| |
 Versailles Palace
Address:
Versailles Palace,
Versailles
Metro station:
Versailles - Rive Gauche (RER C)
|
|
Paris Metro Map |
| |
|
One of the Paris must-see is… outside Paris, but not far away, about 30 minutes.
It’s a magnificent place: Hall of mirrors, King’s apartments and royal gardens
are sumptuous.
If you
consider staying in Paris
more than 3 days, it is definitely worth it.
How to go
to Versailles Palace?
Versailles is now a suburb of Paris,
so you can’t go there by metro but suburb train called RER. Line is RER C (bold
yellow on your train map); it crosses Paris
from east to west, so you won’t have any difficulty to get it.
The major
difficulty is to get the right train!
First, you
have to get the RER C platform for trains going to west of Paris. You should report to your map, and
follow “Versailles”
or “Saint Quentin en Yvelines” directions. The RER C
line is like a fork, and Versailles
Palace station is at one
of the ends. Indeed all the trains going in this direction do not stop at Versailles Palace.
When you
are on the platform, look at the information signboard, it gives all the stops
for the coming train. If the last stop is “Versailles Rive Gauche”, it’s the
good one!
It is 35
minutes long from “Saint Michel” station (Paris
city centre) to “Versailles Rive Gauche”.
Tips
 Metro station “Porte de Versailles” (line 12) doesn’t go to Versailles Palace !
To save
time, book your tickets in advance in a FNAC store. You can even buy
your tickets online (be careful you have to choose a date before booking) and print them before your trip. Of course,
you can buy your ticket on-site, but the line can be long, especially on
Wednesdays.
Visit Versailles
Palace
To visit
Versailles Palaces, you need at least a half day… and more if you want to visit
all places quietly. Be sure to bring your most comfortable shoes as you will be
doing a lot of walking!
The “Château”
The main
building is the “Chateau”. Built in the 17th century, the castle has
been restored and magnified during the reign of Louis XIV. The entire king
court has been installed at Versailles
Palace, sumptuously decorated
to symbolize Louis XIV state power.
In the
“Chateau”, you will visit both king apartments, queen apartments (7 enfilade
rooms) and various salons for ceremonies or audiences. All rooms have the
ancient decor.
 The most
famous room is The Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces): seventeen mirror-clad
arches reflect seventeen arcaded windows.
The Hall of Mirrors has just been
restored in 2006, do not miss it !
If you have
enough time, you can also visit Versailles Chapels, and a lot of other places
as music room, astronomic room, hunting dogs’ room, opera…
This really
gives the feeling to enter the intimacy of the kingdom.
The
gardens and the park.
South of
the castle, a very long terrace gives a beautiful view on the royal gardens.
Explore
geometrical gardens, fountains, and hidden statues. Beside royal gardens is a
large park with some nice restaurants.
A lot of Parisians come to relax and
picnic during summer. In this
park are some other buildings you can visit as “Petit trianon”, which has been occupied
by Queen Marie Antoinette to escape the formality of the court life.
  
Usually open every
day except Mondays, from 9am to 5:30pm.
Fare: €16
in winter - €20 in summer; for whole Palace, gardens and Marie Antoinette’s
estate.
More about Versailles Palace.
|
|
Tours outside Paris 
