Visiting the Palace of Versailles requires you to book a time slot, compulsory for everyone, even free visitors. The Passeport ticket, which gives access to the Palace, the Trianon estate and the gardens, costs €35 at the standard rate. The Palace is closed on Mondays and opens from 9 am to 6:30 pm in high season (23 March – 1 November) and from 9 am to 5:30 pm in low season.
This page gathers the official rules recorded on chateauversailles.fr on 15 October 2026, access from Paris, and a calculated table that crosses the Grandes Eaux season with the rainy days of the Météo-France normals. Versailles is usually visited from the capital: see our guide to visiting Paris. Another royal residence in the Île-de-France, the Château de Fontainebleau, has its hours and closures on our site.
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Key facts: Palace of Versailles
- Hours: Palace 9 am – 6:30 pm in high season (last admission 5:45 pm), 9 am – 5:30 pm in low season (last admission 4:45 pm); Trianon from 12 noon
- Full price: Passeport €35 (reduced rate €32); Trianon estate ticket €15; free for under-18s and for EU residents under 26 (US and UK visitors do not qualify for the under-26 free admission)
- Booking: compulsory for the Palace (time slot), including free admissions; only buying online guarantees entry within half an hour of your slot
- Closed: Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May
- Length of visit: a full day for the Passeport (Palace, Trianon, gardens), according to the official formula « discover all of Versailles in one day »
- Information checked on 15 October 2026 on chateauversailles.fr (official site). Prices and hours may change: check before you go.
Tickets: Passeport, Trianon, official or resellers?
The official ticket office is accessible from chateauversailles.fr. Tickets are neither refundable nor exchangeable. The official site states that only the Passeport gives access to the whole estate and guarantees entry to the Palace. Paris Museum Pass holders must also collect a free Passeport ticket with a time slot.
| Ticket (recorded on 15 October 2026) | Standard rate | Reduced rate | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passeport | €35 | €32 | Palace (time slot), Trianon estate (from 12 noon), gardens including Grandes Eaux and Musical Gardens days |
| Trianon estate ticket | €15 | €12 | Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Queen’s Hamlet (from 12 noon) |
| Passeport + VR experience | €42 | — | Passeport + immersive experience, skip-the-line access to the Palace after the experience |
Free admissions: the Palace and the Trianon estate are free for under-18s and for EU residents under 26, but a ticket reservation is still compulsory. Some areas are free for everyone: the Carriage Gallery (weekend afternoons), the Jeu de Paume hall, the park. Guided tours cost €10 to €16 on top of the entry fee; bookings open 3 months ahead.
Opening hours and closing days
| Area | High season (23 March – 1 Nov.) | Low season (2 Nov. – 22 March) |
|---|---|---|
| Palace | 9 am – 6:30 pm; last admission 5:45 pm | 9 am – 5:30 pm; last admission 4:45 pm |
| Trianon estate | 12 noon – 6:30 pm | 12 noon – 5:30 pm |
| Gardens | Open every day, until 8:30 pm | 8 am – 6 pm, last access 5:30 pm |
| Park | 7 am – 8:30 pm, every day | 8 am – 6 pm, every day |
Best time to visit Versailles
The palace publishes no monthly attendance figures, so we give none. The official site recommends, with a Passeport and an afternoon Palace slot, starting with the Trianon estate (open from 12 noon) and then the gardens. Avoid Monday (closed) and remember that on Tuesdays several Paris museums close: it is a day when Versailles is open. For another great residence, in the Oise, our guide to the Château de Chantilly presents the estate and the Grandes Écuries (Great Stables).
Our Grandes Eaux × rain calculation: the Grandes Eaux Musicales (musical fountain shows), the Musical Gardens and the nighttime Grandes Eaux take place from early April to the end of October according to the official site, on certain dates (check the calendar). The gardens are visited outdoors: here, for each month, are the average rainy days from the Paris-Montsouris normals (Météo-France, the nearest station published on our Paris page), scaled to a one-day visit.
| Month | Average max | Rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | Chance that a given day is rainy | Gardens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.6 °C (46 °F) | 9.9 | 32% | — |
| February | 8.8 °C (48 °F) | 9.1 | 32% | — |
| March | 12.8 °C (55 °F) | 9.5 | 31% | — |
| April | 16.6 °C (62 °F) | 8.6 | 29% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| May | 20.2 °C (68 °F) | 9.2 | 30% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| June | 23.4 °C (74 °F) | 8.3 | 28% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| July | 25.7 °C (78 °F) | 7.4 | 24% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| August | 25.6 °C (78 °F) | 8.1 | 26% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| September | 21.5 °C (71 °F) | 7.5 | 25% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| October | 16.5 °C (62 °F) | 9.5 | 31% | ✅ Grandes Eaux season |
| November | 11.1 °C (52 °F) | 10.4 | 35% | — |
| December | 8.0 °C (46 °F) | 11.4 | 37% | — |
Result: within the Grandes Eaux season, July has the lowest average probability of a rainy day (24%), and June to September stay under 30%. April and October, less certain, are also cooler for walking in the park.
