Pretty as a postcard in Versailles

Undoubtedly, there is plenty to do in Paris, the infamous City of Love. However, one of the best attractions to do in France isn’t in the ‘city’ of Paris at all but in fact in the regional area of Versailles. It was here that was to be my first experience in the land of the red, blue and white.

The Palace of Versailles

I joined the queue to get in (having thankfully pre-purchased my ticket online and thus avoiding the additionally long queues to buy tickets) and was inside within 10-15 minutes. There are separate entrance points to the Palace, and the Gardens (from which point Marie-Antoinette’s Chateau and the Grand Trianon can be accessed; the Chateau is a thirty minute walk from the Palace and the Grand Trianon a further walk from the Chateau). I decided on entering the Palace first, which seemed to be the prime attraction from the main entrance.

After passing through security and baggage checks, I finally entered the Palace. The Palace is a series of rooms (the Grand Apartments) set up in the style of the olden days of France. It is filled with beautiful furniture, paintings, art, chandeliers and architecture from days gone by. The style is very decadent and it is obvious the occupants of the Palace lived in luxury. The Hall of Mirrors is a highlight of the Palace, with magnificent chandeliers and wallpaper highlighting the Palace's immense beauty. T he only downsides are that the supporting information in the rooms is in French and the available space is generally dominated by tourists, which makes it sometimes cramped and pushy when moving around.








The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles

After touring Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen, I thought I had seen it all when it came to gardens and natural scenery. However, the Garden of Versailles has an uncanny ability of dwarfing the gardens in all of these places easily. Seemingly never-ending, the garden stretches for miles and miles and features a brilliant array of flowers, trees and many postcard-perfect photo opportunities.


The garden of Versailles

It takes a good few hours to explore the Gardens, Marie-Antoinette’s House, the Grand Trianon, their interiors (featuring further artwork and paintings) and surrounding buildings. It’s not really a naturally preserved feature of wonder like those in Scandinavia (it has been obviously tended to and shaped into a more commercial tourist attraction) but it is hugely impressive nonetheless. In addition, near the end of the gardens on your way out, there is a huge lake that you can use to rent a boat to row across (a favourite for the many couples in the area) or you can simply relax on the many surrounding grassy patches.




The lake at Versailles - a favourite spot for couples to row across[/caption]


The Palace of Versailles

Attraction details

Name: Palace of Versailles

Directions: Versailles can be reached by using the regional train network RER. You need to take the RERB to reach Versailles. I got onto the RERB at the Invalides station, and the journey to Versailles took approximately 40 minutes each way. The station you need to get off at is Versailles Rive-Gauche (not Versailles ……) so pay attention to the stations out the window. In any case, Versailles Rive-Gauche is the last stop so you can’t really miss out. From the station, Versailles is a short 10 minute walk from the station in a north-westerly direction. We simply followed the literal hoard of tourists and sure enough, we ended up at Versailles. So you can go with your nose or follow the crowd – up to you.

Admission fee: There are different ticket types available. I purchased the Versailles Passport, which offers entry to the Palace, the Gardens, the Grand Trianon and Marie-Antoinette’s Estate for 18 euros. Entry to only the Palace is 13 euros, however the stunning gardens are free (except on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from April to October; free admission from November to March) if you don't want to see anything else. Tickets are more expensive on these days (around 25 euros) on Tuesdays and Sundays due to a music concert that is included in the ticket price on these days so go on another day if you want to avoid getting stung. A full listing of the fare types is found here.

Rating: 5/5. Home to the beautiful Palace of Versailles, a tremendous garden, Marie-Antoinette’s Chateau and the Grand Trianon (a building of paintings, sculptures, art and more), Versailles is an essential stop for anyone visiting Paris.

Traveller’s tips:

• Arrive early to beat the crowds to get in – the Palace and Gardens open at different times, with the former opening at 9am and the latter at 8am. So if you arrive early, you can get a head start on the garden and enter the palace when everyone else is arriving, which is generally lunchtime.

• Prepurchase your ticket to avoid the line to buy the ticket – This is pretty self-explanatory. The ticket is the same price if you buy online or in person at the ticket office so there's no excuse not to buy in advance.

• Buy your food outside Versailles: There is of course a café/restaurant in Versailles but it is overpriced and caters to unsuspecting tourists. I went instead to a cheap bakery nearby which sold an Italian style baguette for around 5 euros.


• Bring some sunscreen for a sunny day: When I went, it was a warm, sunny day of around 23-25C. I forgot my sunscreen so I walked around feeling slightly burnt all day.


• Allow the most part of a day to do Versailles – We arrived around 12pm due to getting up late and got through everything in around five and a half hours, however if we arrived earlier we probably would have had more time to savour the sights and enjoy the experience more. Inclusive of transport on the RERB each way, you should allow at least 8 hours for the whole trip. Don’t plan to do anything major afterwards as you will be tired and your legs will be sore!

Have you been to Versailles and if so, what was your experience like? Do you have other favourite palaces or gardens in Europe or elsewhere to recommend?