Versailles is the most copied building in the history of architecture. Every monarch who built a grand palace after Louis XIV was answering this one, whether they admitted it or not. To visit Versailles properly is to understand why a building can be a political argument, and what that argument was.
The half-day tour focuses on the palace and an introduction to the gardens. Inside, the State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors and the Queen's Apartments. Outside, the gardens Le Nôtre designed as an extension of royal power into the landscape.
What you will see
Inside the palace. The main apartments, in the order the court used them: the King's State Apartments, seven public salons each given to a planet and its god, then the Hall of Mirrors, built to overwhelm visiting ambassadors, then the Queen's Apartments on the other side. The Napoleon rooms and the Galerie des Batailles can be added if they interest you.
The gardens. Le Nôtre's masterpiece, avenues, parterres, fountains and the Grand Canal stretching to the horizon, designed as an extension of royal power into the landscape itself.
The Hall of Mirrors · the State Apartments · the gardens
Pépin's advice
Shoes and sunglasses. The palace involves a great deal of walking on hard floors, and the gardens add considerably to that, with cobblestones, gravel paths and long avenues, so shoes matter. And the sunlight reflects intensely off the garden paths: sunglasses are easily forgotten and always regretted.
Make the most of your ticket. Your entry includes access to the gardens and the Trianon Estate. After the tour, you are welcome to stay and explore at your own pace.
There are other ways to see the gardens. The estate is vast, and you do not have to cross it on foot: a little train runs between the palace, the Trianon and the Grand Canal, golf carts can be hired to drive the avenues, provided one of you holds a driver's license, and rowing boats can be taken out on the Grand Canal, which is one of the more unexpected pleasures in France. Both are easy to do on your own afterwards: your guide will point out where everything is before leaving you to it.
Good to know
By train, the RER C, line L or line N reach Versailles-Château-Rive Gauche from central Paris in about an hour, and we meet at the equestrian statue of Louis XIV in front of the palace. By private driver or taxi the journey is around forty-five minutes depending on traffic, and a private driver can be arranged on request, with the meeting point confirmed at booking.
Go further
Two ways to go beyond the half day: more time on the estate, or a specialist visit inside the palace.