How long to allow and suggested route
- Morning: Palace at your slot time (Grands Appartements, Hall of Mirrors) — meet at the North Ministers’ Wing for guided tours;
- Midday: gardens (including Grandes Eaux days);
- Afternoon: Trianon estate (from 12 noon): Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Queen’s Hamlet;
- Variant with an afternoon slot: Trianon and gardens first, Palace afterwards, as the official site advises.
An audioguide in 12 languages is available and a free visitor app can be downloaded. Allow a full day with the Passeport, half a day for the Palace alone.
Getting there from Paris
- RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche: 10 minutes’ walk from the Palace;
- SNCF train from Paris-Montparnasse (lines N or U) to Versailles Chantiers: 18 minutes’ walk;
- SNCF train from Paris-Saint-Lazare (line L) to Versailles Rive Droite: 17 minutes’ walk;
- Car: parking at Place d’Armes (paid). Address: Place d’Armes, 78000 Versailles.
Accessibility and visitor rules
Non-motorized wheelchairs are lent free of charge for the Palace and for the Grand and Petit Trianon. When the cloakroom area is open, certain items (strollers, metal baby carriers, bulky luggage) are not allowed in the rooms; the site did note, however, that the cloakrooms were temporarily closed, with strollers and backpacks then tolerated. Check the rule in force before you go.
Getting around the estate: gardens, park and Trianon
The estate is vast: from the Palace to the Trianon estate (open from noon), allow about 30 minutes on foot through the gardens and the park, or 20 minutes by little train or electric vehicle. You enter the gardens from the Palace through the Cour des Princes, next to entrance A. To understand where this model of French formal gardens comes from, a visit to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a useful complement to Versailles.
- In the gardens: movement only on foot, by little train or by electric vehicle rented on site; bicycles and horses are prohibited;
- In the park: free and open every day (except in exceptional weather), it can be explored on foot, by bicycle, on horseback, by rowboat, by electric vehicle or by little train;
- Audioguide and app: the Palace audioguide is available in 12 languages (desk in the vestibule of the Dufour pavilion); the free Palace app offers audio tours and an interactive map of the estate;
- By car: the official site announces the closure of the A13 motorway in the Paris > Versailles direction from 16 November 2026 to 31 August 2027 and recommends public transport; cars are not admitted in the park from 27 July to 11 August and from 3 to 7 September (except people with disabilities with proof).
Common mistakes to avoid
- Coming without a booked slot: it is compulsory for everyone, even free visitors;
- Coming on a Monday: the Palace and Trianon are closed;
- Buying a Trianon estate ticket thinking it gets you into the Palace: it does not include it;
- Arriving after the last admission (5:45 pm in high season, 4:45 pm in low season);
- Planning to visit Trianon in the morning: it only opens at 12 noon.
What to see nearby
Back in Paris on the RER C, get off at Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel for the Eiffel Tower or at Musée d’Orsay for the Musée d’Orsay. For another royal château, the Château de Chambord takes a day in the Loire Valley. The full program is in our guide to visiting Paris.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to visit the Palace of Versailles?
On 15 October 2026, the Passeport ticket (Palace, Trianon, gardens) cost €35 at the standard rate and €32 at the reduced rate; the Trianon estate ticket €15, according to chateauversailles.fr.
Do you need to book the Palace of Versailles?
Yes. Booking a time slot is compulsory for all visitors to the Palace, including those with free admission.
Which day is the Palace of Versailles closed?
Mondays, as well as 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. The gardens and the park are open every day.
Is Versailles free for young people?
The Palace and the Trianon estate are free for under-18s and for EU residents under 26, with compulsory booking. US and UK visitors do not qualify for the under-26 free admission.
How do you get to Versailles from Paris?
By RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche (10 minutes’ walk) or by train from Montparnasse or Saint-Lazare.
How do you get from the Palace of Versailles to Trianon?
On foot, allow about 30 minutes through the gardens and the park; by little train or electric vehicle, about 20 minutes, according to chateauversailles.fr. The Trianon estate opens at noon.
Our sources
- chateauversailles.fr: Practical information (high and low season hours, access, accessibility) and Tickets & prices — consulted on 15 October 2026
- Météo-France, Paris-Montsouris climate sheet, 1991-2020 statistics (normals taken from our Paris page)
- chateauversailles.fr, « Préparer ma visite » and « Informations pratiques » pages (getting around the estate, audioguide, app, road access) – consulted on 16 October 2026
- Our methodology
Updated November 2026.