Versailles Help
 

Can somebody please tell me the times the guided tours are held? i cannot find this information on the website. The site only says you have to reserve your tickets at the ticket office day of, starting at 9am when they open. times are not listed. Thanks

Hi C,

They will put you on the next available tour.

In the meantime, "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home".

((I))

I can't answer your question, but I offer a suggestion to think about how you wish to tour.
I have done a guided tour and got almost nothing out of it. The place is one huge echo chamber and although I tried to keep getting close to the guide, I couldn't understand much of anything she said. Noise from the masses around us would interfere, her accent was rather heavy, and her voice was not strong.

I have also done a self audio tour. I found it to be wonderful. You can stop it and start it when you want to, take more time to see a room, and even rewind to rehear something you might miss. I enjoyed it infinitely more than the guided tour.

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...perty_id=81488

I think the guided tours probably vary in frequency depending on time of year, number of interested parties, and so forth.

But the link above does state "Tours of Opéra Royal and Petits Appartements every 15 mins (EUR6) from Entrance D."

Neopolitan, I see your point but the audioguide is not as extensive as the guided tour. They leave rooms out. What to do?

Ira, I hear ya but we are on a rather tight schedule. Dont have all day to spend at Versailles. I cant wait around if there is not a guided tour until 10:30a. Maybe i will have to play it by ear. But i would hate not to see other parts of the palace.

Not all the rooms at the palace are interesting--some are just bare shells. However, when we were there we took a tour of apartments that are being refurnished as the French government traces and is able to buy back furnishings looted and sold after the Revolution.

Our other favorite thing to do at Versailles is to visit Marie Antoinette's "hameau," the little village where and her ladies played at being peasants. It's very picturesque and just a pleasant walk from the Trianons.

<<we are on a rather tight schedule. Dont have all day to spend at Versailles. I cant wait around if there is not a guided tour until 10:30a.>>

Slow down. You're on vacation.

The reason some rooms are not on the audio tour is there is really nothing much worth saying about them. You are welcome to also purchase a guide book, and of course you can go into the rooms that don't have an audio tour description, but frankly I'd rather see some rooms and listen to the historical background, than to stand in a larger group and hear nothing about more rooms. I just don't get the point.

I'm w/Neo, I much prefer an audio tour. It's nice to go at my own pace and listen when I feel like listening, then stop and take it all in.

It's a shame the OP doesn't have all day to see Versailles. I spent the entire day there last year and although we saw the highlights, we still missed a few things.

I visited last summer...the regular formal rooms are very crowded...kinda like a river of people..
.we took the tour of the private apartments and wow was it great! we got to see how Louis really lived his life... the dog room, the library,the famous desk, also the theatre he had built for the sons? wedding. even his commode....the group was very small and the person was so imformative and it was slow and relaxed... loved the story about the clock and the Trompe L'Oeil
AND THE BEST PART IS YOU DONT HAVE TO STAND IN LINE AS AT THE END OF THIS TOUR IT DUMPS YOU OUT in the entrance hall.

when you get there do not follow the crowd on the right go thru the courtyard and the ticket booth for private tours is thru a door an the left side.. ask someone ...there were only a few people there and the girl taking the money was an expat

Are the tours at the private apartments available in English?

yes they are ..
the guide we had sounded like she was from Belgium ..she did have a heavy accent but there was no noise and the group was limited to 20? people..I dont remember exactly but you could ask questions also...she made sure you got a really good view of everything and time to take it all in..the rooms were furnished and she told about how many euros they had to pay to buy back certain pieces.The opera is worth the price alone...
when we got to the public rooms it did not seem as enjoyable because of the people and they were redoing the hall of mirrors which is done now...I would do those rooms with a autoguide...we didnt use them as I was familiar with the rooms ..the war room, Maries rooms ,the chapel etc and we were tired..
I was irritated that a lot of the origional paintings were now in the louvre and the spaces in the palace were fitted with black and white photocopies (yes the french were fighting with themselves over the ownership).no surprise..
save time to go out to the gardens even if all you do is go down and see the 2 fountains quickly....we did all that and ate lunch and walked all the way down to the lake and were back to paris by 3:00 and we got lost too...If you cant spare that much time dont go as once you are in line you really cant speed things up much ...lets just say it would be frustrating

Hypatia,
Thanks for the great tips!

Would you mind clarifying for me which are the "private apartments"?
Do you mean the
"States Apartments" (State Apartment of the King, Hall of Mirrors, State Apartments of the Queen)
OR
the "King’s Chamber"
Which are considered the "public rooms"?
Sorry, I've never been, but am really looking forward to it!

thank you!
dina

No, the "king's private apartments", available only on guided tours, are separate from the "public" ones, i.e. the state apartments and the king's bedchamber. They were the king's actual living quarters, where only a few privileged courtiers were admitted.

Saw on the news that the Hall of Mirrors has reopenned

As far as I know the Hall of Mirrors was not closed entirely, just parts of it. When I was there last year we were told that sections of it would be closed for rennovation over the next several years, but some parts would always remain open throughout the process.

We were just there. You can walk the entire length of the Hall of Mirrors and all of the chandeliers are viewable, but half of the hallway is covered with a partition that allows work to go on behind it. It was really no big deal - you still get to experience the Hall of Mirrors - just not the entire length of the mirrored hallway. It was still very impressive.

you enter the large gallery (two rooms) and to the left is the chapel...then you go right down a corridor (that's what Id call it)...you are to the right...thats where the doorways are...
on you left are the roped off areas with funishings...throne , bed ,etc...and you move on to the hall of mirrors and the war room...you then go left down another corridor to see Maries bedroon...

finally there is a gift shop and you go down stairs to an outside courtyard where you can access the garden..this costs too 3-4 euros extra...late in the day they will often not care if you just walk in ..

.you just cant get the same effect in the hall of mirrors without the furnishings and the dust was everywhere...mirrors hardly shine coated in dust..do a search online for pictures..and remember it will be done by your next trip

Ok, I'd really like to see those private apartments. They sound great.
I guess the strategy is to get there early and try to get a guided tour.

<i>I have done a guided tour and got almost nothing out of it. The place is one huge echo chamber and although I tried to keep getting close to the guide, I couldn't understand much of anything she said. Noise from the masses around us would interfere, her accent was rather heavy, and her voice was not strong. </i> ((i))

Now I kind of understand why I didn't fancy Versailles. Now I wish I had done the audiotour...oh well.