The Palace of Versailles entry ticket is the most direct way into the palace, from EUR 15 per person. It is a timed, self-guided ticket that covers the State Apartments and Hall of Mirrors inside the palace, plus same-day access to the Gardens of Versailles and the Trianon estate across the park. There is no guide included and no transport from Paris, so you book your own travel and your own pace once you arrive.

What does the Palace of Versailles entry ticket include?

Your ticket covers a single timed entrance to the palace, where the booked time slot controls when you go in but not when you leave. Once inside, the same ticket also unlocks the Gardens of Versailles, the Grand and Petit Trianon, and Marie-Antoinette's Estate, all on the same calendar day. During the show season from April to October, it typically includes entry to the Musical Fountains or Musical Gardens show as well, though this depends on the exact date you book. Temporary exhibitions are included when the palace is running one.

Is the Palace of Versailles entry ticket worth it?

For most first-time visitors, yes. You get the full site, palace plus gardens plus Trianon, at the lowest entry price among the options on this page, and there is no reason to pay for a guide if you are happy reading a little history as you go or beforehand. I would only skip it in favor of a guided option if having someone explain the Hall of Mirrors while you stand in it matters more to you than the savings, in which case our skip-the-line guided tour covers similar ground with narration included.

What will you actually see with this Palace of Versailles ticket?

The palace itself began as a modest hunting lodge for Louis XIII before his son, Louis XIV, expanded it into the seat of French royal power and moved the entire court there in 1682. The Hall of Mirrors, 73 meters long with 357 mirrors facing the garden-side windows, is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, and it remains the single most photographed room on the ticket. The State Apartments show the daily ritual of monarchy, from the King's Bedchamber to the Queen's formal reception rooms, and the gardens outside were designed by André Le Nôtre on a scale meant to be seen from the palace windows as a single composition. The Trianon estate, a separate walk across the park, is where Marie-Antoinette kept her private retreat and rustic hamlet, a deliberate escape from the formality of the main court.

How much does a Palace of Versailles ticket cost?

This entry ticket starts at EUR 15 per person, with the time slot locked in at booking. Prices for palace tickets shift with demand and season, and EEA versus non-EEA pricing can differ, so treat this figure as a starting point and check the current price before you commit to a date. If you want someone to narrate the visit for you without paying for a live guide, the audio guide ticket sits a little higher and adds a multilingual audio tour app.

Getting to the Palace of Versailles from Paris

The easiest route is the RER C train to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about a 10-minute walk from the palace gates, or the SNCF train to Versailles Chantiers, a slightly longer walk. Neither route is included with this ticket, so budget for a standard public transport fare on top of the entry price. If you would rather not plan your own transfer, our guided train tour and guided coach tour both bundle the ride with the ticket and a guide.

Who should book this Palace of Versailles entry ticket?

This suits independent travelers who are comfortable arranging their own transport and reading up on the palace before or after their visit, budget-conscious visitors who still want the full palace-plus-gardens-plus-Trianon experience, and anyone who has already done the guided introduction and now wants to revisit at their own speed. It is a poor fit for visitors who want history explained on the spot, since the on-site panels are informative but brief.

Insider tips for the Palace of Versailles ticket

Book the earliest time slot you can get. The palace interior gets genuinely crowded by late morning, especially around the Hall of Mirrors, where everyone stops walking to take the same photo. Bring water and comfortable shoes, since the gardens alone can add several kilometers of walking if you continue on to the Trianon. Check whether your visit date falls on a Fountain Show day, since the gardens cost extra to enter on those days unless your version of the ticket already bundles it. Entry to the gardens themselves is free from November through March, so if you only care about the palace interior, the shoulder season can save you a separate garden fee.

How does this compare to the other Versailles tickets?

Think of this as the baseline option: cheapest, simplest, and the right call if you are comfortable exploring on your own. Add the audio guide ticket if you want narration without a live guide, or step up to the skip-the-line guided tour if you want a real person answering questions as you go. For a day that bundles transport from Paris, look at the train tour or coach tour instead.