Paris is likely one of the hottest and most-visited cities on this planet, and is a spot the place you possibly can simply spend every week or extra and nonetheless not see/do every little thing. BUT, if it is your first journey to Paris and you’ve got various days there, chances are high you can be tempted to plan not less than in the future journey out of the town.
And the most well-liked day journey from Paris is certainly to go to the Palace of Versailles.
Versailles is positioned about 30 kilometers exterior of Paris. The previous royal palace is now surrounded by the charming metropolis of Versailles, however the entire place started as a small nation searching lodge utilized by King Louis XIII to flee the town lifetime of Paris within the 1600s.
The palace was reworked by Louis XIII’s son and successor, King Louis XIV (the Solar King), within the mid-1600s, being expanded into the sprawling, gold-coated palace with greater than 2000 rooms that we all know at this time. The palace was the official royal residence of the kings of France from 1682 till the French Revolution within the early 1790s.
You completely can go to Versailles by yourself by taking an RER prepare from Paris and pre-booking a Versailles entrance ticket. However that is a type of outings that I actually, really really feel is greatest performed with a information – as a result of Versailles is large, and may be overwhelming by yourself.
Versailles tour by bike
On our personal journey to Paris, my husband Elliot and I opted to ebook a full-day bike-based tour to Versailles that ended up being considered one of our favourite experiences of our whole journey!
We booked this tour with Boutique Bike Excursions, which features a fast prepare journey to Versailles, a guided tour of the palace, a guided stroll across the gardens and fountains, time to buy lunch at an area market, a picnic alongside the Grand Canal at Versailles, plus time to go to the Petit Trianon and Queen’s Hamlet.
It appears like loads to suit into simply in the future, however the great thing about doing this tour by bike is that none of it felt rushed!
Here is a extra detailed take a look at this Versailles tour:
Attending to Versailles from Paris
Our tour truly started in Paris, the place we met our information at Gare Montparnasse (the Paris-Montparnasse prepare station). This was nice, because it meant we did not should navigate attending to Versailles on our personal. We had been supplied with prepare tickets, and traveled as a bunch on the quick prepare to Versailles – we had been on the Versailles prepare station in about 12 minutes!
As soon as we arrived, it was a brief stroll to the spot the place we picked up our bikes.
The bikes used on this tour are snug cruisers with a classic look, and issues like helmets and baby seats (and even youngsters’ bikes) may be offered on request.
Palace of Versailles
We cruised by way of the city of Versailles as much as the doorway to the Château de Versailles. Right here our information Clara gave us an outline of the historical past of Versailles, and likewise laid out the plan for the day.
Whereas some variations of this tour do the gardens and picnic first and END with a guided go to to the Palace of Versailles, our group did issues the opposite manner round, and went into the palace proper when it opened at 9 a.m. Being with a licensed skilled information meant we obtained to skip the lengthy ticket and entrance strains and enter the palace by way of a separate group entrance with no wait in any respect.
The palace was pretty empty very first thing within the morning, and Clara took her time guiding us by way of all of the opulent rooms and sharing (typically scandalous) tales about numerous members of the French royal household.
We noticed dressing rooms and mattress chambers, a chapel, and naturally the well-known Corridor of Mirrors throughout our tour – which in fact is just a tiny fraction of the 2300 rooms contained in the grand palace.
Clara mentioned the palace would have value the equal of BILLIONS of {dollars} to construct – and I imagine it. No surprise the French individuals had been so fed up with the aristocracy by the point the French Revolution started.
Gardens of Versailles
After our tour contained in the palace, we spent about an hour exterior within the Jardins du Chateau de Versailles. The gardens cowl a staggering 2000+ acres, so even with an hour we solely noticed a small portion of them.
(And be aware that you do not bike within the gardens – this a part of the tour is all on foot, so put on good sneakers!)
We visited on a weekend, which means all of the backyard’s fountains had been on, accompanied by baroque music (the fountains run each Saturday and Sunday from April 1-October 29, in addition to each Tuesday from Might 2-June 27).
