Palace of Versailles?

[Phillygirl3]

I will be doing a cruise that includes a two night stay in Paris. I have read reviews of Versailles and some say it was not worth the time and others say that it was fantastic. Before I pay $600 for two to visit, can I call upon my fellow cruisers to give me some advice regarding a visit to the Palace. Thanking you in advance for any feedback.

[Peregrina651]

I will be doing a cruise that includes a two night stay in Paris. I have read reviews of Versailles and some say it was not worth the time and others say that it was fantastic. Before I pay $600 for two to visit, can I call upon my fellow cruisers to give me some advice regarding a visit to the Palace. Thanking you in advance for any feedback.

 

Loved it but then again, we didn't pay $600 for the experience and we had a 6 days in Paris, so plenty of time to work with. In two days, time is more of a problem because there is just so much to see. It's not the $600 but rather is there something else that you want to see more, that you won't get to see because of how far Versailles is from other sights. Only you can set your priorities.

[acwmom]

Agree with Peregrina. If you're in town, there's way too much to see there in 2 days. If this is your first trip to Paris, I'd stick to the sights in town

 

Robin

 

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[brucefann]

I visited Versailles on a bicycle tour from Paris in August of 2017. Overall it was a great day butI have mixed feelings about the palace itself. I think it partially depends on exactly what is included in your tour. Is transportation from the ship directly to the palace or do you take the train from Paris? Does your tour include only the main palace or are other parts of the grounds included such as the gardens, the smaller palaces, and especially MarieAntoinette’s faux village? Also, is there a live guide? I found the headsets provided at the palace were awful. I missed almost the whole tour because the recording never synced up with placards in the various locations. We went into the main palace in the late afternoon when it was not too crowded. If your tour is during the middle of the day expect very large crowds. I was also bothered by the fact that a lot of the flooring in the palace was in really bad condition (think duct tape over parquet). On this same trip I visited the Pitti Palace in Florence. I found it had a more authentic, less tourist trampled, feel with more rooms and works of art on display. Hope this helps with your decision J.

Edited October 4, 2018 by brucefann
correct typos

[pully8]

We have done the usual tour of the palace and gardens. Both are beautiful and worth visiting, however it does take time to see/experience. The crowds can be annoying and impact on your visit.

If possible and you can organise the time, the town of Versailles is delightful with an excellent Saturday market with quality products, among other attractions.

On our last trip to Paris we stayed in Versailles and enjoyed time there, we found plenty to see and do @ our pace.

[Turtles06]

I loved Versailles, but I'm not sure why it would be costing so much money. You can easily take the train to Versailles from Paris on your own, no big deal.

 

That said, it's pretty much a day, or a large chunk of one, to visit Versailles, so if you haven't been to Paris before, and if you will just have those two days, I would stay in Paris, where you will only scratch the surface in that time.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[franski]

Many cruises have an optional excursion to Versailles.... are you sure your cruise doesn't offer one?

 

If they do, it is usually a fairly reasonable price --> and well worth a visit.

 

Fran

[Mrs Miggins]

I will be in Paris in late November. Our cruise, which is a charter operated by our small local Travel Agent, has an afternoon tour to Versailles including transportation, entry tickets and the headset. The cost for that is £37 per person ($48). The actual entrance fee to Versailles is 20 Euros.

 

Have been lucky enough to go before, and it is splendid. Want to revisit as we have been watching the excellent TV series 'Versailles'. However I would agree that if if is your first visit to Paris then it is probably wise to see some of the many delights that Paris offers first.

[G.M.T.]

Are sure that you understood correctly, Entrance Fees $600 and not an offer to sell you the place for $600.

 

 

Wait til you get to Paris to see how the weather is. You can always book a tour locally when you arrive (for a lot less than $600).

[Got2Cruise]

Where are you coming up with $600? I certainly do think it’s worth a visit but we paid $48 pp as an extra excursion.

 

 

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[JohnKen3]

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/plan-your-visit/tickets-and-prices

 

I suggest you find a better travel agent. Someone is ripping you off unless you booked a private car to wait for you all day there.

 

If you the weather is good, you can spend a good portion of the day just walking the gardens/grounds. The palace is merely the icing on the cake

[jpalbny]

Agree with the sentiments of prior posters.

 

We did not go to Versailles until our second visit, after we had already spent four days in Paris the first time. You could easily visit from Paris, though. Just get the RER to Versailles (the stop is Gare de Versailles Château Rive Gauche) and it stops about 10 minutes' walk from the front gate. Maybe 40 minutes from Paris.

 

But to do it justice, you need to see the chateau and the grounds, which should take up most of the day. The gardens are spectacular, the grand and petit Trianon are nice, and the faux village is very cute. If you just spend a short time in the chateau, you've missed a lot, and IMO it's not worth the trip. But only you can decide that for yourself.

 

When we visited, we stayed in Versailles for 2 nights on our own. It was much easier. There was a nice Ritz in town, right near the back gate to the gardens. The line to the chateau was still atrocious but c'est la vie!

 

I have a bunch of garden pictures from our visit if you want to see what you'd miss with a short visit just to the chateau. Link to my Smugmug gallery is in my signature, and the album is named Versailles June 2012.

 

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