When visiting Paris, a trip to the Château de Versailles can’t be missed. The sprawling estate, once inhabited by generations of French royalty, holds the primary Versailles palace, the Trianon, and the impeccably manicured gardens of Versailles. Dress up in your most queenly attire to take photos in the Hall of Mirrors (though you’ll probably catch plenty of other tourists in the background), or venture out to Marie Antoinette’s hamlet, where she would cosplay as a country shepherdess.
The palace is located in the town of Versailles just outside of Paris, but getting from Paris to Versailles is no trouble at all.
Table of contents:
- How to go from Paris to Versailles by train
- How to get from Paris to Versailles with a guided tour
- How to get to Versailles from Paris on the bus
- How to get to Versailles from Paris by car
- Can you bike to Versailles from Paris?
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to go from Paris to Versailles by train
The easiest way to get from Paris to Versailles is to take the RER C train from Paris. The Réseau Express Régional, or RER, is a series of 5 commuter train lines (labeled A, B, C, D, and E) connecting Paris and the Paris metro to the city’s suburbs. This is a separate system from the Paris metro, and you’ll need a different kind of ticket for the RER, but it is easily accessible from several Paris metro lines.
You can get on the RER C from several major metro stops in the city center, including Champs de Mars, Musée d’Orsay, and Saint-Michel Notre Dame. Zone 4 tickets are available for purchase at machines in these stations, and will cost you €3.65 each way.
It will take you about 35 minutes to get from Paris to Versailles from the city center, and from there it’s a 15 minute walk from the train station to the Château de Versailles. Make sure before you get on the train that the listed end point on the departure screen is Versailles Chateau RG, since the RER C has multiple routes. You’re going to take the train all the way to the end of this line, and get off at the station Versailles Château Rive Gauche.
(The RER system is quite safe, especially during the day, but you should stay aware of pickpockets both on the train and in Versailles.)
There are two other train lines that run from Paris to Versailles, both of them through the SNCF, France’s national rail line. The downside to these trains is that they may be booked out well in advance, and they are more susceptible to rail worker strikes than the RER is, but it may be a convenient option depending on where you are staying in Paris.
From the Gare Montparnasse, you can take a train to the Versailles-Chantiers train station. This trip is only one stop, and will get you there in 15 minutes, or 25 if you happen to catch a local train.
From the Gare Saint-Lazare you can reach the Versailles Rive Droite train station in 36 minutes on the L train. Again, make sure to check the final destination written on the departure screen, as there are different final stops on this line.
How to get from Paris to Versailles with a guided tour
Though taking the train on your own is the cheapest way to get from Paris to Versailles, there are a number of guided tours that will transport you to the palace as well.
The From Paris: Palace of Versailles & Gardens w/ Transportation tour picks visitors up in Paris’s 15th arrondissement and transports them to and from Versailles. Tickets are $86 per person for a half-day tour, and $113 per person for a full-day tour.
As the palace gardens are free from November through March, tickets are more affordable during this time, as the price for garden entry is subtracted from the ticket price. However, it does mean you’ll miss out on some of the splendor of the gardens in full bloom.
There is also the Skip-the-Line Versailles Palace Tour by Train from Paris, which starts at $98 per person, and includes transportation to and from Versailles, as well as a 3-hour guided tour of the palace and gardens.
If you’re really looking to pack as much sightseeing as possible into one day, there is also a From Paris: Giverny and Versailles Palace Guided Day Trip, which will transport visitors to both Versailles and Monet’s home and gardens at Giverny. The tour starts at Place du Trocadéro and will take the full day, with prices starting at $173 per person.
How to get to Versailles from Paris on the bus
There is a bus option to get to Versailles as well. The RATP bus line 171 runs from the Pont de Sèvres bus stop in Paris (the final stop of the Paris metro line 9) to the Place d’Armes Versailles bus stop. The bus costs €4 and will take you about 40 minutes.
How to get to Versailles from Paris by car
If you have a rental car and would like to drive from Paris to Versailles, the easiest route is the N118, which will take you about 30-40 minutes. You will have to pay for parking, however. Some of the available parking garages are Parking Place d’Armes, Parking Europe, Parking Avenue de Sceaux, Parking Saint Louis, and Parking Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. More details about parking fees can be found here.
You can Uber as well, but it will cost around €50-60.
Can you bike to Versailles from Paris?
If you’re a dedicated cyclist, biking to Versailles shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. It’s certainly a scenic way to get there, as Paris is very bike-friendly, and you can bike alongside the Seine before cutting through the Parc de Saint-Cloud to get to Versailles. The journey should take you about an hour and a half, and there are bike racks in front of the Château.
There are also guided bike tours that will take you from Paris to Versailles, but they cost around $120 each.
From Paris to Versailles – Frequently Asked Questions
Is Versailles on the Paris Metro?
The Versailles palace is accessible by the RER, the larger commuter rail connected to the Paris metro.
How much is the train from Paris to Versailles?
The train from Paris to Versailles costs €7.30 roundtrip.
Should you use Uber to go from Paris to Versailles?
While you can Uber from Paris to Versailles, taking the train is more cost-effective.
Catherine Rickman is a writer, professional francophile, and host of the Expat Horror Stories podcast. She is currently somewhere in Brooklyn with a fork in one hand and a pen in the other, and you can follow her adventures on Instagram @catrickman.
