Need help on visiting Versailles!
 

I have wanted to visit The Palace of Versailles since I was 12 years old and now I will be going to Paris in May! I can't wait! I am confused about the tours, though. I want the most private, no line tour that will not be crowded so that I can take pictures and have time to take it all in. I heard it is a mad house in there. Are the private tours offered at Versailles just the same as the ones that you can purchase such as Viator, City Wonders, Best of France tours, Musement, etc.? I want the best experience ever as this is the trip of my dreams. Also, I don't want to get ripped off. I have been obsessed with the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette since I was young. I appreciate any help! Thank you in advance! Please no responses from tour guides promoting your tours. I only want the help of visitors that have taken them or know of them. :)

I haven't taken a tour but I think the ones you see on Viator include the same tour ticket for inside the Palace that you would buy yourself. I think it is a guide provided by the Palace. Like this one http://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Vi...RSAILLESPARVIP

It clearly includes their own guide for other stuff and on the way, but once there, you get turned over to the Palace staff. now they probably have booked for their own group, it's not like you are part of a group including others who just walked up, but it is the Palace staff so I would guess the quality is the same as if you reserved one of those private tours yourself such as here http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepa...s/visites-1-en

Well, the tours at the Palace are much less than the other ones, so I hope you are right! Thanks for the reply!
Does anyone know this for sure?

Others may know more about tours but when we were there last summer we saw lots of tour groups. They were there at the same time as everyone else with their headsets following the guide with a flag. They seemed to have less time in each room than a non-tour visitor. We spent as much time as we wanted in each room. They were hustled along after the leader gave their talk.

This will probably be my one and only time visiting... I want to take in as much as I can. I definitely don't want to be rushed... THX!

If you don't want to be rushed, don't take a tour. Just buy an ordinary ticket and go at your own speed.

Ok, but I heard that some of the full day tour groups are small and you can get into some of the rooms that others can't. They claim you are often in the rooms alone. That is what I was hoping for... I heard that they are expensive, but I don't know of anyone that has taken one. Maybe there isn't such a thing and the tours are all exaggerated??
I am appreciating all of you taking your time to help out!

This is the one you want

http://www.partner.viator.com/en/997...RSAILLESPARVIP

Very expensive but 'inside access'

(I can't tell you how the current tours are since the only 'behind the scenes' visit I've done to the Palace was more than 20 years ago)

That tour does look like you get in first to the public rooms and into several rooms other don't see. But I think - like any other tour - it will move fairly quickly. I would ask them for specifics on how long you have where and what you will see of the gardens and other buildings besides the main palace.

Then you can decide which will better meet your needs.

It has been about 5 years but we took a small group behind the scenes tour offered by the palace. We were in a group of about 15 - 20 people and had a chance to see rooms not open to the general public, learn quite a bit about the history of the palace and its inhabitants, and ask lots of questions. I can't quite remember but I would guess this tour lasted about two hours or so. We were then free to visit the other rooms of the palace and the grounds. We got there when the palace first opened which was a treat as, at first, we almost had the place to ourselves. We bought tickets for this tour at the palace.

I hope you have a wonderful visit!

I am getting more excited! :) Any more suggestions or input would be appreciated! I thank everyone that has helped me... I was getting overwhelmed looking on line.

I don't recommend buying a tour package from a third party, because you can get exactly what you want on the official Versailles ticket page, in English:
http://billetterie.chateauversailles...-lgen-pg1.html

If you want to maximize your visit, I recommend buying both the Passport, which gives access to most of the things you'll want to see (and which you can do on your own), and The Private Apartment of the Kings guided tour, which lasts about 90 mins. Make sure to book the tour in English, if you don't speak French. I don't recommend tickets for the musical fountain show, since they only last a few short minutes, and the fountains are spread pretty far apart - it's easy to miss the shows.

Even though the PAK tour seems short, you do get a lot of good information and aren't rushed through like the people on large bus tours are - that's a whole different ballgame. Afterwards, you can spend as much time as you want to going through the palace and wandering around Marie Antoinette's hamlet, the other outbuildings, the Trianons and the gardens.

It's easy to spend 8 hours or longer at Versailles, because both the palace and the grounds are gigantic. You can either reserve a table for a nice lunch at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, or bring a picnic lunch with you to eat in the gardens. You can stop at the outdoor market in Versailles to pick up things for lunch, and alcohol is allowed on the palace grounds.

There are bike tours, if you're interested, and I believe you can rent bikes along the Grand Canal - I know you can rent boats there.

If you haven't checked out the FAQs on the official site, you'll find good info about how to schedule the best day and time for your visit - make sure this coincides with any tours you book, too:
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepa.../single/faq-en

Thank you fuzzbucket! That is exactly what I was wondering. Now I can save myself some stress of trying to figure out which one! :) And...yes, I plan to make a whole day of it!

If keen on Marie-Antoionette be sure to also visit Le Hameau in the far reaches of the sprawling park that lies behind the palace - this was a peasant farm bult in 1783 for the Queen where she could play shepherdess, etc and make like a peasant farmer - recently rehabbed if you tour don't go there hop the people-mover or rent bikes or walk over to it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=vers...FQJCJgod50gE4A

I will definitely see the Le Hameau and the Petit Trianon. I am just as excited to see them as The Palace of Versaille. :) May 2016 can't come soon enough...