The Absolute Best Way To Visit The Palace of Versailles (Even Kids Love It!)
Before we dive into this exciting adventure on visiting Versailles, let’s address the elephant in the room—affiliate links! Here’s the scoop: In this blog post, you might stumble upon some affiliate links. Don’t worry, clicking on them won’t cost you an extra penny, but it might earn me a tiny commission to keep my travel addiction in check. Now, I promise I would never recommend or endorse anything that I haven’t personally tried and loved. So rest assured that my travel tales remain untainted, and you’re in safe hands.
Chances are that if Paris is on your bucket list, then visiting Versailles, is on your list of things to do while there. Now, there are plenty of blog posts that will tell you to skip it, due to the distance and time needed to explore Versailles. But, the opulent palace of the Sun King is truly a sight to behold. And I knew that I must lay my eyes on the perfectly manicured gardens with bubbling fountains myself. However, I had a dilemma, my kids were coming with me to Paris. How do you make a huge house with a bunch of old stuff fun for kids? The Answer? This amazing bike tour with Boutique Bike Tours.
It was truly one of the best tours I’ve ever been on. From visiting the Versailles market, to picnicking by the Grand Canal while people floated by on boats. It was incredible. And the kids? They had the time of their lives. So let’s get into it. What all this tour has to offer, how much it costs, and why it’s the only way you should see the Palace of Versailles.
Getting to Versailles
To get to Versailles, most people take the train from Paris. I really thought it would be far, but it is only 15 minutes from the Montparnasse train station. The tour leaders meet you there very early so you don’t have to worry about navigating the trains by yourself. Plus you get the added bonus of having the train ticket (and the return ticket) purchased for you, so you don’t have to deal with trying to buy tickets either. Which, in my book, anything that makes logistics easier is a win.
In a truly adventurous fashion you arrive at the train station at 8AM, grab your coffee and croissant, and then you’re off on the first train out of Paris to Versailles. Once you arrive, you’re fitted to your classic English or French style bike, kids are fitted to helmets, and away you go!
Travel Tip: For families there are lots of different options. There was even a person in our group who opted for a tandem bike with a younger child, though admittedly this looked relatively heavy and difficult. Older children are fitted to modern bicycles, as the English and French style are more for adults/teens.
Exploring The Palace
Once on bikes, you ride through the town of Versailles (yes it’s a town!), and up to the palace. The guides make sure to keep everyone very safe, by explaining the rules and the traffic signals. Once at the palace you skip the massive lines and walk in through a different entrance. When visiting Versailles, a skip-the-line pass is the only way to go. Even first thing in the morning the lines can be super long.
Once inside you get to tour all the apartments and learn about the lavish life of King Louis XIV and Marie Antionette. And unfortunately that’s all I can tell you about that. Why you ask? Well because right as we walked in the door my son started feeling sick and threw up. So we actually waited on a bench outside the restroom and didn’t get to hear the tour of the palace. Luckily, there were several nurses and doctors who told us he was just low on electrolytes. So a little orange juice and he was right as rain, and we got to finish the rest of the tour. And of course he gets to say he threw up in Marie Antionette’s bathroom. LOL.
Travel Tip: I learned yet another rookie lesson that I need to start traveling with those little powder electrolyte packages that can be added to water. When we got to Paris we hit the ground running and the kids were a bit worn out. So take my advice and take a couple with you. Small and easy to carry, you never know when you may need them.
Exploring The Gardens and Grounds
When thinking of visiting Versailles, the first image that springs to mind is the geometric and perfectly manicured gardens. From the box trees to the fountains, the gardens may be more famous than the chateaux itself, and for good reason. After the tour of the palace, you continue on to a tour of the grounds. You learn fascinating facts about how the water is pumped into the grounds, and how they transported water from so far away to the palace. You also get to learn about the menagerie that King Louis XIV kept and the lavish parties held on the grounds. The stories will transport you back in time.
Travel Tip: The fountains are not turned on all the time or all day as it’s expensive to run them constantly. We were there on a Friday morning, and saw them get turned off at noon. So make sure you plan accordingly. Discuss with the tour operators to make sure you can see the fountains while they are running.
Versailles Market and Picnic Along the Grand Canal
In my opinion, the absolute best part of the tour was being able to shop at the market and eat the picnic along the Grand Canal. Though almost everyone in Paris speaks very good English, knowing a little French, will come in handy at the market. We bought amazing cheeses, breads, fruits, and wine, and everything was delicious. However, I have got to tell you guys about the strawberries, they were life-changing. I didn’t even know a strawberry could taste so good. We bought two containers, and ate every single berry. And there is truly nothing better than sitting in the soft grass, with the sun shining, and boats passing by, while biting into that life changing strawberry with cheese and sipping on wine. Life slows down and you get to feel royal, if just for an instant.
Friday seems to be the best day when visiting Versailles, as it was a “full-market” day, so there were many things available for purchase. I had to control myself so that I wouldn’t overload my basket. A warning however, that the town is very busy during a full market, and biking through is a lot of starting and stopping. At one point I decided to just get off the bike and walk it over to where we were parking them.
The Queen’s Hamlet
After the picnic, the final stop on the tour (see didn’t I tell you it was amazing?!) is visiting Marie Antionette’s Hamlet. When you enter the Hamlet, it’s hard to believe you’re still on palace grounds. It’s a charming countryside village where you get to leave the buzz of the palace behind. You stroll along beautiful flower gardens and swans swimming under old bridges.
As you walk along you learn how the hamlet was the queen’s refuge where she would escape with some of her closest court. You can easily see how it is the perfect place for a little “me time,” fit for a queen.
After leaving the hamlet you make your way back through the town on your bike, and grab your return train ticket home, amazed that 8 hours can pass by in a blink.
So How Much Does The Tour Cost?
Now that you have heard all that this amazing tour has to offer, let’s talk about how much it costs. The tour itself is $160 per person. Now before you shut your laptop or phone off let’s recap what it includes. Included in the tour price is roundtrip train tickets from Paris, tickets to both the chateaux and gardens of Versailles (normally 30 Euros), the bike rental, and an English speaking guide. Then you can except to spend about 10 – 15 euros per person at the market. So all in all about $175 per person. Pricey I know. But believe me when I tell you it’s worth every penny.
So my advice? Save on the flights or hotel so you can splurge on this amazing tour. Even though King Louis XIV was arguably the beginning of the downfall of the French monarchy by spending so extravagantly, you can’t help but be thankful you got to experience a small taste of his world.
Have any additional questions about this tour? Email me nina@theglobetrottingaccountant.com. Have you been on this tour? Let me know what was your favorite part, and if I missed anything, in the comments!
