Last updated on April 26th, 2025

The day trip from Paris to the Palace of Versailles is one of my favorite trips to do. Read on for a full Versailles Palace Travel Guide to making this visit for yourself. Sharing with my travel blog, travel tips, and all the useful information.

There are a few interesting day trips you can make from Paris, but one of the popular is to Versailles Palace, a jewel of French Baroque architecture. This historical monument was the principal royal residence of France from 1682 when Louis XIV relocated there.

The Versailles Palace is the second most popular attraction in France, after the Louvre, and has nearly 8 million visitors annually. A visit to the Palace of Versailles gives one an idea of the grandeur in which royalty lived in the 17th and 18th centuries.

We visited the Versailles and had an amazing time here. There are many things to see and do in Versailles Palace. The palace of Versailles is huge, with its 2,300 rooms spread over more than 63,000 square meters. Make sure you don’t miss the King’s state and private apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and the Gallery of the Great Battles, in addition to the Trianon Palace and the Queen’s Hamlet.

Seeing as how a day trip from Paris to Versailles Palace is definitely one of the most popular things to do for visitors. Much like the Louvre in Paris, the Palace of Versailles is massive. With over 2,300 rooms, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. What to do and where to go?

The Versailles Palace Travel guide below will help you plan your day trip to Versailles, so you are sure to get the most out of Versailles Palace and its Gardens!

The Palace of Versailles

Chateau Versailles or Palace of Versailles is located on the outskirts of Paris, about a 45-minute train ride from the city. Versailles Palace is an expansive property, served as the royal residence of France from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolutions in 1789.

The palace featured seven hundred rooms along with a beautiful garden and fountains, adorned with important works of art. There is also a large collection of paintings and sculptures that are fantastic pieces of art. It is opulent and the history is fascinating.

The history of France is depicted here through and it explains the causes of The French Revolution and the Rise of Napoleon.

Things To Know Before Visit

First of all, you need to know some of the important information before the visit. We have put together this quick and easy Versailles Palace Travel Guide here. Most importantly, we highly recommend a plan when visiting this site, especially if you have somewhat limited time. 

How To Get To the Versailles from Paris

The journey from Paris to Versailles Palace is relatively simple and straightforward. The easiest way to visit this world-famous palace is by train. Trains run every 15 minutes from 5:30 morning from Paris’s metro station. The journey takes about 45 minutes and costs around €3.65 for one way.

We recommended getting the round-trip ticket at the metro station in Paris. With the same ticket, the metro can be taken from any station in Paris to an RER C station where the train departs to Versailles’ Rive-Gauche station, the final stop near the Palace. You will find helpful signs as you exit the station.

Admission Ticket

You can buy online or in-person at the “Office de Turisme de Versailles” which is located about a 3-minute walk before you get to the gates of the Palace. The Passport ticket costs €20 for access to the palace, Trianon estate, and the gardens. Book through Klook and avail of skip-the-line packages to enter the iconic Château de Versailles! (Get the Palace Ticket from Klook)

Alternatively, get the Paris City Pass or The Paris Museum Pass and both passes allow free admission to the Palace of Versailles. With the pass, you can skip the entry line at Versailles Palace.

Plan ahead, buy your ticket in advance, and follow the correct entrance as per your ticket. It will make a huge difference to your experience.

Note: The admission ticket does not include the special show (musical fountain shows). If you would like to see the show, a separate ticket is required and the cost for these can vary depending on the show.

A Visit to Versailles Palace

During our day trip to Versailles Palace, we planned an entire day and didn’t have a particular agenda. We were blessed with beautiful weather so we did the palace in the morning and the gardens in the early afternoon.

We arrived at Versailles Palace from Paris in the early morning on a weekday by train. After a short walk, we reached the palace grounds. The place was already crowded and there was a long queue waiting to enter even in the early morning. We were glad that we bought the tickets in advance so that we did not have to stand in line too long to get in.

