Palace of Versailles

About Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles began as a hunting lodge and grew into the seat of the French monarchy under Louis XIV, who moved his court here in 1682. What you see today is the result of decades of expansion: a sprawling royal residence wrapped in formal gardens, with the state apartments, the King's and Queen's chambers, and the Hall of Mirrors at its heart. That long gallery, lined with mirrors facing tall windows onto the gardens, is the room most people come for, and it was where the treaty ending the First World War was signed in 1919.

The estate is much larger than the palace building alone. Beyond the main chateau lie the gardens laid out by Andre Le Notre, with their geometric paths, fountains, and canal, plus the Trianon palaces and Marie Antoinette's rustic hamlet at the far end of the grounds. Walking the whole estate takes real time and a fair bit of energy, so it helps to decide in advance whether you want the palace interiors, the gardens, or both. On certain days the fountains run to music, and those Musical Fountain shows usually require a separate ticket from standard garden access.

Versailles sits southwest of central Paris and is easy to reach by train, most commonly the RER C line to Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche, followed by a short walk. Most visits run three to four hours, longer if you add the Trianon estate and the gardens. The palace is one of the busiest sites in France, so a timed-entry or skip-the-line ticket is worth having in peak season, when the security and entrance queues can be long. Comfortable shoes matter more here than at most museums, given the distances involved.