Versailles
France
The palace most people see in a crowded half-day from Paris, and a quiet royal town around it for the few who stay the night
Photo by Jean-Philippe Delberghe on Unsplash
Photos by Hailey Wagner, Hongbin, Jan Zinnbauer and mana5280 on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
April to June, and September to October — the fountains play at weekends from spring into autumn
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 65mm in May
Where it is
48.80°N, 2.13°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A long weekend- Stay the night before and be at the gates at nine, before the trains from Paris arrive
- Book a timed palace ticket online; do not turn up on a Monday, when it is closed
- Do the palace in the morning and the Trianon after it opens at noon, by bicycle
- Stay for the Saturday-night fountain show and fireworks in summer, which end around eleven and are the best reason to sleep here
- Walk the town’s Notre-Dame and Saint-Louis quarters, which most visitors never see
Versailles travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
ExpensiveCards everywhere, including the palace ticket desks, which in practice means buying a timed ticket online in advance. Rooms cost less than in central Paris for a similar standard, and the restaurants in the town centre are priced for residents rather than coach parties. Refuse the conversion when a terminal offers to charge you in your own currency.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines around the Place du Marché Notre-Dame and the Rue de la Paroisse. Avoid the independent machines near the palace that offer to convert.
Avoid these
- independent machines near the palace that offer to convert to your own currency
Use these instead
- BNP Paribas
- Société Générale
- Crédit Agricole
- LCL
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeA wealthy, calm town with little crime against visitors. The palace queues in high season are where pickpockets work, as on the RER C between Paris and here. The practical risks are the Monday closure, which catches a lot of people, and summer engineering works that shut the RER C for weeks — check before you go and use the trains from Saint-Lazare or Montparnasse instead.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the palace queues in high season — tight crowds at the security check, which is where pickpockets work
- The RER C between Paris and Versailles, for pickpockets and for summer engineering closures that send you to Saint-Lazare or Montparnasse instead
- Monday, when the palace is closed and the people who did not check stand at the gates
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodEat in the town, not the palace. The Marché Notre-Dame — covered halls and an outdoor market on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings — is a serious food market, and the cafés around it feed you properly. Picnics are allowed in the park’s designated areas, which is a better lunch than the palace cafés.
Travel tipsGetting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Versailles
No Holistay rentals in Versailles yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Versailles on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG
1h 30mfrom the airport· 39 km as the crow flies
About 1h30 by RER B into Paris and then the RER C; a taxi takes about an hour off-peak.
Also worth pricing: Paris Orly ORY — half the distance, about 35 minutes by taxi off-peak.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