We got to the Palace after 30 minutes and began exploring. Don’t forget to take the audio tour, which provided excellent details for each room we walked through.

Hall of Mirrors

Firstly, we headed directly to the famous Hall of Mirrors. As was expected, this room was especially busy with tourists mulling about, crowding the room.

Yet, despite the heavy traffic, I still found myself enjoying this place. The huge hall is decorated with crystal chandeliers and hundreds of mirrors lining the high-arched walls.

After enjoying the Hall of Mirrors, we retraced our steps to the beginning of the audio tour and enjoyed it. The place is a house of opulence with priceless paintings, furniture, and statues.

The works of art and the overall grandeur of the place are something to behold.

After wandering through the building, we next wander through the garden which is massive. These lavish but beautifully manicured gardens, with their sculptures, flowers, fountains, and ponds, extend for miles and one could easily spend the better part of a day exploring them.

The garden is so big, with lots of places to walk and explore. We did not have enough time to enjoy all of it. If you had more time and budget, you can rent a golf cart or take the petit train to get you around.

Make sure you see the estate of Trianon (known as Marie Antoinette’s estate) as well, which includes a fake peasant village created to provide scenic views and fresh milk and eggs for the Queen.

Versailles Palace Travel Tips

To ensure you have the smoothest trip possible, here are my top Versailles Palace Travel Tips for you!

• Wear comfortable shoes as it’s a lot of walking. Do not wear high heels because of the cobblestone walk to the Palace
• There is dining and plenty of places to grab drinks and snacks, but the price is not cheap.
• Don’t forget to pack water and snacks, especially if you are traveling with children.
• Don’t bring a bag or backpack. You cannot take these into the Palace and so you will be offered to put them in the security room.
• As with many major attractions in Paris, it’s best to book tickets in advance to avoid the queues. The lines get crazy very early, so reserving your place is important.
• Get the skip the line tickets if you can bear having a specific entry time.
• The tour buses and big crowds start showing up by late morning. Arrive early, especially in the high season.
• Free audio guides and maps are available. Collected them and there is part of your admission ticket.
• Buy the round trip ticket in Paris to avoid the long lines to buy the train ticket at the Versailles station when leaving.

Overview: Versailles Palace Travel Guide

All in all, the palace of Versailles is a great day trip from Paris and is very easy to access via public transport. The palace itself is a historic and true marvel, a total sensory overload of treasures and monument to the power and opulence of the French monarchy. A fine example of 18th-century French architecture and art.

In short, we hope this Versailles Palace Travel Guide is helpful. During our time, we enjoyed the visit immensely. The Palace is opulent and I haven’t ever seen any royal residence that has been so grand in its decor. The history, scale, and apparent opulence are amazing. A must-visit place for your Paris trip!

Planning for a trip to Paris? Check out the Paris travel blog here:

• Paris itinerary: 4 Days in Paris Travel Blog
• A Day With Louvre Museum: Ultimate Travel Guide Blog
• Where To Stay in Paris: The Best Areas and Hotels

Related Paris Food Travel Blog:

• Paris Food Guide: What and Where to Eat in Paris
• Bouillon Chartier: Best Paris Restaurant for Affordable French Cuisine
• Le Poulbot Montmartre: Adorable and Authentic Restaurant in Paris

 

Last updated on April 26th, 2025

In this Louvre Museum Travel Guide Blog, we have put together useful information and our most precious Louvre travel tips to help visitors to this world’s largest museums. My visit to Louvre and how we arranged the day in the museum are included.

If you ever find yourself in Paris, don’t miss the Louvre Museum, one of the world’s largest museums and home to incredible artworks. At the Louvre, you’ll encounter the best and most eclectic art collection. From the world-famous Mona Lisa, Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, Venus de Milo, to the Psyche Revived by Cupids Kiss, there’s something for art lovers in the Louvre. A trip to Paris is incomplete without a visit to this world-famous Louvre Museum.

