Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles sits 22 km southwest of Paris in Yvelines and is reached in about 40 minutes on RER C to Versailles-Château Rive Gauche, with trains departing every 30 minutes from Gare d'Austerlitz, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Invalides, or Champ de Mars; a Transilien N service from Montparnasse to Versailles Chantiers is an alternative. The palace itself covers the State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, the King's and Queen's chambers, and the Royal Chapel, while the grounds hold the Gardens of Versailles, the Grand and Petit Trianon, and Marie-Antoinette's Estate. A typical one-day visit starts early with the palace interior, since queues lengthen quickly after 10am; the Hall of Mirrors and State Apartments are best seen before midday crowds build. In the afternoon, visitors move outdoors to the formal gardens, the Grand Canal, and the Trianon estates, which require a fair amount of walking or a shuttle train between sections. April through October is the best window because the fountains run on scheduled Musical Fountains Shows on select weekends and the gardens are in full bloom; the palace is closed on Tuesdays, so trips should avoid that day. There are cafés and a snack kiosk inside the grounds near the Grand Canal, and several restaurants and boulangeries cluster around Place d'Armes and Versailles town centre near the RER station for a lunch or coffee stop before or after the visit.