Versailles Musical Fountains Show
 

We are planning to be in Paris in September 2012. We have been trying to research a trip to Versailles and seem to be finding conflicting information on the schedule for the musical fountains show. On the Versailles website there is mention of the show being on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. However, many other sites seem to suggest the show is on weekends only. Does anyone know at which time of year the show would be on Tuesdays?

shaje,

I found it confusing as well when we were there this past October. We decided to go on Saturday for the first show that started at about 11:00 and went for about 80 minutes. Try and be there ahead of time as we spent 1/2 hour the security line and there is a second and separate entrance for the gardens.

I will say it was great to see and worth the planning and the trip.

Good luck!

If you go to http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage, then click "What's on" on the right side, you get the calendar of events. The September 2012 schedule is not out yet, so go back to September 2011 get an idea.

On some Tuesdays they have "Jardins Muscaux" which is described as music stroll through gardens.

On Sat and Sun, they have the "Grandes Eaux Musicales" which is music and fountains. They tinker with offerings, so you are not sure until they actually publish their Sept 2012 schedule. When I went there, the 11am show was a mini fountain show and the big one was in the afternoon.

The musical fountains aren't exactly show; it's the day that the fountains are turned on and music is played. The big Apollo fountain, however, is on most of the time. If you want a real show, go to a night-time "spectacle.

Thank you all for taking the time to help us out. It looks like it will have to be the Saturday for us if we want to see the "Grandes Eaux Musicales", but I will check the "What's on" again closer to the time.

Underhill, the night spectacle does look wonderful but it appears it isn't on during September. I will keep it in mind for another trip!

Being in the Versailles gardens when the fountains are running is very worth the effort. The fountains were the best part of Versailles, IMO. The music was irrelevant. It's not a typical fountain/music "show".

I guess I'm in the minority, but my advice would be to lower your expectations and prepare to be underwhelmed. The Gardens are very nice as are the fountains. However, the "show" is simply turning on the fountains and playing uncoreographed music while attendants make sure you don't sit on the grass. All for an extra fee, too (extra charge even with the Museum Pass).

It sounds like it's something you want to try, so don't let me dissuade you, but do lower the bar. Next time we go, we'll try to go on a day that doesn't have the show.