rhkkmk

behind the palace, on weekends, people are picnicing all over the place...unless something has changed, you do not pay to enter the grounds...you only pay to go inside the palace...i don't think it has changed as the area is too big to cordon off....

several years ago, we were invited to join a group from egypt for a snack...the boys were interested in our teenage girls of course....it was fun for an hour or so sitting on the lawn overlooking the large fountain...

hanl

We used to drive out to Versailles a lot on weekends in the summer, for picnics. At the time, you didn't have to pay to visit the gardens. However, unless things have changed a lot, the bottom end of the garden, where the boating lake is, can be visited free of charge - there are even separate car parks and road access there. I think there is a gate separating the two areas. Always lots of people picnicking there.

Also, not far from the gardens (but not part of them) is another lake surrounded by grass and trees - a perfect picnic spot. It's called the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses, and it's to the south-west of the Chateau. If you look up a site like mappy.com for a map of Versailles and find the Chateau, you'll be able to see exactly where it is (there's some info, in French, here: http://www.insecula.com/salle/MS00761.html).