the Gallery of Coaches.

The best time to visit Versailles is on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. It typically takes around four hours to explore the estate.

Find out more about tickets, prices and general information here.

The Palace of Versailles went from being a government entity to France’s most popular national landmark. Here’s a brief history of the estate:

• In 1623, Louis XIII, the King of France, bought a hunting lodge in the small town of Versailles.
• After Louis XIII died in 1643, the chateau was abandoned. In 1661, his son Louis XIV ordered its expansion into a palace.
• During the mid-17th century, work at Versailles mainly focused on the gardens. After the victory over Spain in the War of Devolution, Louis XIV transformed the estate into a royal residence.
• He wanted to make Versailles his seat of government. By 1687, it was the de facto capital of France.
• After the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, the Palace was closed, and all paintings and sculptures were moved to the Louvre.
• The new monarch, Louis-Philippe, turned Versailles into the Museum of the History of France. It was inaugurated in 1837.
• The Palace of Versailles became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
• Today, the estate houses 2,300 rooms spread over 800 acres and is among the world’s most visited sites.

With over 2,000 rooms and an extensive painting collection tracing France’s history, the Palace is a sight to behold. The King’s State Apartment is among the first spaces you’ll visit, a collection of seven rooms brimming with Italian-style decorations. And this is just the beginning!

Other highlights include:

• The Royal Opera
• The Hall of Mirrors
• The Gallery of Great Battles

Designed to offer an intimate escape from royal etiquette, the Trianon Estate is as majestic as the Palace. It’s home to the Grand and Petit Trianon palaces, the Queen’s Hamlet and beautiful ornamental gardens. Queen Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI’s wife, often visited the Petit Trianon and commissioned various landscaped gardens. She had trouble adapting to life in the court and saw this space as a peaceful oasis.

Be sure to visit:

• The English Garden
• The Queen’s Theatre
• The Gardens of the Grand Trianon

One of the Palace’s most spectacular features is its gardens. Louis XIV commissioned their creation to French gardener André Le Nôtre, who spent over 40 years bringing them to life. And it’s no wonder why! If you look from the central window in the Hall of Mirrors, the Grand Perspective will stretch away from the Water Parterre. Le Nôtre achieved this east-west perspective by widening the Royal Way and digging the Grand Canal.

Some of the garden’s must-see attractions include:

• The Fountains
• The Orangery
• The Groves

If you don’t have time to visit the Palace, a stroll around the park will give you a glimpse of its grandeur. Covering 800 hectares, it extends the gardens with two large water features: the Grand Canal and the Lake of Swiss Guards. The former took 11 years to complete and is 1,670 metres long. King Louis XIV sailed various boats on the water, from rowing boats to gondolas. The park boasts sweeping views of the Palace, making it the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

France is renowned for having one of the world’s finest cuisines. Here is our pick of the best restaurants around Versailles:

• Restaurant La Tour (££)
  Overlooking the Palace, Restaurant La Tour offers authentic French food in a traditional bistro setting. The venue is famous for its delicious meat-based dishes, including pot-au-feu (slowly boiled beef with vegetables) and blanquette (veal stew).
• Café Marion (£££)
  Café Marion serves homemade dishes in an informal setting. The ever-changing menu includes French classics with a modern twist, like the oven-roasted Camembert and the half-cooked foie gras with Madiran wine.
• Le Pincemin (££££)
  Head to Le Pincemin for a luxurious dining experience. Run by Chef Xavier Pincemin, this restaurant offers high-quality land and sea-based recipes. Be sure to try the signature dish, the blue Breton lobster, served with vegetables.

Where to stay around Versailles

Fancy staying near Versailles? Enjoy a comfortable stay at these Paris hotels:

• Best Western Ronceray Opera (★★★). This 3-star hotel boasts 130 newly refurbished rooms in the heart of Paris. They’re equipped with a flat-screen TV, a desk, a safe and a mini-bar. The hotel also has a sleek lounge bar and a seminar room for business guests.
• Hotel Balmoral (★★★★). Next door to the Champs-Élysées, this 4-star hotel is the perfect base for visiting Versailles. It features modern rooms and suites, a cosy bar and a lounge to relax at the end of a busy day.
• Montfleuri Hotel (★★★★). A stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe, the Montfleuri Hotel ensures a relaxing and comfortable stay. Its 44 elegant rooms are complemented by a chic bar, a spacious lounge area and a cosy patio for the summer season.

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