It’s fairly unbelievable to assume that they engineered all these intricate fountains within the 1700s, however didn’t have indoor plumbing!
Versailles market purchasing
From the gardens, we obtained again on our bikes and rode again into the middle of city. There, we visited the Place du Marche Notre-Dame, the native market that dates again to the 1800s. We did a cheese tasting, after which had a while to buy issues for our picnic lunch.
This was an unexpectedly enjoyable a part of the day!
Armed with baguettes and cheese and a few stealthily stashed bottles of wine, we obtained again on our bikes and headed again into the grounds of Versailles.
Grand Canal picnic
We rode our bikes alongside the Grand Canal, inside a big park that is free for anybody to go to. We selected a spot alongside the water and arrange our picnics, with blankets offered by our information.
We loved our lunch spreads within the sunshine as we watched individuals in little row boats paddle across the giant canal. As with most meals in France, nothing was rushed.
Queen’s Hamlet
After lunch, we obtained again on our bikes and rode to the Le Hameau de la Reine, or Queen’s Hamlet contained in the Trianon Gardens. This a part of Versailles is far much less visited than the principle palace and gardens, which means it wasn’t crowded in any respect even on a busy weekend.
The Trianon Gardens embody the Petit Trianon, which is a small palace that was constructed within the 1760s by order of Louis XV. The rumor is that he constructed it for his long-term mistress Madame de Pompadour.
When Louis XV died and Louis XVI took over, Louis XVI gave the Petit Trianon and its gardens to his spouse, Queen Marie-Antoinette. It was Marie-Antoinette who expended the gardens and constructed the fairytale-esque “village” of the Queen’s Hamlet, which she escaped to typically along with her kids.
We did not go to the Petit Trianon, however did spend time strolling across the gardens and Queen’s Hamlet, as our information Clara instructed us a number of tales about Marie-Antoinette.
Again to Paris
After the Queen’s Hamlet, we rode a bit extra by way of the park surrounding Versailles and again into city to the prepare station. We obtained our return prepare tickets, and had been again in Paris earlier than time for dinner!
Each Elliot and I agree that this was a wonderful day journey, price each penny of the worth!
Versailles bike tour FAQ
The tour we did is the “Versailles: Meals & Palace Bike Tour” with Boutique Bike Excursions. The complete-day tour consists of prepare transport between Paris and Versailles, use of a motorcycle for the day, guided visits to the Palace of Versailles and the gardens, and extra.
They consider every little thing on this tour, from offering heatsets contained in the palace to picnic blankets alongside the Grand Canal. (They’re going to present rain ponchos in unhealthy climate, too!) And the guides are all improbable. (Ebook the identical tour right here.)
The tour we did prices EUR 145 ($150-$160 USD) per particular person.
YES, I undoubtedly assume this Versailles bike tour is price it. Not solely do you get to spend the day with a knowledgable licensed information, however you additionally get to see a lot greater than you’ll if you happen to had been simply visiting on foot. (Versailles is HUGE, and having a motorcycle actually helps you see extra of it.)
Versailles is nearly totally flat, so the bike driving is pretty simple. You do should journey on the street for a short time initially and finish of the tour, however in any other case you are driving totally on park trails.
In whole, you are possibly on a motorcycle for a pair hours all through your entire day. So long as you possibly can comfortably journey a motorcycle, you possibly can in all probability handle this tour!
Together with a tip on your information, you will additionally must pay on your picnic lunch on the native market in Versailles. You possibly can spend as a lot or as little as you need (however typically you will get bread, cheese, meat, and fruit for a really affordable value!).
Once more, you possibly can ebook this precise tour right here. (And once more, be aware that the precise order of if you’ll see issues could range relying on the day you go to.)
(If, nevertheless, a motorcycle tour sounds terrible to you however you’d nonetheless love to do a guided tour of Versailles, another choice can be this afternoon tour of Versailles with transport from Paris, or this skip-the-line palace tour that requires you to get your self to Versailles.)
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Is that this a manner you’d prefer to expertise Versailles?
