Versailles Tickets 2026: Prices, Passes & How to Book

Versailles is two visits, not one. The Palace — Hall of Mirrors, the King's Apartments, the Royal Chapel — fills up by 10:30 every day it's open. The Estate of Trianon, twenty-five minutes through the gardens, stays half-empty. Most first-time visitors do the Palace, leave exhausted, and skip the half they would have liked better.

The ticket you buy decides the trip you take. Here's the honest version of how the prices, the slots, and the RER ride actually work in 2026.

In 3 minutes, you'll know:

• Which Versailles ticket fits which kind of trip
• How free entry works (and why first-Sunday free is winter-only)
• The 9 AM slot that lets you see the Hall of Mirrors empty
• How to get there from Paris without losing an hour each way

How much are Versailles tickets in 2026?

Four prices, in order of what most visitors choose:

Palace ticket — €21 full, €19 reduced. State Apartments, Hall of Mirrors, Queen's Apartments, Royal Chapel, Battles Hall, Mesdames Apartments. Two to three hours inside. Most first-time visitors do exactly this.

Passport — €25 low season (Nov–Mar), €35 high season (Apr–Oct). Palace plus the Estate of Trianon (Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon, Marie-Antoinette's hamlet) plus the gardens, with Musical Fountain Shows or Musical Gardens when running. The high-season add-on covers the days when the fountains play.

Garden access is free most of the year. Paid only on Musical Fountain Show or Musical Gardens days (typically weekends and Tuesdays April–October, around €10.50).

Audio guide is free through the official Versailles app on your phone. The paper map is enough for the gardens; the app is essential inside the Palace, where rooms run together and the labels are minimal.

How does free entry work at Versailles?

Three permanent rules and one seasonal one.

Under 18, worldwide: free entry. No reservation exemption — you still pick a timed slot. ID for ages 12–17.

EU/EEA 18–25: free with ID. Permanent residents of the EU/EEA on long-stay visas qualify too.

Disabled visitors plus one companion: free with documentation.

First Sunday of the month, November–March: Palace free, no Passport. Trianon estate not included. Still need a free timed slot booked online. April through October there is no free Sunday at Versailles — the rule is winter only.

Heritage Days (third weekend of September) and special openings: check the official site close to your dates. Not every year is the same. If your trip falls around 16–23 May, the European Night of Museums 2026 guide covers the late-night free openings across France that weekend.

What if Versailles Palace tickets are sold out?

Summer Palace slots disappear 1–2 weeks ahead, especially Saturday and the post-Bastille-Day stretch. When the official date shows full, three real options.

The Musical Gardens + Trianon combo. Even when Palace timed slots are gone, the official site still sells a combined Musical Gardens (or Musical Fountain Show) plus Estate of Trianon ticket. You skip the Palace itself but get the Trianon estate — which most return visitors prefer anyway — plus the fountains running. Available on show days from April through October. Check the official Versailles ticketing page for your specific date.

The Park and gardens stay free on most days. The €10.50 formal-garden fee only applies on Musical Gardens or Musical Fountain Show days, typically weekends and Tuesdays April–October. The other weekdays the formal gardens, including the Apollo Fountain basin and the long axis from the Palace, are free to walk. The Park (the wider tree-lined estate beyond the formal gardens), the Gallery of Coaches, and the Sculpture and Mouldings Gallery on weekend afternoons are free year-round. Picnic at the Grand Canal — that part is free 365 days a year. Combined with a walk to the Trianon gates from outside, you see more of Versailles' designed landscape than the rushed Palace-only crowd does.

Resellers often hold separate inventory. GetYourGuide with transport included, Tiqets, and Viator allocate their own slots and frequently show availability after the official château site goes red. Worth a 30-second check on each before you give up on the date.

When should you visit Versailles?

Best day: Thursday or Friday. Tuesday and Wednesday are the worst — pent-up demand from the Monday closure floods the gates. Saturday and Sunday peak between 11 AM and 3 PM.

Best slot: the 9:00 AM first entry. The Hall of Mirrors is essentially empty at 9:10. By 10:30 the same room is three rows deep along the windows. The hour you arrive matters more than the day you choose.

Best month: October or March. April through August the gardens are full, the heat inside the Palace builds through the afternoon, and the second-floor rooms have no airflow. Winter is the contrarian's choice — fewer visitors, free Sundays, mossy gardens, and a Hall of Mirrors that feels closer to what it was meant to feel like.

Worst day to attempt: the day after a public holiday or during the first week of August. The Palace is open. The crowds are double.

How to get to Versailles from Paris

RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche. Trains every 15 minutes from Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame, Musée d'Orsay, Invalides, Champ de Mars. 35–40 minutes one way, around €7.30 round-trip (or covered by a Navigo Easy day pass if you're using zones 1–4 elsewhere).

