Hi all,

Just wondering if it is worth buying 'skip the queue tickets' for Versailles, and also whether to get a guide or just use the audio headphones and make our own way. If I buy tickets off the Versailles site, does it make it quicker as you only have to do security or do the guided tours get special priviledges?

Cheers

Sally

Is paying a bit more to skip the queue worth it?

I look at the question this way. You're spending thousands of dollars to go to France, and you have a limited number of hours there. Your limited time is your most valuable resource — so it's worth maximizing it. If by minimizing your time in one or more queues, you have more time for the things you're going all that way to experience.

If you book the Private King's Apartment tour, you will have a dedicated entrance (will have to pass through Security first), and will get to see things the rest of the crowds will not see. If you don't speak French, you should definitely book the English tour.
You can go back into the rest of the chateau and gardens when you finish your tour.

Agree with Fuzzbucket. The private tour is definitely worth it, and you have your own entrance so you don't have to wait at all. You can book this on-line.

We are going in August and have booked a private tour of Versailles but have not heard of the Private Kings Apartment tour? Does it provide transportation from Paris?

No. But it's easy to get to Versailles by train.
Check the official Versailles website for information.

The other option would be to purchase a tour from a 3rd party operator like Viator.
I would only do this if you have someone travelling with you who is elderly or has mobility issues, because tours are expensive.

wordsmith--if you booked your tour on the official Versailles cite, that is probably what you've booked. http://en.chateauversailles.fr/plan-...0&visite-tid=2

Most visitors will be best served by taking RER Line C from Paris, but be careful because it is different from the Metro and requires a different ticket:

http://fxfeeds.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/headlines.xml

Oops-don't know how that happened. Try the link below for the RER C

http://www.paris-metro-map.info/wp-c...-rer-c-map.png

If you do book the King's Apartment Tour (which I just did for 2 weeks from now) be sure you get the English language one (assuming you don't speak french) . The website is pretty tricky.

Everybody has to queue for security.

People who did not buy their ticket in advance have to queue a bit more.

The real horror is the crush of the crowd inside the château during high season.

Re the crowds inside the Chateau: the official site recommends visiting the gardens in the morning, the Trianons around noon, and the Chateau in the afternoon.

When we went, we did the tour of the King's Apartments and then a very crowded Chateau, then went to the gardens and the Trianons. We came back and had lunch inside the Chateau. By that time, it was around three, and there were very few people in the Chateau itself. So that's the way to do it if you can curb your enthusiasm.

BTW--one thing not to miss if you are a history buff is the Tennis Court. It is on the way back to the Rive Gauche Train station and entry is free. The day we were there, we were the only ones there aside from the guard. Very interesting place with statues, etc.. having to do with the Tennis Court oath.

Most of the tour groups have left the chateau by around noon or 1 PM.
You can go on the Private King's Apartment tour, then go visit the gardens and so forth, then go back inside after the crowds have gone home.
If you like, you can also visit the outdoor market in Versailles and buy provisions for a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds of the chateau.

We are in Paris now, but initially went to Versailles. We did a tour with Context on Saturday to view the gardens and fountains. While the information about the history was helpful and having someone direct us around the large gardens, making sure we saw the fountains while they were flowing, I wouldn't really recommend it.

On Sunday, we did a tour with City Wonders and visited the private apartments. This was so worth it. The lines to get into Versailles were horrible. Once inside, there was so where to go with all the bus tours...huge, huge groups of people. We were able to go directly in after security and our group of about 10 entered the private rooms all by ourselves. If I had been alone with just the audio guide, I would have left. You cannot believe the crowds.

After the tour that ended at 11:30, we spent some more time in the gardens and had lunch. When we left around 3pm, the crowds to get in were still very, very long, so I'm not sure the advice that it clears out after noon is correct. From what I saw, the tour groups may be gone, but there are still a whole lot of people!!!

Weekends are the absolute worst day to visit Versailles...
Pay attention to the Versailles website to see the flow chart.

Yeah i bought my ticket ahead of time and i still had to queue about an hour for security. I knew that would happen so i made sure to go early in the day so that I had enough time to get through everything. So i arrived early and even though i had to queue an hour i still had plenty of time to get through everything. I didn't book the tour but i think it's definitely worth it because i agree with the comments above. You go there spending lots of money so what's the little extra? I think it'll be worth it! If i ever go back id love to do the tour!

My head is spinning from all of the advice I've collected on various sites about how to minimize line fatigue at Versailles. From what I've read here and elsewhere I'm starting to conclude that the best plan would be to do the Kings Apartments tour, then the rest of the building and then head out for the grounds--Trianons, Hameau and lunch, etc. We will have museum passes and I want to be sure I understand the "apartments trick" completely. Is this how it goes? We pick up a Paris Museum pass in person at any of the museums that are included on it. We order our Kings Apartments ticket on line, print it out and bring it and our Museum passes with us. When we arrive at Versailles via RER we look for the Kings Apartments tour entrance, skip the lines, get security checked and go with the tour. When tour is over, we are "inside" and can continue on our Paris Museum pass to see the rest of the interior rooms (Hall of mirrors etc), by just joining the crowds somehow without getting into another security check, etc. When we've finished with the interior, we can either walk or catch a tram to the Hameau and Trianons, and then walk (or take tram/shuttle) to lunch at La Flotille and then proceed through the gardens to exit and return by RER to Paris. Is this correct? If not, what am I missing?

Note: After reading several posts about whether to go early or work things out to be seeing the interiors after lunch, I have concluded that the latter strategy is iffy and probably worked best years ago when crowds were generally lower so that I am better advised to go with the "Kings' Apartment trick" for early entry sans lines as outlined above.

All guidance appreciated.

For what it is worth, I spent time in the garden and then went in. The gardens are magical. Don’t miss them.

I think you got it. We did exactly this early last June (see upthread) on a midweek day. Got a 10:30 King's Apartment ticket and did just that and it went well. There will still be some traffic in the rest of the palace by noonish when you get out, but it's manageable. IIRC we packed sandwiches and snarfed them down after the palace in the gardens, probably 13:00 or so...

I can tell a silly story on myself and husband. Our first time to Paris, speaking no French, we went to the train station to buy tickets to get to Versailles. We kept trying to put our money into the ticket machine, but couldn't figure out what button to press for the tickets. We must have looked rather frustrated and confused, because after a few minutes, a man stopped to tell us we were at a condom dispensing machine.

Buying a ticket in advance does not mean you get to skip the line. A special tour ticket like the Kings rooms would do that.

That's hysterical scdreamer. I have my OWN story. Some demon came into my body and possessed me because I bought out Versailles tickets before going to Paris but for some reason unknown to me (LOL) I picked SUNDAY!!!!!!! Why?!!!!! The demon is my only answer. What a nightmare.

We were very close to Montparnasse Station so we just took the train. Very cheap and easy, in fact our Navigo worked on the train. It did not take us as close to the Chateau as the RER I believe but it was a nice walk through town.