Versailles Tickets: Which Passport, Which Slot and How to Do the Day

Arriving after ten ruins a Versailles visit faster than any queue does. The Passport is the only ticket that gets you into the palace, and the first time slot, at nine, is the one worth booking.

There is no ticket for the palace alone, so the Passport is the way in. From April to October it costs €35 for visitors from outside the EEA and €32 for EEA residents. From November to March the rates drop to €25 and €22, and a non-EEA passport pays the higher rate in both seasons.

The Trianon estate can be bought on its own for €15, with no time slot. That only makes sense when the palace has been seen on another day, since the Passport already covers it. The gardens are free except on fountain days, when they need a ticket of €12. The two-day Paris Museum Pass, €85, includes Versailles, though a slot is still booked with it.

There is no palace-only ticket; the Passport is the way in. Passports from outside the EEA pay the non-EEA price.

When to come and what you pass through

Entry to the palace follows a booked time, used once, and visitors go in through Entrance A at the Pavillon Dufour, by the middle door. Slots: every hour on the hour from 9 am to 3 pm, a 30-minute window. At 9:10 the Hall of Mirrors is almost empty and by 10:30 it is full, which is the whole case for the first slot. In summer the slots sell out one to two weeks ahead.

Thursday and Friday are the best days and Tuesday and Wednesday the worst, while weekends crowd from 11 to 3 pm. October and March are the best months, and the first week of August is best avoided. The palace is closed on: Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

The palace in order: the Hall of Mirrors and the apartments

Count two to three hours inside. Start in the Galerie des Glaces, 73 metres long with 357 mirrors, while it is still empty, then go on to the King's Apartments and the Chambre du Roi, and finish with the Queen's Apartments. No official order exists, so this is one way of doing it.

The Chapelle royale is best seen from the upper gallery, and the Galerie des Batailles is worth the detour for its length. The audio guide is free through the official app and is included in the Passport. Leave for the gardens at about 11, when the rooms start to fill.

The gardens and the Trianon in the afternoon

The gardens and park open every day, and the Grand Canal is where picnics are free. Walk the length of it, then head for the Trianon, about 25 minutes on foot from the palace. The Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon stand in the grounds, and the Hameau de la Reine has twelve rustic cottages around a lake. Opening hours by area: palace 9 am–6:30 pm (5:30 pm in winter), Trianon 12–6:30 pm, gardens and park 7 am–8:30 pm in summer.

On fountain days the musical fountains and gardens run from 1 April to 1 November 2026, and entry to the gardens then needs the ticket above, with free entry only for children under five.

Day tripsVersailles is one of seven day trips from Paris. The others are Giverny, Fontainebleau, Chartres, Reims, Disneyland and Chantilly, and the day trips page compares them.Day trips from Paris →

When you only have an hour or two

With an hour or two the palace shrinks to its best part and the gardens do the rest. Versailles asks for a full day, so it does not combine well with another major sight, and these cuts keep the visit in one piece.

• Take the first slot, see only the Hall of Mirrors and the apartments, then go out to the gardens.
• Once the palace is done, the Trianon needs no slot.
• Without a Passport the gardens are free, except on fountain days.
• Do not pair Versailles with the Orsay on the same day, since the palace alone takes the morning.

Getting aroundThe RER C leaves from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Musée d'Orsay, Invalides and Champ de Mars, runs about every 15 minutes and takes 35 to 40 minutes on a €2.55 ticket. The palace is about ten minutes on foot from Versailles Château Rive Gauche, and the page on getting around covers the rest.Getting around Paris →