We are not frequent museum visitors but the Louvre is another exception. There are no words to describe a visit to the Louvre museum. The paintings are so magnificent and the sculptures were awe-inspiring. It is much more than a museum, but a journey through history via art.

Louvre Museum is vast and so massive. we had researched it a lot before we went but even then I did not realize how huge it was until I was there. That being said, it can take hours to see even the popular pieces.

To help you to plan for your visit to the Louvre museum, we have put together the Louvre Travel Guide to help visitors with the latest information, how to get there, and our most precious Louvre travel tips. Use this Louvre Museum Travel Guide to plan how to visit the Louvre and decide what to see before you go.

Louvre Museum Paris

The origin of the Louvre dates back to the 1200s. Once a royal residence, it opened in 1793 as a museum during the French revolution and now has been lauded as the world’s greatest art museum. This iconic structure has been recognized as the most visited museum in the world and received about 10 million visitors per year.

The Louvre Museum has over 38,000 artifacts in eight specific departments and is pretty well organized. It features exquisite masterpieces from antiquity to about the mid-18th century from various cultures across Europe. You will find thousands of French and Renaissance art masterpieces, also pieces from Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.

Things To Know Before Visit

Before you plan anything else, you need to know some of the important information about the Louvre museum, including the opening time, what is the must-see, the best time to visit, and much useful information is the part of Louvre Museum travel guide.

Admission Prices For Louvre

Due to the current circumstances, the Louvre has reduced the number of daily visitors. This means that there are fewer Louvre tickets to sell each day. You can purchase tickets for the Louvre museum at the counter or online. The admission ticket costs you €15 at the time of visiting at the counter and €17 online.

We strongly recommended you buy your tickets online in advance. Standing in the scorching sun for one to two hours for a mere €2 extra? Together with the morning time slot, you will save a lot of precious time for your Paris trip.

When you buy the tickets online, you choose a specific date and time slot to ensure a quick entry to the museum. Get The Louvre with a priority access ticket to beat the notoriously long ticket queues outside.

Alternatively, you can buy the Louvre Museum skip-the-line guided tour and visit the museum hassle-free. The ticket includes an English-speaking guide who will bring you through the important rooms and explain some of the important paintings in the Louvre.

Visit The Museum For Free

Admission is free for all visitors on the first Saturday of each month from 18:00 to 21:45 and on Bastille Day 14 July. If you are under 25 years old and a resident of the European Economic Area (EU, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), you have free admission to the main museum year-round. 

On Friday evenings from 18:00 to 21:45, admission to the museum is free for all visitors under the age of 26 regardless of country of residence.

How To Get To Louvre

There are a few ways to get to the Louvre:

• Metro: Stop at the Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre station (metro line 1).
• Bus: 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, and 95 stop in front of the Pyramid du Louvre.
• Car: The most convenient parking is at the underground garage on Avenue du Général Lemonnier, open daily from 07:00 to 23:00.

To enter to Louvre, there are few entrances to enter the Louvre. The Glass Pyramid and Passage Richelieu are Louvre entrances that are always open and anybody can use them. While the other entrances to the Louvre may be closed depending on the public health situation related to the pandemic.

How to Skip the Line at the Louvre

Being the largest art museum in the world it is busy, especially in the high season. But, there are a few ways you can get ahead of the crowds to save some time.

Book your tickets online: You can buy your tickets in advance with a time slot selected from the official Louvre Website. The admission ticket cost €17.

Get the Paris City Pass or The Paris Museum Pass and both passes allow free admission to the Louvre Museum. With the pass, you can skip the entry line at the Louvre. Take note that you still need to queue but the security checkpoint is much shorter than the usual line.

Book a Tour: If you don’t want to plan and a prefer hassle-free visit, you can consider following the experts with a Louvre Museum audio guide to see all the highlights. Get your Louvre Museum skip-the-line guided tour in advance, and you pick up the audio guide when you arrive at the museum. Remember to grab a map of the Louvre at the main hall.

Must-See in Louvre Museum

If you plan on visiting the Louvre, be sure to have a plan for what you want to see before you get there. It will take time to find all these masterful works of art.

The Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting in the world and is seen by millions of visitors every year. This is the world-famous work of the artist Leonardo da Vinci painted around 1503.

Other pieces of note include the Victory of Samothrace (or Winged Victory); the ancient Greek sculpture Venus de Milo; Antonio Canova’s “Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss” and Michelangelo’s Dying Slave amongst a whole host of others.

How To Plan Your Visit in Louvre Museum

The Louvre museum is huge and the collections are displayed on 5 levels (levels -2 to 2 through 0) in 3 wings, Richelieu, Sully, and Denon, clearly marked on the Louvre layout. The collection is so huge and diverse that it’s impossible to finish the visit in one day!

Originally the 3 wings are supposed to be interconnected, however, due to the astonishing craze for the Mona Lisa which was shifted from Room 711 in the Denon wing to a different room in Richelieu (level 2), certain rooms in the Sully wing were blocked preventing access to Richelieu wing.

But still, you need to walk so far to see everything. With its 35,000+ works of art and 670,000 square feet of gallery space over multiple levels, you’ll be forgiven if you feel “lost” and like you’re head’s about to explode because you don’t know where to begin.

As such, you should have a strategy set in place and pick out what you are most interested in and do that first. So the visit must be planned for a meaningful appreciation of the artifacts.

Mona Lisa

It is recommended that you get to know right away where the Mona Lisa is and see that first. We entered the Richelieu wing and raced to the Mona Lisa to beat the crowds. Climbing the many steps and race to the gallery housing the Mona Lisa.

The new queue system allows for less than 1-minute access to see the painting. We spend almost one hour on Mona Lisa including the queuing time. The room the Mona Lisa was in was very crowded and we managed to get a glimpse of it. 

Next, we spent almost the remaining 4 hours taking in the rest of the splendor. We wandered around and explored all three wings of this massive museum, all the while admiring the architecture of the building, both its inside and outside.

Lastly, we left the Louvre when it was back in the afternoon.

Glass Pyramid

Last but not least, don’t forget to admire the Glass pyramid located outside of the Louvre Museum from all angles. The Glass Pyramid (which is also the entrance) was built by I.M. Pei and it is a great compliment to the original architecture of the Louvre.

Quick Louvre Museum Travel Tips

• Pre-purchase your tickets online to avoid the big lines. You can get through security and get started in no time at all.
• Always have your health passport ready (or if you have vaccination papers or negative test results documents, have them on hand).
• Getting an audio guide and interactive map is highly recommended. Take the map from the Museum, to know exactly where to go.
• Go to the cafe on the upper floor of the Denon wing where you have a good view of the Palais de Louvre and the pyramid at the Terrance.
• The Mona Lisa does have long lines. Try to get there very early or later in the day.
• Wear nice shoes because it is very much like walking.
• Bring water to drink and maybe some snacks and give yourself a chance to sit down and have a rest in a quiet area.
• The gift shop had some great souvenirs and all were reasonably priced.

Overview: A Travel Guide to Louvre Museum

All in all, if you are in Paris and are a museum lover, no way you can think of missing this world-famous museum. A visit to Louvre Museum is truly an experience to admire the Mona Lisa, to study more closely the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and to keep wondering about the story of the Venus de Milo.

Whether you are an art lover or not, you will be mesmerized by this beautiful museum with innumerable valuable masterpieces. You will be able to discover new things every time you visit this magnificent museum.

Planning for a trip to Paris? Check out the Paris travel blog here:

• Paris itinerary: 4 Days in Paris Travel Blog
• Day Trip to Versailles Palace: A Travel Guide Blog
• Where To Stay in Paris: The Best Areas and Hotels

Related Paris Food Travel Blog:

• Paris Food Guide: What and Where to Eat in Paris
• Bouillon Chartier: Best Paris Restaurant for Affordable French Cuisine.
• Le Poulbot Montmartre: Adorable and Authentic Restaurant in Paris.