Paris to Versailles Skip-the-Line Entry, Fountain Show Option 2024
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Versailles Palace and Gardens Half Day Guided Tour from Paris

Paris, France

From $110.10

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

- Secure your spot while staying flexible

  • 5 to 7 hours (approx.)
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Imagine how the extravagance of Versailles was part of everyday life for Marie Antoinette during a guided tour of the palace with an optional fountain show. Take advantage of skip-the-line access to avoid the long lines at the start of your tour. Gaze in wonder at the Royal Apartments and the Queen’s Apartments, and walk through the glittering Hall of Mirrors to the Salon de la Guerre and the Salon de la Paix. Plus explore the expansive gardens on your own after the palace tour.
  • Palace of Versailles guided tour from Paris
  • Enjoy skip-the-line access to beat the queues
  • Marvel at Louis XIV's and Marie Antoinette's Royal Apartments
  • Discover the spectacular Hall of Mirrors with your guide
  • Gain insight into royal life in 17th- and 18th-century France
  • Stroll through the statue-filled palace gardens at your leisure

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

No need to bother with trains; this tour includes round-trip transport from Paris. 

What's Included

  • Guaranteed to skip the long lines
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Conducted by a qualified guide-interpreter (except first Sunday of each month where an audio guide will be provided)
  • Gardens and Fountains Show ( when operating )
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Food and drinks, unless specified

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • 22 Rue Jean Rey, 75015 Paris, France

    ***UNTIL JULY 18th*** Please note that during the Olympic Games, from July 19th to September 8th 2024, your tour will depart from 26 boulevard Auguste Blanqui 75013 PARIS

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet your guide for either your morning or afternoon Versailles tour in central Paris. Climb into the comfortable air-conditioned coach for the drive to Versailles.

The Palace of Versailles was originally built as a relatively modest hunting retreat for Louis XIII in 1623, but his successor—Louis XIV—expanded it and turned it into the symbol of luxury and extravagance that we know today. The palace we see today was completed in 1710, and remains one of the most famous palaces in Europe.

When you arrive, walk past the queues with your guide thanks to your skip-the-line access. Follow along as your guide walks you through the Royal Apartments where the King and Queen of France, Louis XIV, and Marie Antoinette once spent the majority of their time.

Visit the apartments of the Dauphin and Dauphine—the heirs apparent to the throne. See the various drawing rooms, private studies, and bed chambers where the royal family once lived, and imagine what life might have been like for them in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Continue to one of the most photographed parts of Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors, built in 1678. Look around as your guide explains its most important features. The Hall of Mirrors leads from the Royal Apartments to the Salon de la Guerre and the Salon de la Paix.

At the conclusion of your palace tour, enjoy some free time to explore the gardens at your leisure. Walk through the perfect gardens, studded with statues and sculptures, and admire the incredible fountains. On Saturday nights in the summer, those fountain displays are set to music that dates from the time of Louis XIV’s court for a memorable visual and auditory experience.

After your free time in the Versailles garden, rejoin your guide at the appointed location to climb back into the coach for the return drive to Paris.

Please note: Visits on the first Sunday of every month will be unguided, and you will be provided with an audio guide.

Avenue de Suffren (Pass By)

Arc de Triomphe (Pass By)

Monument a Louis XIV

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Palace of Versailles

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

The Hall of Mirrors

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Jardins du Chateau de Versailles

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

The Trianons & The Hamlet (Pass By)

Domaine national de Saint-Cloud (Pass By)

Louvre Museum (Pass By)

Jardin des Tuileries (Pass By)

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • The Fountains Show is only operating during the Summer
  • Please note that during the Olympic Games, and ONLY from July 19th to September 8th 2024, your tour will have a different meeting point. Please check the redemption instructions on your voucher for more information.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 32 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

about cancellations.

Traveler Photos

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Featured review
Debbie_P
Pierre was a fabulous guide. Loads of information and very passionate about the history of the Palace.

