Louis XIV's palace, the Hall of Mirrors and a park the size of a small town. The palace takes a morning; the gardens, the Trianons and the Hamlet take the rest of the day.
Louis XIV turned his father's hunting lodge into the seat of the French monarchy in 1682. The court stayed until the Revolution marched the royal family back to Paris in 1789.
Inside, the State Apartments lead to the Hall of Mirrors: seventeen arches of mirrors facing seventeen windows over the gardens. From its central window the view runs down the Water Parterre to the Grand Canal.
The gardens by André Le Nôtre cover around 800 hectares of fountains, groves and avenues. They are free except on fountain-show days, when the music plays and the fountains run.
Beyond lie the Grand and Petit Trianon and Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet, a play-farm of thatched cottages by a lake. The Passport covers everything: €25, or €35 on fountain-show days.
Give it the whole day; it is one of the great walks near Paris.
Be at the gates for opening and go straight through the King's and Queen's apartments.
Stop at the central window for the axis down to the Grand Canal.
Walk down past the Latona fountain; hire a bike or a golf cart for the distances.
The pink marble Grand Trianon, then the Petit Trianon and its gardens.
Thatched cottages, a mill and a farm round a lake; picnic on the Grand Canal on the way back.
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RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about 40 minutes from central Paris, then a 10-minute walk.
Book a timed palace slot on the official site; the Passport covers the palace, Trianons and Hamlet.
Bikes hire by the Grand Canal; electric golf carts suit families. The little train links the palace and the Trianons.
Paris practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
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