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Travel guide
Versailles
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, and September to October
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Welcome
Versailles, in a few days
Louis XIV's palace, but also a town worth staying in. The Hall of Mirrors and the Musical Fountains Show in the morning, the Trianon and Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet in the afternoon, then dinner in the Notre-Dame quarter, a short train ride from Paris.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Palace of Versailles · half a dayLouis XIV's palace, home of the court from 1682: the Royal Chapel, the state apartments and the 73-metre Hall of Mirrors with its 357 mirrors.
- Afternoon · Musical Fountains Show · 2 to 3 hOn show days, the fountains of Le Nôtre's gardens play to baroque music on a set timetable, from the Latona Fountain to Neptune's.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Versailles€160 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Royal Tennis Court free · about 30 minThe real tennis hall where, on 20 June 1789, the deputies of the Third Estate swore not to part until France had a constitution.
- Afternoon · The Saint-Louis quarter and cathedral free · about 1 hCobbled streets of low eighteenth-century houses around Saint-Louis Cathedral, built from 1742 to 1754, with its Clicquot organ of 1761.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mercure Versailles Château€150 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The King's Kitchen Garden · about 1 hA 9-hectare garden laid out from 1678 to 1683 by La Quintinie to feed Louis XIV's table, with walled enclosures sheltering espaliered fruit trees.
- Afternoon · Notre-Dame Market free · about 1 hMarket halls in the town's oldest quarter, joined three mornings a week by open-air stalls of local growers, cheesemongers and fishmongers.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Versailles€160 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Trianon Estate · about 1 h 30The royal retreat twenty-five minutes' walk from the palace, including the Grand Trianon of 1687 with its pink marble colonnade.
- Afternoon · The palace park and Grand Canal free · 2 to 3 hOpen free to walkers, with the 1,670-metre cross-shaped Grand Canal, where you can hire a rowing boat or a bike or simply picnic.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mercure Versailles Château€150 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €120 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, and September to October
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/versailles
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.