Versailles Palace and Gardens Self Guided Tour from Paris

Nice tour

The tour efficiently got us to the venue with tickets and pointed us to the line and told us when to be back. The bus was nice and clean. Versailles castle and garden were beautiful

Find a better option

Wouldn’t recommend. There are better ways to see the palace and there are surely cheaper ways to get there. All this ends up being is an expensive ride to and from the palace.

Average, Not Long Enough, Audio Guide Confusing

Visited Spring ‘24 as a couple. Naturally, the Palace is spectacular, as are the beautifully manicured and VAST gardens. . We were offered the free QR code audio guide (and to do this, you need your own headphones so we sprinted back to the hotel to get ours) The guide itself was not in order on screen, and not always clearly marked around the palace, so we spent quite a bit of time back tracking to see what we’d missed. After the transfer from the pick up point, we had approx 1 hour in the Palace and 1 hour in the Gardens, which tbh is about 5% of the time you need. The famous fountains (which are on all the publicity pictures) were not on - apparently they rarely are. However, the art work, painted ceilings, and world famous Hall of Mirrors are incredible. If you’d like a super speedy, see hardly anything, 100 mile an hour trip, then this is the one for you. If you’d actually like to properly see the Palace and Gardens, maybe sit on the terrace steps with the crowd, or grab a coffee in the Angelina café, or wander the famous tree lined groves and vast ornamental ponds, then it’s best to take one if the longer trips, because including travelling time there and back, this one was nowhere near enough for us.

Great

Pickup and drop off was very smooth. Drive provided all the necessary direction once we were at the Palace.

Terrible

The guide was extremely rude to us!!! We were not happy with his attitude. It would have been good otherwise!!

The Gardens are magnificent.

Skip the line tickets are worth the extra money. We went on a Sunday, and it was crazy busy. The Palace was grand and filled with over the top elegance. I would recommend seeing the gardens first as they were the highlight of the Palace. Then, with your time remaining, view the Palace.

Need more time

The team was professional, curious, and clear with instructions. It's only 4 stars as you only get 2 hours at Versailles and that's not enough time. It you plan to see everything then book a longer trip.

Ease in transportation and entry

Excellent way to see Versailles. Transportation and ease of entry with helpful staff and small group

Lots to see, not enough time to see it in this tour!

The palace of Versailles was awesome, so much history to see! However, the tour was a little lacking. By the time we got to the palace and stood in line, we only had 2 hours to see everything. We had to speedwalk through the palace, taking pictures and video so we could take our time and review them later. By the time we finished the Palace and stopped by the bathroom, there was no time left to see the garden. Having at least another 3 hours in the tour would have been awesome! The driver was good.

Versailles is amazing!

The tour was really lovely, full of beauty and history. On hindsight, however, I'd choose the daylong tour instead because a couple of hours just isn't enough to take it all in. Overall, an amazing experience.

Awesome Palace of Versailles

Michel was very good. He gave a great commentary of the palace. The grounds were awesome. The van was very comfy.

Great experience

Expect experience exactly as explaining in the details of the tour. One of the easiest travel tours I’ve endeavor on.

When we presented our...

When we presented our tickets to get scanned, we were declined. We kept begging the girl that we did purchase the tickets and she let us in. We were then declined to enter the gardens and were told someone else got in using our tickets. When returning to our meeting point, we told the company who gave us our tickets and was told they could not do anything for us. We were very disappointed.

Driver was great- would...

Driver was great- would recommend that this trip should be 3 hours long to visit castle and the gardens. Only had 2 hours.

Of coarse a great place...

Of coarse a great place for a day trip. Easy to find check in office, staff is very helpful. The van is comfortable and the driver very considerate to all. I’ve gone by train before and this was very easy. Might do a full day trip next time to spend more time in the gardens

Breathtaking

The palace was amazing! Be sure to include a garden ticket with your entrance, it's beyond big! The grounds are amazing. You could easily spend an entire day there!

Seeing Versailles is a...

Seeing Versailles is a must, but the palace was so crowded it was hard to move through it. There isn't enough time to move through such a vast space and see it all. The signage is minimal and unless you read French, a tour guide is probably a better option. It was clear that we were less well regarded than those who chose a guided option. On the other hand, with a place that crowded, wandering the gardens was much more pleasant. That the fountains, save one, were not on, was disappointing.

Happy

Meeting point was very convenient by subway : then arriving early at the site in the morning made us almost first in line. Very much appreciated!

Excellent Experience!

Our guide was excellent! She was extremely accommodating to members in our group who had trouble walking. Very knowledgeable and interesting story teller. We had an amazing time and would definitely do it again!

