Paris excursion companies-advise please!
 

Going to have an extra day in Paris and have never been to Versailles and want to go -- thinking of some excursion group but would like a nice one -- would like to avoid the leader with the flag syndrome--any suggestions? Anyone try any company? How about La Conciergerie? Merci!!!

If you don't find a tour to your liking, you should know that doing it yourself is extremely easy and flexible.

Take the RER C to Versailles Rive Gauche station, walk across the street, turn right then the next left, and the target will be in view.

Rent the audio tour and take your time, watching the leaders with the flags stream past.

Linger in the gardens. People-watch from a perch on a fountain wall. Maybe stay for an evening concert or illumination. There is a lot more to Versailles than "the bus will be leaving in twenty minutes."

Merci, Robespierre. Sounds inviting indeed. But will I have a problem getting in if je suis suele?

Dee

Only if you keep switching languages.

((I))

Sorry, Ira. Just trying to get into the right frame of mind, language-wise.

No problem getting in - although the ticket lines can get longish at times. Better to have a <i>Carte Mus&eacute;e</i> or Versailles Pass before you leave Paris.

<b>http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/versail.htm</b>

Great link! Thanks for the referral Robesp. When you say Carte Musee, is that the same as the Paris Museum Pass? Any downside in getting one of those all-encompassing museum passes and will it let me walk right up to the front of the line, etc.? Any experience with these passes?
Merci encore, et a vous, Ira, aussi.

Hi dee,

Ici est le site officiel de Versailles.
http://www.chateauversailles.fr/

((I))

Yes, <i>Carte Mus&eacute;e</i> is the Museum Pass. And yes, you can cut in the head of the line (some museums even have a &quot;Passes only&quot; entrance).

The only disadvantage to them is that their cost sometimes exceeds what you can reasonably do in a day. With a little planning, however, you can get your money out of them and then some. Such as: using it for the Arc de Triomphe in the late evening after all the museums are closed.

Plan your day so as to minimize transit time, <i>e.g.</i>: D'Orsay and Invalides in the morning, and Versailles in the afternoon and evening. They're all three on the RER C line with minimal walking.

Didn't someone..Sheila perhaps, mention that you can buy an entrance ticket to Versailles in conjunction with yur RER ticket?

It's all spelled out at the Rick Steves link I posted above.

At the ticket office of the Palace of Versailles you can book small guided tours of some of the &quot;private&quot; apartments; those take you into areas that aren't open to the general public. Some include the small opera house/theater, although we've never managed to get tickets for that one--but it's worth a try.

I wouldn't get a museum pass just for Verailles, as I imagine that's all you will do that day. That's rather expensive.

You can buy various combo RER + tourist venue tickets right at the RER station from the ticket clerk. I bought one of those once for Auvers-sur-Oise and not only did you have the ticket in advance, you saved a little money.

Entrance to the State Apartments costs &euro;18. The Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon cost &euro;5. All are included in the Museum Pass. If you see all 3, you make &euro;5 with the 1-day pass, which costs &euro;18.

If you get a 3-day pass, the daily cost is &euro;12. A 5-day pass costs &euro;10.80 per day.

If you buy a pass and drop in at the Invalides or D'Orsay for a couple of hours before heading out to Versailles, or watch the sun set from atop the Arc de Triomphe afterwards, they're free. Whether you see the Trianon palaces or not.

Versailles has gotten a lot more expensive, that's for sure. However, I don't think the museum pass covers everything at Versailles, although it may cover everything one wanted to see. If it does, it would be the best deal. Otherwise, getting a Versailles pass (which is around 20 euro) would probably be the best idea as you get access to everything and won't have any waits (and the ladies apartments are only available to those passholders from what I read on one site).

The entrance fee to the state apts isn't 18 euro, it's only 7.5 euro.

Merci, merci beaucoup, toutes! (which is intended to mean--&quot;thank you, thank you very much, all&quot;).

Yes, a museum pass is a bit much ($85.00 stateside for 5 days), but the LIST OF THINGS TO DO WITH IT IS GREAT, and I will be able to dash out on other days to some other museums, and as I age I have grown to abhor long lines into anything to such an extent that the lines might otherwise even keep me from going at all. So, I feel really helped by all the advice -- going on my own, not with a flag-waving tour leader, with a museum pass (go to the front), check at the ticket office and see if there is anything else I should see at Versailles, take my own time going and coming == PARFAIT!!!!
Dee

Now that Euros cost $1.25, I'd hold off until I got to Paris before buying a museum pass. You can get a 5-day for $67.50 at any M&eacute;tro station.

Everyone = <i>tout le monde</i>

Oui, oui, je l'ai pense la meme chose!

I noticed the same wide gap in price, plus with the Euro (hopefully) falling against the dollar. . . But what I didn't know was that I could buy them at a metro station--you are sure of that? A 5-day museum pass?

&quot;toute le monde&quot;--of course! I am so rusty!

Si vous &ecirc;tes autant amusement et aussi aventureux que je pense vous &ecirc;tes alors moi pouvez vous obtenir une excursion priv&eacute;e de la chambre &agrave; coucher du roi. Autrement, ayez un voyage merveilleux car Versailles, en particulier les fontaines et les raisons, est unforgettable