Paris, France
Versailles Guided Tour with Optional Fountain Show
Location: Paris, France
Duration: 4 hours
Step back in time to Queen Marie Antoinette’s reign and marvel at the opulent luxury of the Royal Courts on this 4-hour Palace of Versailles guided tour with optional fountain show. Enjoy skip-the-line access and beat the queues to begin your tour. Marvel at the King and Queen’s luxurious Royal Apartments. Stroll along the stunningly beautiful Hall of Mirrors to the Salon de la Guerre and the Salon de la Paix. Wander among royal statues and busts in the palace’s immaculately manicured gardens during your leisure time at the end.
Choose from a morning or afternoon half-day tour then head to Pyramides in central Paris, hop aboard your air-conditioned coach and set off through the city for the 1-hour journey to the famous Palace of Versailles.
Louis XIII of France first ordered the construction of Versailles as a hunting lodge, but it was his successor — Louis XIV — whose ambition turned it into one of the largest and most opulent palaces in the world. Construction took place between the years 1664 and 1710, and the Palace of Versailles stands today among the most beautiful buildings in Europe.
On arrival at Versailles, enjoy skip-the-line access to beat the queues and begin your tour. (Visitors to Versailles have the option of seeing the summer fountain shows on certain days too, so plan ahead to make the most of your trip!)
Follow your guide through the impressive splendour of the King and Queen’s State Apartments and gaze in awe at the luxurious decadence the monarchs enjoyed. The apartments were the private residences of King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette, and the part of the palace where they would have spent most of their time.
Explore the apartments of the dauphin and the dauphine (titles given to the future heirs of the French throne) and admire their stately majesty. Marvel at the drawing rooms, bed chambers and private studies, and gain insight into life as heir to the throne in 17th- and 18th-century France.
Continue through to the spectacularly beautiful Hall of Mirrors — widely considered to be the Palace of Versailles’ most remarkable feature — and listen as your guide describes its many significant fixtures and fittings. Constructed from 1678, the Hall of Mirrors is the palace’s central gallery and links the Salon de la Guerre and the Salon de la Paix with the King and Queen’s State Apartments.
Enjoy a little free time at the end of your tour to stroll through the beautifully manicured palace gardens at your leisure. Admire the many royal statues, busts and sculptures you come across, and take the time to capture the scenery on camera. Every Saturday night during the summer months, visitors can also enjoy the Versailles fountain shows, during which magnificent displays reveal the skill and artistry of three centuries of French garden design and engineering. The display is accompanied by music composed at the time of Louis XIV’s court.
At the end of your time at the spectacular Palace of Versailles, hop back in your coach for the short journey back to central Paris where your tour will come to an end
Please note: The first Sunday of each month the visit will be unguided, you will be provided with an audio guide.
