Versaille
 

I would like to take my 12 year old to Versaille. I have heard about carriage rides there or something to that effect, but I would like to make it really special (I know it will be already, but...).<BR>Does anyone have any ideas about the best way to go and see Versaille?

Might want to check out a website called Parisvision.com.

I think most people just go on their own, as it is easy to get to from Paris by RER rail. Just take the C line to Versailles Rive Gauche station and it's not too far a walk to the chateau (I'm guessing 1/4-1/3 mile). There are horse carriage rides there through the park; I think you can just get those on the spot. There are various companies that do the full tour from Paris (like above), but I don't know which one might be best. www.webscapades.com has one which includes a carriage ride. There might be an advantage to an organized tour if you do not have to wait in any lines. If you want to see the fountain display, which is special, you must go on certain days and times. You can check out details on their web site (maybe www.chateauversailles.fr, it is easy to find with a search)

John,<BR><BR>I think your kid will be most impressed with the gardens. The interior of the palace is often very crowded - in my experience it's actually a little better in the afternoon (less tour groups).<BR><BR>Try to go on a day when the fountains are on (generally Sat and Sun from 11:00 to 12:00 and 15:30 to 17:00).<BR><BR>They also have "sound and light" shows at night on certain days - they only start at 21:30 though. You can get info on these by phone at:<BR>011-33-1-30 83 78 88 <BR><BR>You can buy tickets for the chateau in advance at any Fnac store in France, allowing you to avoid the lines at the entrance.<BR><BR>The official web site for the chateau is:<BR>http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/<BR><BR>Click on "calendar" to check when the fountains are on.<BR><BR>You can take a coach ride in the park, rent a rowboat or a bike... so many ways to enjoy the place!<BR><BR>Bon voyage,<BR>Andre

John:<BR><BR>We took our 12- and 15-year-olds to Versailles last Friday. We took the m&eacute;tro to Bir Hakeim and the RER to Versailles from there. The train takes about a half-hour, and it's about a 7-minute walk from the station to the ch&acirc;teau. The line for guided tours was incredibly long (about a 3-hour wait), but the line for the audiotours was only about 15-people long. We were inside in less than a half hour. The audiotour route is different from the guided tour route, and there are fewer people on it, so you never find yourself, as I have in the past, in a sea of people in a room, unable to see anything that is being described if you're under 6 feet tall. The audiotour doesn't give you all the detail that the guides do, but it's perfectly adequate and you can amplify it with guidebooks.<BR>Yes, you can take a carriage ride in the park - it looked a tad uncomfortable to me, though, bumping over those huge cobblestones. There is also a petit train to get you from one part of the park to another. You can get on and off as you like at the various stops.<BR>Be advised that the gardens in the park are a complete wreck right now; whether it's lack of funds or a holdover from the great storm of 1999 I don't know, but there are bulldozers and tractors and cordoned-off areas everywhere. Except for the garden areas right close to the ch&acirc;teau, everything seemed to be under construction of one kind or another. We walked to the Petit Trianon and to Marie Antoinette's hameau, and only one out of the nine or so buildings was viewable.

Previous posters have given quite accurate information and valid advice. We found it very busy and a bit confusing. It's easy to get there on your own from central Paris. At the same time, however, a guided tour might make better use of your time!