The Rive Gauche station puts you 5 minutes from the Palace gates. Two other Versailles stations exist — Chantiers (SNCF from Montparnasse, 25–30 minutes but a 20-minute walk to the Palace) and Rive Droite (SNCF from Saint-Lazare, similar walk). Use Rive Gauche unless your hotel is right by the Montparnasse-Saint-Lazare side.

Door-to-door from central Paris: budget 60 minutes including the walk through Versailles town. Add 25 more minutes if you want to reach the Estate of Trianon from the Palace.

What to see inside the Palace

Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces). 73 metres long, 357 mirrors. The 1919 Treaty was signed here. Empty at 9:00 AM, packed by 10:30. Walk through twice — once to see the room, once to see what Louis XIV saw through the windows.

King's Apartment and Bedroom (Chambre du Roi). Louis XIV's public morning ritual happened here. The bed faces the centre window so the rising sun hit it first. That's not coincidence.

Royal Chapel. Two-storey baroque chapel where Louis XV married Marie Leszczyńska. Viewable from the upper gallery only — you can't enter the floor. Most visitors walk past it before they realise it's there.

Battles Hall (Galerie des Batailles). 1830s addition by Louis-Philippe celebrating 14 centuries of French military history. Second floor. Most visitors skip it — that's a mistake. The space is calmer than the State Apartments and the paintings are huge.

Queen's Apartments. Marie-Antoinette's rooms, restored to the inch. Worth the time if you have the Passport for the Trianon estate later in the day.

The Estate of Trianon

Twenty-five minutes from the Palace on foot through the gardens. Three buildings on one ticket:

Petit Trianon. Marie-Antoinette's private retreat. Smaller, more lived-in, more her than anything in the Palace.

Grand Trianon. Louis XIV's pink-marble pavilion. Used by Napoleon, by de Gaulle, and recently for state dinners. Different scale from the Palace — almost domestic.

Queen's Hamlet (Hameau de la Reine). Twelve fake-rustic cottages around a pond. Built so Marie-Antoinette could play at peasant life. Strange, beautiful, and the only part of Versailles most visitors actually remember.

If you only have four hours total at Versailles, skip the Trianon estate. If you have six or more, this is what you'll remember.

Verified Facts

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Versailles ticket cost in 2026?

Palace-only €21 full or €19 reduced. Passport (Palace + Trianon + gardens, plus Musical Fountain Shows when running) €25 low season Nov–Mar or €35 high season Apr–Oct. Under 18 free worldwide; EU/EEA 18–25 free with ID.

Is Versailles free on the first Sunday of the month?

Conditionally. November through March the Palace is free on the first Sunday — no Trianon estate, no booking exemption. April through October there is no free Sunday at Versailles. A free timed slot is still required.

How do you get to Versailles from Paris?

RER C to "Versailles Château Rive Gauche" — 35–40 minutes from Paris centre, around €7.30 round trip, 5-minute walk to the Palace gates. Door-to-door from central Paris: budget 60 minutes.

When is Versailles least crowded?

Thursday and Friday morning, first slot 9:00 AM. Tuesday and Wednesday are the worst — post-Monday-closure pent-up demand. Inside the Palace, the Hall of Mirrors is empty at 9:00 and full by 10:30.

Is the Versailles Passport worth €35?

Worth it if you have a full day and want the Trianon estate. The Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon, and Queen's Hamlet are 25 minutes from the Palace on foot. They're quieter, more personal, and the only part of Versailles most visitors actually remember. Not worth it under four hours total.

Are Versailles tickets cheaper if bought directly on the official website?

The official château price is the lowest base price: €21 Palace-only, €25–35 Passport (season-dependent). Resellers like GetYourGuide, Tiqets, and Viator add a small service fee (typically €2–€5) in exchange for skip-the-line entry, free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and mobile tickets — useful when official slots are sold out or when your week may reshuffle. GetYourGuide also bundles round-trip transport from Paris, which the official site doesn't offer. If you book 2+ weeks ahead, you're a confident Paris traveller, and you don't need cancellation flexibility, official is the cheapest path. For weekends, summer dates, or first-time day-trippers, the reseller markup typically saves more in time than it costs.

What if Versailles Palace tickets are sold out?

Three options. (1) The Musical Gardens or Musical Fountain Show combo with the Estate of Trianon stays available on the official site even when Palace slots are gone — you skip the Palace but get the Trianon estate and the fountains running. (2) The Park, the Gallery of Coaches, and the formal gardens on non-show weekdays are free year-round; bring a picnic to the Grand Canal. (3) GetYourGuide and other resellers often hold separate inventory and release new slots after the official site shows the date as full — worth checking close to your travel date.

The one-line answer

Buy the Palace ticket if you have four hours and the Passport if you have a full day. Book the 9:00 AM slot. Take RER C to Rive Gauche. Walk the gardens between the Palace and the Trianon. You'll see what most day-trippers from Paris miss. For deciding whether Versailles fits your Paris week, see the Paris Museum Pass guide (Versailles is included in the 4- and 6-day passes) and the Paris in one day itinerary for how it slots into a longer trip.