I had found a hop-on hop-off bus at Versailles run by Paris Cityrama. After more searching and emailing them the question, this is no longer running.

Does anyone on here know of a way to get about the enormous grounds with minimal walking? I can not walk for more than about 1/2 - 3/4 hour. Ugggh!

If you mean the chateau (as opposed to the town of Versailles) there used to be a tram that ran through the gardens. Haven't been there in several years and couldn't find anything on the web site about the tram.

I did find that they have golf carts for people with mobility problems. They had these at Vaux as well but a limited number. I would suggest that you go early and do the gardens first so you can get a golf cart to take you around. Then save your walking for the palace.

I just noticed that there are wheel chairs (limited supply) for inside the palace. And I found a reference to the mini train (tram) so I guess it's still running.

I read in the Rick Steves Paris book that there are bicylcles to rent near the grand canal - by the hour.

I was there in Novenber of 2006 and the tram was running. You paid to ride but it wasn't much. They also had golf carts for rent...more expensive...about 25.00 U.S. at that time I believe. I wish we'd forked over the bucks and rented a gold cart..looked very fun.

ddena,
It isn't clear what you are referring to. Are you talking about the Chateau or the town? If you are talking about the Chateau, which I assume you are by mentioning "the grounds." The hop on hop off cityrama bus wouldn't have actually driven you around the grounds to begin with.

Golf carts can be rented for 28€ and that is probably your best option for mobility issues.

We were a bit tired at Versailles and we rented the golf carts. They are great as they play classical music as you tool around and when you come upon certain sites the music stops and it begins a short little audio description of what you are looking at. You can take them throughout the gardens, the petit treion and the hamlet. You can't get lost because if you try to go off of the path they simply shut off and all you can do is go in reverse and remain on the garden paths. I highly recommend the golf carts. Be sure to bring a picture ID with you as I remember having to leave our drivers license until we returned the cart to ensure we would return it to the rental office. As stated above, these are in high demand and the wait can be quite a while so you might want to do this early before they are rented out.

There is always the tram, it has nothing to do with Cityrama HOHO buses.
Golf carts, while I haven't done them( I am way too cheap) sound like your best option.
You can rent bikes, I have, but you still must walk down by the canal , which means down lots of steps, and about 10-15 minutes to get to bike rental stand from Chateau.

If you can afford to ,I would rent the golf cart.
I would if I had trouble with walking, I don't , so I can't justify the expense, BUT, in your case you should NOT cheap out and miss out on sites that you have flown thousands of miles and paid thousands of dollars to be able to visit this incredible site.

In May 2006 we used the tram thingy around the chateaux grounds and it was great. As much as anything else, the grounds are divine especially the Petit Trianon etc and the little village. We agreed that we enjoyed this more than the chateaux which was filled to the brim with pushy tour groups.

Oooh Sorry, Chateau not Chateaux!!

In December 2007 we too used the little train that takes you around the gounds,as the weather was terrible..umbrellas blowing inside out etc! It wouldnt have been our choice to see the gounds that way, but it made it very easy with very little walking in the wet conditions.

From Rick Steves on line information
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...versailles.htm

Getting Around the Gardens: It's a 50-minute hike from the palace, down to the canal, past the two Trianon palaces to the Hamlet — the heart of the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. Renting a bike (€6/hr, near the Grand Canal) gives you the most freedom to explore the gardens effortlessly, freely, and economically. The fast-looking, slow-moving tram (petit train) leaves from behind the Château (north side) and serves the Grand Canal and the Domaine. You can hop on and off as you like (€6, possible discount with Le Passeport, 4/hr, three stops, commentary is nearly worthless). Another option is to rent a golf cart for a fun drive through the gardens (€28/hr, pick up at Orangerie side of palace, shuts off automatically if you diverge from prescribed route).

Thank you all so much for the suggestions! Yes, I was talking about the Chateau. I will be renting a golf cart! Yea!

is this a two, or larger four passenger cart? just curious.

lincasanova: I am fairly sure that there was room for four in the golf cart as I seem to recall piling clothes and items we were carrying in the back seat. I found it to be well worth the money for just DH and I to have the freedom to rove as we pleased. However, if there are four in your group or if you can find another couple to share the cost I believe one cart would be sufficient and more than affordable if you share the cost with another couple.

ddena: Enjoy your trip around the grounds in the golf cart. That was a very fun part of our day at Versailles and we still talk about it years later. Our son and daughter in law rented a cart on a rainy day in Versailles just last year and they still talk about going mudding (a southern term consisting of a motorized vehicle and some type of wet muddy surface) in France. They had a blast. Enjoy your tip. J

Out of curiosity....
If you take the cart, and you want to get out and look around, where do you park it?
Do you risk cart-jacking?
(Actually, this is a serious question. It looked odd when I wrote it out)

Julie: Turn the key, take it out of the cart and take it with you.
Come back to the cart, insert key, turn it on and off you go. We spent a lot of time wandering around the hamlet and other areas and simply left the golf cart parked and came back to it later. Just be sure to remove any personal items from the cart so they are not stolen while you are gone and make sure you remember which cart is yours. DH got into the wrong cart at one point and got very upset when the key would not turn as I laughed heartily while pointing at "our" cart parked across the road.