Versailles sits about 20 kilometres south-west of central Paris, and getting there is easy. What catches people out is that three different stations are called Versailles, they are served from three different Paris terminals, and the walk from each to the Palace gates is very different.
Choose the wrong one and you add half an hour on foot at each end of a day that is already long.
| Station | Line, from | Walk to the Palace |
|---|---|---|
| Versailles Château – Rive Gauche | RER C, from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Invalides, Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel and other central stops | About 10 minutes |
| Versailles Rive Droite | SNCF, from Paris Saint-Lazare | About 20 minutes |
| Versailles Chantiers | SNCF, from Paris Montparnasse | About 25 minutes |
Versailles Château – Rive Gauche is the one you want. It is the closest station to the main entrance, and the RER C picks up at several stops most visitors are already near. Unless you are staying beside Saint-Lazare or Montparnasse, it is the obvious choice.
The other two are perfectly usable — they are simply further out, and the walk is through the town rather than straight to the gates.
Allow roughly 40 minutes on the RER C from central Paris, plus the ten-minute walk at the far end, plus however long it takes you to reach your departure station. A realistic door-to-gate figure from a central hotel is an hour to an hour and a quarter.
Points worth knowing:
For one or two people travelling light, the train is cheap, simple and genuinely the right answer. We would rather say that than pretend otherwise.
About 20 kilometres from central Paris, which is 30 to 60 minutes depending on the hour. Off-peak on a Sunday morning it is quick; on a weekday at five it is not, and on the departure weekends of the French school holidays the roads west are heavily loaded.
What a car changes:
A car does not beat the train on speed — on a bad afternoon it loses. It wins on the ends of the journey and on flexibility. Our private day at Versailles is built on that basis, with the driver waiting through the visit.
The Palace and the Trianon estate are closed on Mondays. The Park and Gardens stay open every day, with free access except on days when the fountain shows or the musical gardens are running, which are ticketed. A Monday trip is therefore a garden trip — which can be lovely, provided it is the trip you meant to take.
Entry to the Palace runs on timed admission and the good slots go early, especially at weekends and from spring onwards. Book before you fix the transport, not after: the entry time is the fixed point of the day, and everything else should be arranged around it.
The single most common planning error is treating Versailles as a building. It is an estate. The Trianon palaces and the Queen's Hamlet sit a long way across the park from the Palace itself — a walk of some distance, not a stroll between rooms.
Deciding which of those two days you are having, before you leave Paris, saves a great deal of frustration at four in the afternoon.
The middle of the day is when the coach groups are inside. An early slot, or a late afternoon one once the tours have left, gives a materially different experience of the same rooms.
The gardens are the point in May and June, and considerably less so in January. If Versailles is a fixed part of your itinerary, it is worth reading our note on when to visit Paris before choosing dates.
Station walking times and opening days are as published by the Palace of Versailles: Train stations and bus and Practical information. Opening hours vary by season and the estate publishes exceptional closures — check before you travel.
Related: the best time to visit Paris, getting in from CDG, tipping, including what is usual for a private guide, the starred restaurants and how their tables are released, Mont-Saint-Michel, Giverny and Monet’s garden, and a day in Champagne.
Driver and car for the day, waiting through your visit. Tell us your entry time and we will build the day around it.