Versailles - guided tour or on our own????
 

Is there a fantastic - see it all tour of Versailles or is it better to simply do it on our own? This is my daughter's most "looked forward to" part of Europe. Thanks so much for the help!

Absolutey either on your own and use the audio guides,, or book their tour online the "Kings Apartments". You don't say how old is your dd, but my 11 yr old loved Versailles, as did my 13, and my first visit I was 13 too.. but at that time I didn't know enough history to appreciate it , I made sure my kids did.
Don't take a tour from Paris ,they never give you enough time to explore the grounds , Petit and Grand Trianons and Marie Antionettes Hamlet and those are highlights for sure.

Do buy ticket online in advance or use a Museum Pass to avoid ticket line and arrive early to avoid long wait in the security lines.

Absolutey either on your own and use the audio guides,, or book their tour online the "Kings Apartments". You don't say how old is your dd, but my 11 yr old loved Versailles, as did my 13, and my first visit I was 13 too.. but at that time I didn't know enough history to appreciate it , I made sure my kids did.
Don't take a tour from Paris ,they never give you enough time to explore the grounds , Petit and Grand Trianons and Marie Antionettes Hamlet and those are highlights for sure.

Do buy ticket online in advance or use a Museum Pass to avoid ticket line and arrive early to avoid long wait in the security lines.

My daughter is 17. Thanks for the help!

You realize daughter is free, bring her proof of age. She can get in with you if you have a Museum Pass or a ticket.

On your own, spend the day and rent bicycles to tour the grounds and see the Petit and Grand Trianons and Marie Antionette's Hameau. Then you can see all of the gardens and still have time for the palace.

With the Museum Pass the guided tour put on through the Chateau was only 7 Euro. We signed up for an afternoon tour when we first arrived and then headed out to see the gardens and outer estate first. By the time we returned to the Chateau in the afternoon most of the crowds were gone. After the guided tour, you can pick up headphones and see the rest of the Chateau on your own. Even if you don't sign up for a tour, do the gardens/outer estate first so that you avoid the worst of the crowds at the Chateau.

The alternative to rtonthego's suggestion is to show up just before 09:00 and book a place on one of the tours being offered by the chateau itself. The museum pass does not cover this tour, but it is very worthwhile as you can then proceed to enter the building and do a quick view of the Hall of Mirrors and the public spaces, before taking your tour which won't likely begin until 10:00. After the tour (ours lasted around 90 minutes), you can stroll through the gardens, have lunch in the cafe on the grounds, rent bikes to ride around - the place is huge - etc. etc. Doing it on your own, you will have way more time at the site itself.

It is an easy matter to get to Versailles on the RER line (followed by a short walk.) But it helps to familiarize yourself with the transit system the day before, know which train you'll want to board, etc. etc. - and also organize a picnic breakfast to eat on the train as you will be starting out early.

We visited Versailles in May. While you could rent bicycles, we opted for the golf cart which seats 4. This was a good use of money as we could spend a lot more time walking around the grounds seeing things of interest to us, rather than expending so much more energy just getting TO the sights. Rent a small rowboat on the lake or choose to have a snack, it was a lot of fun.

Be aware that the palace itself will be very crowded. We had the unfortunate experience of being in the palace with a horde of very rude, impolite Chinese tourists. They pretended not to understand much English or French and wandered off into areas not generally open to the public.

Good Luck!

We saw it on our own and afterward I wished I had used a guide. I think if you have the right guide, it only enhances your experience. Particularly if it's your daughters "most looked forward" to part of Europe. If I ever go back, I will look into some of the behind the scenes tours that give you access to places the general public cannot see, like the private royal quarters.

So appreciate all the suggestions. If we were to plan for a behind the scenes tour, can we combine that with going on our own (to allow for the most time at Versailles) and does anyone have one particular tour group/company they would recommend? Thanks

Does anyone know where you can rent the golf cart? Cost? I don't see this on their site.

Full disclosure: I have not taken a guided tour of Versailles, so I have no direct experience with booking tours there or tour companies. However, I have used Viator (www.viator.com) to book tours elsewhere (such as the Doges Palace in Venice) and have always been satisfied. And Viator does offer a range of tours of Versailles. They usually contract with a local travel agency. I suppose you could spend time researching the locals to see who offers a tour, instead of using Viator, but that might be more expensive and a bit of a hassle.

A lot of those tours are billed as "half day," meaning, I suppose, that you could spend the other half day touring on your own.

Bookmarking for June, 2015, trip to Paris. I'm curious about the golf carts, too!

Versailles is easy to do on your own. They have great English signs everywhere and you just follow the path through the palace with everyone else. Definitely save time to walk through the gardens and if you can go to the smaller outbuildings where Marie Antoinette lived. They are amazing

If you book a 1/2 day tour you and spend the whole day you are ripping yourself off.. but hey..

You would be paying a lot of extra money for a few hours of tour and STILL have to pay extra to get back on your own.. which if you are willing to do that , , then simply take the train there and book the Kings Apartment tour online on the official website.. you will pay HALF of what you would pay to do a bus tour and skip out the ride home.

The golf carts are for rent behind the palace,, you will not miss them ,, but they are first come first serve and there aren't that many, There is however a tram that is a lot cheaper and can transport to the far reaches of the grounds , =

>>You would be paying a lot of extra money for a few hours of tour and STILL have to pay extra to get back on your own.<<

I would double-check that. (As I mentioned, I haven't specifically done Versailles in a tour, so I can't verify.) Many of the "skip the line" tours include regular admission, so that you get a guided tour and then are free to explore the site on your own. If that's true of Versailles, then the tours, some of which cost as little as US$36/pp, are a reasonable deal.

Vincenzo.. the tours leaving from Paris cost over 50 euros each.. some cost much much more .

A skip the line tour is about 20 euros.. plus 8 euros for a return train ticket.

I think taking the Kings Apartment tour is a GREAT idea.. or even using a day of the museum pass.. or prebuying the ticket.. but the OP was asking about a tour FROM Paris and not leaving when the tour returns back to Paris...so as to enjoy a few more hours(ie the big bus tours)

Or at least that is how I understood it.

If you are capable of getting the train and going home on your own.. then I think you are capable to taking the train there and avoiding the tours from Paris. .that are overpriced and too short!

>If you are capable of getting the train and going home on your own.. then I think you are capable to taking the train there<

LOL, put that way justineparis~it makes sense! :)