All Versailles in A Day Private Day Trip From Paris including lunch

Enjoy a private full day trip to visit the Palace of Versailles, it's gardens and the Trianons Palaces which include Marie Antoinette Hamlet. Pick up and drop off is from your accommodation in Paris City center. Meet your Expert guide/driver and board your air conditioned vehicle that will take you to the Versailles Palace.

Château de Versailles Palace & Gardens 

Chateau de Versailles is without a doubt one of the most unique Chateau visits of France. This 3 star rated Michelin travel guide site is considered to be the symbol of perfection when it comes to Classical Architecture.

The largest known Palace in the world was, from the late 17th century until the French Revolution, a permanent construction site. The Chateau is also a symbol of the power of Royalty from Sun King Louis XIV to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Today, the Chateau as well as the whole domain are gradually regaining their original splendor thanks to immense restoration works.

Departing from Paris, head towards the Chateau de Versailles for an enjoyable private full day trip in one of our premium air conditioned vehicles. Upon arrival, you will have skip the line access to fast-track entry, allowing you to jump the long queue.

Thanks to your accompanying guide, you will also be able to start the visit rapidly. At last it will be time to begin your guided tour of the Palace and hear about the History of the Palace & the many stories that have made Versailles Palace what it is.

The visit will take you through the State apartments and beautiful rooms of the King and Queen, the Royal Chapel and Hall of Mirrors and so much more. Outside, you will also have free time to stroll and explore the French style Gardens designed by André Le Nôtre. The gardens of Versailles are considered to be the best example of French Style formal Gardens.

The Hall of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors, the most famous room in the Palace, was built to replace a large terrace designed by the architect Louis Le Vau, which opened onto the garden. The terrace originally stood between the King’s Apartments to the north and the Queen’s to the south, but was awkward and above all exposed to bad weather, and it was not long before the decision was made to demolish it. Le Vau’s successor, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, produced a more suitable design that replaced the terrace with a large gallery. Work started in 1678 and ended in 1684.

The War Room

Hardouin Mansart started building the War Room in 1678. The decoration, completed by Le Brun in 1686, pays tribute to the military victories which led to the peace treaties of Nijmegen. The walls are covered with marble panels decorated with six trophies and weapons in gilded bronze. The wall adjacent to the Apollo Room bears an oval stucco bas-relief depicting Louis XIV on horseback trampling his enemies.

The Peace Room

The Peace Room is symmetrical to the War Room and contains the same marble panel decoration and chased trophies of arms in gilded bronze. Here, however, Le Brun decorated the cupola and arches on the themes of the benefits of peace brought to Europe by France. From the beginning of Louis XIV’s reign this room was separated from the hall by a movable partition and was considered part of the Queen’s Apartment, constituting the final room after the Queen’s Chamber.

Visit the Gardens

Visitors looking through the central window in the Hall of Mirrors will see the Grand Perspective stretching away towards the horizon from the Water Parterre. This unique east-west perspective originally dates from before the reign of Louis XIV, but it was developed and extended by the gardener André Le Nôtre, who widened the Royal Way and dug the Grand Canal.

Creating the gardens was a monumental task. Large amounts of soil had to be shifted to level the ground, create parterres, build the Orangery and dig out the fountains and Canal in places previously occupied solely by meadows and marshes. Trees were brought in from different regions of France. Thousands of men, sometimes even entire regiments, took part in this immense project.

Lunch is included

Savour your 3 course lunch in the “La Flotille” restaurant located at the foot of the Grand Canal, a majestic setting which allows you to appreciate the beauty of the estate. After lunch, After lunch your guide will take you to the Petit Trianon, a small chateau in the grounds of Versailles used by Marie Antoinette for festivities and to escape the overwhelming court etiquette. 

The Petit Trianon

The Petit Trianon Palace was built by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel under the reign of Louis XV so that he may house the royal family in a more intimate setting. The Palace was then given as a present by King Louis XVI to his young bride and so the estate rapidly became known as the Marie Antoinette estate.

Later, Napoleon restored the Palace and gardens and in 1867 Empress Eugénie converted the Palace into a museum dedicated to Marie Antoinette. Close by you can also visit the Queen's Hamlet that Marie Antoinette ordered to build in 1783 so as to get away from the Versailles court.

The Queen's Hamlet

iscover the Queen’s Hamlet, a stylised Norman village and farm built for Marie Antoinette where she retreated with her closest friends to enjoy an intimately rustic life. Completed just a few years before the Revolution, the Hamlet remains a testiment to the Queen’s desire for a simpler life over the cold marble vaults of the main palace.