Great time at Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was so beautiful! You could spend all day there. The tour was very organized and efficient as well! Our driver took us to the front of the line and we only had to wait 20 minutes to get in. Plenty of time to explore and was even able to grab a snack in town.

Worth the visit. Beautiful

Great experience. Worth seeing. But none of the fountains were on which is disappointing. Too crowded in the Palace there needs to be more regulation on how many are allowed in the Palace at any one time.

Great customer service poor audio guide

People at the tour office were in credibly helpful and nice. The self guided audio tour was awful. They could have provided more guidance

Excellent experience!

Seamless transfer from Paris. Very friendly driver. He got us right in to the experience. Would highly recommend this!

Breathtaking but Crowded

The Palace of Versailles was breathtaking and glad we got to experience it on our trip. Booking the trip was easy and meet up directions was easy to find. The communication from Viator was great. Our bus driver was friendly and got us to the palace safely without any issues. My only complaint is we didn't have enough time to enjoy the gardens and were a bit rushed. I would have loved another hour to just walk the gardens. The palace was crowded overall but it was peak season so it's to be expected.

Well organised and great value

The instructions from Trip advisor were good, I loved having the tickets on my phone for ease. The bus was good and very clean with charging docks for iphones etc. The time allowed for good for us but might not be enough for peak season as the queues were quite large. Good value for money

Purchase the tickets in your own…

It was a great experience to go to Versailles but really your just paying for the transport and ticket entrance. There is no guided tour. I would recommend purchasing your own tickets to Versailles and take the metro . It’s super easy to use the metro in Paris.

Not a true half day tour

Tour was advertised as half day, but it was not a half day. We left at 8:15 am for Versailles and when we arrived at Versailles, we were told that pick up time was 11:30. Our entry ticket was for 9:30. So basically 2 hours aside from the gardens that we could immediately enter. Other than the misleading timeframe, it was nice. Just too short for what we paid.

No communication

We texted with the tour operator that we were running behind due to horrible traffic in Paris to catch the bus *12 minute uber ride that took is 45 mins* We arrived 6 minutes behind the 1:15 arrival time and the bus had left; no refunds no communication back.

Costly Taxi Service and Overcrowded Palace Experience: A Review of the Versailles Tour

Consider saving some cash and opt for the train when planning your visit to the Palace of Versailles, instead of using what turned out to be a lackluster and overly expensive taxi service. The actual entrance tickets, clearly marked with the price, were a mere 27 Euros each. The tour itself, again just a taxi service, cost $188.06 for two tickets. My primary grievance was with our driver. One of the guests chose to sit in the fold-down seat adjacent to him, and their ongoing conversation throughout the journey turned problematic. While chatting in itself was not an issue, the driver's distraction as he repeatedly glanced at his passenger instead of focusing on the road, resulted in erratic driving. The van frequently swayed between lines, causing concern. As for the touted 'self-guided tour', it's simply an app-based feature available to all ticket holders. Remember to bring earphones compatible with your phone if you want to make use of this. Regarding the Palace of Versailles itself, it was incredibly crowded, almost stifling. The number of visitors attempting to navigate through the palace was overwhelming, with not an inch of breathing space. This is not an exaggeration. Many visitors, me included, eventually abandoned the palace tour in favor of the gardens. If you wish to avoid unnecessary frustration, I'd suggest purchasing the garden tour only. Our time in the gardens was unfortunately limited due to the time it took to escape the crowded palace. In the span of my 10-day multi-country vacation, we embarked on numerous tours booked via Trip Advisor, all of which I wholeheartedly recommend. This particular tour, however, left me so disappointed that I felt compelled to write this review, detailing my experiences and grievances.

Good

Perfect tour of the palace and very comfortable commute from central city hotel to the Palace. We enjoyed the tour and recommend it.

We arrived more than 30...

We arrived more than 30 minutes early to our meeting point. The person that was there looked at our tickets and told us to walk to the other side saying that is where the tour bus is. It was a 10 minute walk. So we did. When we got there, we waited in line, only to be told we're not showing in the system and that it was the wrong bus. That took another 15 minutes or so for them to figure it out. So we called the agency and were told to come back to where we first came and that the bus was going to wait for us. We walked (another 10 min) back. As we arrived back, there were two female associates there. As we were attempting to talk to them, One in particular was VERY rude and told us "I dont have time for you right now. Cant you see im doing something? You need to wait". The other associate was completely ignoring us. They were the ones we spoke with over the phone who told us to come back and the bus will wait. But were rude and ignored us when we got there. The bus left. We were told again VERY RUDELY that it's not their problem and to figure out how to get there. We ended up gettingban uber. This terrible lady associate said so many other nasty remarks that are too long to write. But long story short, HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. WE WILL NEVER BOOK WITH AVIATOR AGAIN. EVER.

