The Palace of Versailles opening hours are 9 am to 5:30 pm from Tuesday to Sunday, and the palace is closed on Mondays. The official tickets page gives 4:45 pm as the last entry, so the real window is shorter than it looks. This guide covers the Palace of Versailles opening hours by day, the Trianon and garden hours, the best time to go, how to get there from Paris and the rules at the gate. When you are ready to book, my comparison of Palace of Versailles tickets lists all 7 options with prices.
Palace of Versailles Opening Hours
Today, Saturday 7 November 2026, the palace is open 9 am to 5:30 pm per Google Maps. The week looks like this:
| Day |
Hours per Google Maps |
| Monday |
Closed |
| Tuesday |
9 am to 5:30 pm |
| Wednesday |
9 am to 5:30 pm |
| Thursday |
9 am to 5:30 pm |
| Friday |
9 am to 5:30 pm |
| Saturday |
9 am to 5:30 pm |
| Sunday |
9 am to 5:30 pm |
The official plan your visit page is the one to trust, and it agrees with Google: Palace 9 am to 5:30 pm, Trianon estate noon to 5:30 pm from Tuesday to Sunday, gardens and park 8 am to 6 pm. The page gives one set of hours per site and does not split them by season, so I can’t tell you whether the summer hours differ. It lists the Palace and Trianon as closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.
Versailles Hours
The Palace of Versailles opening hours you need depend on which part of the estate you want, because the palace, the Trianon and the gardens all open at different times. The gardens and park open first, at 8 am, ahead of the opening hours of the Palace of Versailles, which makes them the one part of the estate you can enter before the palace. The Palace follows at 9 am, and the Trianon estate only opens at noon, so a visit that includes the Queen’s Hamlet cannot start there in the morning.
From November to March the park and gardens are free, per the official page. From April to October the gardens are charged from Tuesday to Sunday, including on fountain show days. That seasonal switch matters more than the clock when you plan, because the same walk costs nothing in winter and part of a ticket in summer.
Versailles Opening Hours and Last Entry
The Palace of Versailles opening hours include a rule that catches people out. Entry is by time slot, and the official page says entry within half an hour of the slot is only guaranteed for tickets bought online. The Palace closes at 5:30 pm, last entry is 4:45 pm, and the page says the last visiting schedule does not allow a full tour of the Palace.
So a visitor arriving at 4:30 pm is technically in time, but sees little. I would treat 3 pm as the latest sensible slot for the palace alone, and that is my own rule of thumb, not an official figure. The Passport also has discounted entry from 3 pm or 4 pm, per the official tickets page, which tells you the operator itself sees the late slots as a partial visit.
Versailles Palace Cost
The Versailles palace cost is set on the official tickets page. The Passport, which covers the Palace, Trianon, temporary exhibitions and the gardens, is listed at 25 euros in the low season, and the Estate of Trianon ticket is 15 euros, or 12 reduced. Guided tours are 10 to 16 euros on top of admission. The Palace and Trianon are free for visitors under 18, or under 26 residing in the EU, who must still book a slot.
Resellers charge more because they add a guide or transport. On GetYourGuide the entry tickets I compared cost $33 and $36, and the guided tours $78 to $318. The full breakdown is in my Palace of Versailles ticket comparison.
How Long Does It Take to Tour Versailles
The Palace of Versailles opening hours leave room for a long day, so allow at least half a day for the palace and most of a day for the whole estate. The most-reviewed guided tour includes 90 minutes inside the palace, and its listing tells you to add 30 minutes for ticketing and the security check. After the tour you can stay in the palace until closing. The Extime afternoon tour takes 4.5 hours including the coach from Paris, and the Charming Tours half-day tour takes about 3 hours.
If you want the gardens as well, add time on foot. The park covers 815 hectares today, of which 93 are formal gardens, according to Wikipedia, which is more than one afternoon can cover. I’d see the palace first and then choose one part of the gardens.
Palace of Versailles Hours of Operation
The Palace of Versailles opening hours on Google Maps and on the official site match, which is rare enough to be worth saying. Both show 9 am to 5:30 pm for the palace and a Monday closure. Where they differ is in what they leave out: Google Maps does not show last entry, the noon start of the Trianon or the holiday closures on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. For those, use the official page for the Palace of Versailles opening hours.
Place Versailles Hours
People searching for place Versailles hours sometimes mean the Place d’Armes, the square in front of the gate that is also the palace’s address on Google Maps, and sometimes a shopping centre of the same name in Paris. I did not research the shopping centre, and its hours are not in my data. The Place d’Armes is an open square, so only the Palace of Versailles opening hours apply to the palace behind it. The address is Place d’Armes, 78000 Versailles.
Best Time to Visit Palace of Versailles
Inside the Palace of Versailles opening hours, the best time to visit is the first slot of the morning on a weekday, and I can say that from the opening times more than from crowd data. The official pages do not publish crowd levels, so I won’t invent quiet days. The Wikipedia article calls the estate one of the most visited sites in Europe, so expect queues at any hour.
