Versailles Palace Guided Tour from Paris

The Palace of Versailles: From Hunting Lodge to Royal Court

Versailles began as a modest hunting lodge built by Louis XIII in 1623. His son Louis XIV transformed it into the most magnificent palace in Europe and in 1682 moved the royal court and government here from Paris. For more than a century Versailles was the centre of French power, until the Revolution forced Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette back to Paris in October 1789.

Listed by UNESCO in 1979, the estate covers around 800 hectares and the palace has over 2,000 rooms. Our Versailles palace guided tour focuses on the parts that tell the story best, so you understand the court's rituals, the architecture and the art without getting lost in the crowds. Allow about one and a half hours for the guided visit inside.

The Hall of Mirrors and the King's State Apartments

The Hall of Mirrors is the highlight of every visit: a 73-metre gallery with 357 mirrors facing 17 tall windows over the gardens, crowned by ceiling paintings by Charles Le Brun that celebrate the victories of Louis XIV. It was here that the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, ending the First World War.

Your guide also leads you through the King's State Apartments, a sequence of salons named after the planets, including the Salon of Apollo that once held the throne, and into the King's Bedchamber, where the daily ceremonies of rising and retiring took place before courtiers. Is the Palace of Versailles worth visiting with a guide? Here, yes: the stories bring these rooms to life.

The Gardens of Versailles

Designed by André Le Nôtre from 1661, the Gardens of Versailles are the model of the French formal garden: long perspectives, clipped hedges, statues and more than fifty fountains arranged around the Grand Canal. The Latona Fountain and the Apollo Fountain, where the sun god rises from the water in his chariot, are the best-known scenes.

With the recommended option, a 45-minute guided walk explains how the gardens were built and how water was brought to the fountains; with the other option you explore them freely. On certain days from spring to autumn the fountains play to music. Marie-Antoinette's Estate and the Trianon palaces are not part of this tour.

How to Get to Versailles from Paris and When to Go

Versailles lies about 20 kilometres south-west of central Paris. Travelling on your own means a suburban train and a walk from the station, followed by the security and ticket queues at the palace gates. On our Versailles day trip from Paris the coach covers the distance in about 45 minutes, and the fast-track tickets shorten the wait at the entrance.

The palace is closed on Mondays, and Versailles opening hours are longer in the high season than in winter. Tuesdays and weekends are the busiest days, so our afternoon departure is a good choice for the best time to visit Versailles: the morning tour groups have usually moved on by the time you arrive.