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Paris is likely one of the hottest and most-visited cities on the planet, and is a spot the place you may simply spend every week or extra and nonetheless not see/do the whole lot. BUT, if it is your first journey to Paris and you’ve got quite a lot of days there, chances are high you can be tempted to plan no less than someday 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 former royal palace is now surrounded by the charming metropolis of Versailles, however the entire place started as a small nation looking lodge utilized by King Louis XIII to flee the town lifetime of Paris within the 1600s.
The palace was remodeled by Louis XIII’s son and successor, King Louis XIV (the Sun King), within the mid-1600s, being expanded into the sprawling, gold-coated palace with greater than 2000 rooms that we all know immediately. 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 practice from Paris and pre-booking a Versailles entrance ticket. But that is a type of outings that I actually, actually really feel is greatest performed with a information – as a result of Versailles is big, and may be overwhelming by yourself.
Versailles tour by bike
On our personal journey to Paris, my husband Elliot and I opted to guide a full-day bike-based tour to Versailles that ended up being one in every of our favourite experiences of our whole journey!
We booked this tour with Boutique Bike Tours, which features a fast practice experience 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 seems like rather a lot to suit into simply someday, however the fantastic thing about doing this tour by bike is that none of it felt rushed!
Here’s a extra detailed take a look at this Versailles tour:
Getting to Versailles from Paris
Our tour truly started in Paris, the place we met our information at Gare Montparnasse (the Paris-Montparnasse practice station). This was nice, because it meant we did not must navigate attending to Versailles on our personal. We have been supplied with practice tickets, and traveled as a gaggle on the quick practice to Versailles – we have been on the Versailles practice station in about 12 minutes!
Once we arrived, it was a brief stroll to the spot the place we picked up our bikes.
The bikes used on this tour are comfy cruisers with a classic look, and issues like helmets and youngster seats (and even children’ bikes) may be supplied on request.
Palace of Versailles
We cruised via the city of Versailles as much as the doorway to the Château de Versailles. Here our information Clara gave us an summary of the historical past of Versailles, and in addition laid out the plan for the day.
While 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 approach round, and went into the palace proper when it opened at 9 a.m. Being with a licensed skilled information meant we bought to skip the lengthy ticket and entrance traces and enter the palace via 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 via all of the opulent rooms and sharing (generally scandalous) tales about varied members of the French royal household.
We noticed dressing rooms and mattress chambers, a chapel, and naturally the well-known Hall of Mirrors throughout our tour – which in fact is just a tiny fraction of the 2300 rooms contained in the grand palace.
Clara stated the palace would have value the equal of BILLIONS of {dollars} to construct – and I imagine it. No surprise the French folks have 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 footwear!)
We visited on a weekend, which means all of the backyard’s fountains have been on, accompanied by baroque music (the fountains run each Saturday and Sunday from April 1-October 29, in addition to each Tuesday from May 2-June 27).
It is fairly unimaginable to suppose that they engineered all these intricate fountains within the 1700s, however didn’t have indoor plumbing!
Versailles market buying
From the gardens, we bought 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 bought 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 supplied by our information.
We loved our lunch spreads within the sunshine as we watched folks in little row boats paddle across the massive canal. As with most meals in France, nothing was rushed.
Queen’s Hamlet
After lunch, we bought 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 way 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 together with her youngsters.
We did not go to the Petit Trianon, however did spend time strolling across the gardens and Queen’s Hamlet, as our information Clara informed us a number of tales about Marie-Antoinette.
Back to Paris
After the Queen’s Hamlet, we rode a bit extra via the park surrounding Versailles and again into city to the practice station. We bought our return practice tickets, and have been again in Paris earlier than supper time!
Both 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: Food & Palace Bike Tour” with Boutique Bike Tours. The full-day tour contains practice 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 the whole lot on this tour, from offering heatsets contained in the palace to picnic blankets alongside the Grand Canal. (They’ll present rain ponchos in unhealthy climate, too!) And the guides are all incredible. (Book the identical tour right here.)
The tour we did prices EUR 145 ($150-$160 USD) per individual.
YES, I undoubtedly suppose 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 for those who have been simply visiting on foot. (Versailles is HUGE, and having a motorcycle actually helps you see extra of it.)
Versailles is sort of fully flat, so the bike driving is pretty simple. You do must experience on the highway for a short time originally and finish of the tour, however in any other case you are driving totally on park trails.
In whole, you are perhaps on a motorcycle for a pair hours all through all the day. As lengthy as you may comfortably experience a motorcycle, you may most likely handle this tour!
Along with a tip to your information, you will additionally must pay to your picnic lunch on the native market in Versailles. You can spend as a lot or as little as you need (however generally you may get bread, cheese, meat, and fruit for a really cheap value!).
Again, you may guide this precise tour right here. (And once more, be aware that the precise order of if you’ll see issues could differ 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 could 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.)
READ NEXT: 5 Days in Paris: The Perfect Paris Itinerary for Your First Visit
Is this a approach you’d wish to expertise Versailles?
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