What the data does show is how the day changes with the seasons. Open-Meteo’s 2025 weather record for Versailles gives these figures.
| Month |
Sunrise |
Sunset |
Sunshine hours |
Rainy days |
| January |
8:39 |
5:22 pm |
2.7 |
16 |
| April |
7:00 |
8:43 pm |
11.2 |
9 |
| June |
5:47 |
9:56 pm |
13.1 |
11 |
| August |
6:44 |
9:06 pm |
11.6 |
8 |
| October |
8:11 |
7:01 pm |
6.7 |
10 |
| November |
8:00 |
5:11 pm |
4.5 |
12 |
| December |
8:38 |
4:55 pm |
3.8 |
7 |
Source: Open-Meteo historical weather, 2025 data for the palace’s coordinates.
In November the sun sets before the palace closes under its normal opening hours for the Palace of Versailles, and the record shows 12 rainy days that month, so the gardens are the part of the visit that suffers. From April to October the gardens are charged but the light lasts until about 9 pm in summer. For the palace I’d choose a spring or autumn morning within the Palace of Versailles opening hours, and I’d keep the gardens for a clear day. Fountain show dates are on the official calendar, and I did not check them.
How to Get to the Palace of Versailles
The palace is in the town of Versailles, southwest of Paris, per Wikipedia, and the official page gives the address as Place d’Armes, 78000 Versailles. My Google Maps data for this page holds no stations near the palace, only Paris metro stations about 9 to 11 km away in a straight line, so I can’t give you walking times from a train stop. The official site links a route planner on its plan your visit page, and I’d use that for the train.
The products tell you where to go instead. The GetYourGuide France tour meets at its shop at 10 Avenue du Général de Gaulle in Versailles, and you do not go to the palace gates first. The Passport entry from italypasstours says to go directly to Gate A. The Touring Company ticket sends you straight to the entrance at Place d’Armes, and the Red Cardinal gardens walk meets in the Court of Honour by the statue of Louis XIV.
For the Paris side, the Extime coach meets outside 6 Avenue du Dr Brouardel in the 7th arrondissement, and Charming Tours meets at 1 Rue de la Convention in the 15th, then takes you by accompanied train. The VENETS private tour collects you at your hotel. If you drive, the official tickets page lists car access through the Queen’s Gate at 12 euros per vehicle, with no reservation needed.
Is the Palace of Versailles Worth It?
The best rated listing I compared is the skip-the-line guided tour at $78, 4.7 from 2,621 reviews. Wikidata dates the palace to 1661, and the passport tickets cover the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal State Apartments, the Trianon palaces, the Queen’s Hamlet and the gardens. I’d say it is worth a day if you want the palace and the gardens together, because the gardens are free from November to March per the official page. In the other months the gardens are charged on Tuesday to Sunday, which changes the value. The Palace of Versailles history page has the background.
Palace of Versailles Audio Guide
The $36 reserved-entry listing includes a digital audio guide, though it is rated 2.1 from only 7 reviews, so I would not lean on it. The $33 passport ticket, with no review score yet, is described as a self-guided experience. For a live guide, my Palace of Versailles tours compare the guided options from $78. Check the Palace of Versailles opening hours first: the palace closes on Mondays.
Palace of Versailles Dress Code
I found no dress code and no ID rule on the official pages I read, so check the practical information page on chateauversailles.fr before you travel. The official hours page does say every bag and vehicle is checked on entry and that baggage larger than 55 x 35 x 25 cm is not admitted. Because the gardens are large and the Palace of Versailles opening hours run to 5:30 pm, I would wear comfortable shoes.
What to Know Before You Go
Every bag and vehicle is checked on entry, and baggage larger than 55 x 35 x 25 cm is not admitted, per the official hours page. I found no dress code and no ID rule on the pages I read, so check the practical information page before you travel. The official tickets page asks visitors to book a slot online inside the Palace of Versailles opening hours, and tickets for the Passport are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.
From the product listings: the main guided tour excludes transfers to and from Paris, the Extime tour excludes hotel pick-up and tips, and the Touring Company ticket excludes a live guide and food. One reviewer of that ticket said they were refused at the entrance, so I would keep my confirmation and compare it with the official site. For a first visit I’d book the guided tour below.
GetYourGuide France
Palace of Versailles Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
- ★ 4.7 (2,621 reviews)
- 1.5 - 2 hours
- Free cancellation
My pick: The tour I'd use to make the Palace of Versailles opening hours work: a 9 am start suits it, 4.7 from 2,621 reviews, and you can stay in the palace afterwards until closing.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
- ✓ Skip-the-line entrance to the Palace of Versailles
- ✓ 90-minute guided tour of the palace
- ✓ November to March: Gardens access included with all options
- ✓ November to March: Marie Antoinette’s Estate access (included with "All Access" option only)
- ✓ April to October: Garden access with Musical fountain shows and Marie Antoinette’s Estate (included with "All Access" option only)
Not included / not suitable
- ✕ Transfers to/from Paris
Meeting point: Check in at the GetYourGuide shop (do not go directly to the Palace). Your guide will meet you at the shop and provide your tickets. 10 Av. du Général de Gaulle, 78000 Versailles, France
Languages: Japanese, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, French, English
Duration: 1.5 - 2 hours
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“Our guide was clear and knowledgeable. Easy to follow.” – GetYourGuide review
Once you know the Palace of Versailles opening hours, the next choice is the ticket. Every Palace of Versailles ticket I compared is explained there, and the home page lists the other attractions I cover.