Lovely tour that was well...

Lovely tour that was well paced. While the driver did not attend, we had options to have digital instruction. The group was small with two individuals who advised they w return on their own and another couple who were no shows after 30 minutes waitinf

Crowded and hot

None too crowded couldn't move around. Group tours jammed the spaces to move around. Very poorly organized.

Great way to get to the palace. Highly recommend

Meeting location was great and very well organized! Easy to navigate on your own once at the palace. Perfect allotted time and our driver was so helpful and super nice!

I/2 tour was just enough

The history and beauty of the rooms and decor from the different era’s. Having lunch at the end of the tour at Angelina’s.

Not a guided tour

It was nice to have a ride and reserved tickets to Versailles. After that, you’re on your own; the tour was self guided by an app that was a a bit clunky. I knew it wasn’t a guided tour going in, but I thought there would be some direction.

Good introduction to Versaille

While in Paris I wanted to visit Versaille. I wanted to make going and coming as easy as possible so I purchased a round trip independent tour through Viator. The bus left from the Eiffel Tower area and dropped us at the front gate. We were on our own for the tour which was fine with me. We met the bus at a designated time to return to Paris.

Missing TIME

The tour mention HALF DAY (Now they change the name) but real was les than 2 hours effective (Consider to enter and the people that attend is less than they mention now), so if you plan to take this tour I would recoment make the entire day the place is AWESOME and BIG to make this tour in 2.5 hours (of course one entire day would not be enough but at least you will see more than in 2 or less hours). The attention was ok and the driver was ok.

Good value

Good transport and easy access to the palace . Great rainy day activities except for the garden being soggy.

Beauty!

The tapestries and ceilings. The gardens were breathtaking. It was a lot to take in, but well worth it.

A must aee

Our guide was so great and we learned a lot. Too bad it is so crowded It is an amazing place and really a must see when you visit Paris

If short on time, it's brilliant!

This was a great tour for the time I had in Paris. I would recommend a guided tour and a full day though if your schedule allows for it as I basically felt like I had to rush through a lot of the garden area. Brilliant tour for the time I had though!

Beautiful palace but crowded

Palace was beautiful. Tour guide was not very assertive on the road there and back and was just OK on the tour. The palace was overcrowded and felt cramped throughout the tour. More free time to walk the gardens would have been nice.

Never again

THESE PEOPLE NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN ! THEY CHARGE COUPLES $193.00 DOLLARS TO DROP YOU OFF AT VERSAILLES AND THEN ATTEMPT TO TRICK THE GATE GUARDS TO LET YOU IN EARLY . UNPROFESSIONAL, CRIMINAL AND THE DRIVER IS UNSAFE ! THE DRIVER ACTED LIKE A GYPSY , NOT TO DISRESPECT THE GYPSY COMMUNITY . SHE DROPPED US OFF AT 2 pm and instructed us that she would be back at 430 ! MY WIFE AND I TOLD HER WE WOULD JUST TAKE AN UBER BACK TO OUR HOTEL !!! THIS COMPANY IS A SHAME TO THE COUNTRY OF FRANCE , A DISGUSTING EXAMPLE OF A BUSINESS AND SHOULD NOT BE USED BY ANY AMERICAN VISITOR !!! DO NOT SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED !!!

Wow!

I knew it was big, and opulent, but not THAT big and THAT opulent. Now wonder the sans culottes revolted. We only did the half day tour, but wished we could have spent the day there. It' and its grounds ar mahoosive. Highly recommended. The only downside, was the masses also visiting. But who can blame them?

Something to see when visiting Paris!

The Hall of Mirrors and the gardens were our favorite! The tour operator really just transferred us to and from and walked us to the line for our entry.

Opulent

Was really cool to see their beds etc. large huge paintings. It was Feb. so not much to garden. Do NOT go with group- all it is a ride to palace by bus. Just buy your own ticket and take Uber.

Must see half day at Versailles

Wonderful experience. So glad we went to Versailles. We found the house and gardens amazing. Only slight negative is we found we needed a little more time in the gardens. There is so much to see, we felt a little rushed on this particular trip. Still worth doing just don’t dilly dally as so much to see.

Hall of mirrors

Great tour of the palace 👏🏽 tour bus ride was super comfortable came to see the hall of mirrors 🇮🇹🇮🇹

Excellent Tour Guide

Excellent tour guide. Shared information as we traveled from Versaille and relevant information at Versaille. Wonderful trip.