Reviews

3.5
1,560 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 1,560 reviews
Interesting
Roger_C, May 2024
Good guide, a very interesting tour to a fantastic Palace just outside Paris. Visited the gardens and Main Palace which was included in the price
Great tour
Diana_S, May 2024
Isabella was a great tour guide. She kept our interest the entire tour and did a great job navigating us through the crowds at Versailles.
Informative
Linda_C, May 2024
Wonderful informative guide, learned so much, Florence was so knowledgeable and got us in quick! Thank you
Overcrowded viewing
Margaret_A, May 2024
Seeing the gardens was the best part, unfortunately we spent much too long a time viewing the rooms, due to very overcrowded conditions and lengthy dialog from the guide. By the time we finished manuevering the massive crowds inside ,we had no time left to enjoy exploring the gardens or to get food before we had to return to the bus. I don’t think it was worth the money. It was very disappointing!
FANTASTIC
Debbie_P, May 2024
Pierre was a fabulous guide. Loads of information and very passionate about the history of the Palace.
Supposed to be a 4 hr...
Judith_R, May 2024
Supposed to be a 4 hr your but was only 2 1/2 hours therefore not enough time to see gardens. Pretty expensive to miss the gardens.
Never use this company - Paris City Vision
Lisa_R, May 2024
Terrible coordination. We arrived and had to wait for 30 minutes in line. Despite being told we would bypass the line. Our guide did not speak English clearly and when we did understand him he was discussing history and choices between today etc. Israel...and other political things that were just him talking. We were behind because of our late entry but he would talk in one room for 10 minutes about unrelated things...and so we got very bogged down unable to see much of the actual location vs the history lesson. Other people in the group turned in their ear phones and walked off to actually see the rest of the building. The gardens were completely torn up preparing for the Olympics apparently but no one told us that we would be exposed to all kinds of construction equipment and dirt. That should've been disclosed in advance. There was no coordination finding the bus at the end. We waited and walked the whole parking lot like many others. The bus finally returned and we were told to get on a bus without any accompaniment or any attendance to be sure we left no one. Never again.
Would not recommend.
Rhonda_R, May 2024
Our tour guide seemed very unsure of herself and at the queue several other groups cut in front of us, causing us to lose 20 minutes of time in Versailles. She got bogged down in excess information and did not move us through the castle in a timely manner. We were left with only 15 minutes to view the gardens before we had to rush back to the meeting site. However upon arrival we had to wait 30 minutes in the cold and rain for our bus to arrive to take us back to Paris.
1 traveler found this review helpful
The tour it self was...
David_C, May 2024
The tour it self was fine…although the headphone sets did not work. Overall the crowds there were too much. Were crammed into each of the rooms that we visited.
Must see place but tour company was lacking..
Joan_S, May 2024
Well you can’t beat Versailles for history. We did hear the crowds today were reasonable but I would still consider it to be VERY crowded. We went on a Wednesday thinking it was less crowded as generally museums are closed in Paris so everyone heads to Versailles. The instructions to get the bus were not clear. It’s not IN FRONT of the hotel but on the corner. It would have been nice to have a bit of commentary on the bus during the drive. Also if you want to see the gardens ( no flowers yet as they will plant them just prior to the Olympics) but it would have been nice to know you could rent a golf cart for 15-1 hr to drive around the gardens. The guide showed us the exit but did not explain this. Ps. I wouldn’t take young children. They get tired and cry much to the annoyance of others. Wait until they are at least 10yrs old.
Good day at Versailles
SHIRLEE_B, May 2024
Gardens were beautiful but had to leave early due to downpour. Francois was an informative guide in the castle.
Amazing Castle
Janie_L, May 2024
Loved seeing the Queens bedroom and mirror room. It was very crowded and felt little stressed from the crowds, so the gardens was so pretty and peaceful.
Do not recommend
William_D, May 2024
Too much time wasted waiting for tickets. Earbuds do not produce good voice sounds, so we could only understand about 2/3 of the words our guide was speaking. Heavily accented English was hard to follow. Gardens were totally bare. Would not recommend.
A disappointing tour.
Michael_V, May 2024
The tour is marketed as a half day tour but actually lasted about 2 hours excluding the travelling. The tour guide was silent during the travelling not mentioning any information on the sites we were passing or any information on the upcoming tour of Versailles, and her English was difficult to understand. On arrival there as an issue with the tickets which cost us at least half an hour waiting around and thereafter we rushed through the tour of the palace and never checking to see if the group was actually together so we could hear her on the audio. We were then advised to walk the garden and left the palace not being able to return as it began raining and the gardens were not possible - no guidance from the guide. In addition, portions of the gardens were being refurbished and this was not advised on buying the tickets. All in all a disappointment.
The guide could have...
Pamela_J, May 2024
The guide could have given more information and the time was too little for the gardens. Wish I had known tge gardens required more time.
Enjoyable visit but not enough time for gardens
Hosheeta_R, May 2024
I went for this tour on 20th April 2024. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and the guided tour of the palace with our guide having extensive knowledge of everything in the palace. It was very enjoyable and enriching experience. However, in the half day tour, we have barely half an hour to visit the gardens before getting picked up again by the tour bus. This is not enough to visit the extensive garden which is a bit of a shame. We also had a bad experience on our way back with our tour bus breaking down. We decided to get back to Paris on our own though the waiting time for next bus was about 3hrs!
1 traveler found this review helpful
Don’t do this your. Go yourself!
Susan_M, May 2024
Terrible company. Left late and then waited 1 hour outside in the rain before getting in with a priority ticket! Refuses to move bus pick up time back and we had no time to tour any of the gardens. Waste of Money.
Your description misleading
Danielle_T, May 2024
The description of this tour was misleading. I booked the half day option and spent only 1 hour inside of Versailles. Due to road closures and traffic, it took longer to reach Versailles. You would think they would have extended the tour to accommodate the time, but no. Then, we had to wait in a long line to get into the groups entrance, when the description of this tour stated “skip the line”. Even the guide kept mentioning that he had to rush us through the rooms inside in order for us to see the gardens. At the end, we ended up only having 15 minutes to see the gardens, which we ended up missing due to having to walk back to the parking lot. I was extremely disappointed with this tour. The guide was knowledgeable and nice, but Viator’s description of the entire tour was incorrect. It’s completely frustrating since I paid a lot of money for this. I had booked a lot of tours from Viator for my trip to Paris, but after this experience, I am very hesitant to book through Viator again.
Go with another company
Michelle_C, Apr 2024
I am giving this a terrible rating because of 3 things 1 - I booked a half day we were suppose to enter the castle at 930 giving us until 12 to see the castle and the gardens we didn’t enter until 1030 due to the guards giving us a race around the castle leaving no time to see the gardens. 2 - our tour guide was less than average 3 - we didn’t have an option of hoping on a later bus, if we “chose” to stay to see the whole place we had to find our own way back. Sorry. It good enough.
1 traveler found this review helpful
Versailles tour and gardens
Lisa_B, Apr 2024
Versailles tour and gardens was an awesome experience. The history was great to hear. Our tour guide was awesome
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Product code: 2050VRS_VRG

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