Versailles walking tour & town guide
The palace of the Sun King, its vast gardens and a royal town of markets and antiques.
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Versailles Palace: Full Walking Tour
Video by Walking Alice · Mar 2026 · All rights belong to the creator · More from Walking Alice →
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Versailles is a town of its own about 20 kilometers south-west of Paris, built around the most famous palace in Europe. Louis XIV turned his father's hunting lodge into a vast château and moved the royal court here in 1682, and the town grew up to serve it. Today the palace and gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an easy day trip from the capital.
The palace
Visitors enter through the great Royal Courtyard, its gates and roofs glittering with gold, and follow a route through the state apartments of the king and queen. The highlight is the Hall of Mirrors, a 73-meter gallery where 357 mirrors face tall windows onto the gardens, under ceilings painted with the victories of Louis XIV. The Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War was signed here in 1919.
The palace is closed on Mondays and very busy at weekends and in summer. Arriving at opening time, or starting with the gardens and coming back to the château in the late afternoon, helps avoid the longest queues.
The gardens, the Grand Canal and the Trianon
Behind the palace, the formal gardens designed by André Le Nôtre spread out in terraces, clipped hedges, statues and fountains down to the cross-shaped Grand Canal, where rowing boats can be hired in season. On many days from spring to autumn, the fountains are set to play to baroque music.
Further away, across the park, are the Grand Trianon, a pink marble palace where the king escaped the court, and the estate of Marie-Antoinette, with the Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet, a small mock village of thatched cottages around a lake.
The town of Versailles
Away from the palace, Versailles is an elegant, quiet town of wide avenues and 17th- and 18th-century streets. The Notre-Dame quarter has a large covered market and lively squares, the antiques dealers cluster in old passages nearby, and the Saint-Louis quarter on the other side of the palace has its cathedral and the King's Kitchen Garden, still cultivated today.
A classic walk: palace to the Grand Canal and the town
After visiting the château, walk down through the gardens past the Latona Fountain to the Grand Canal and follow its bank as far as you like, with a detour to the Trianon estate. Come back up to the palace and cross Place d'Armes into the town, ending at the Notre-Dame market square. Trains from central Paris reach Versailles stations near the palace in about 30 to 40 minutes.
Top sights in Versailles
- 1
Palace of Versailles
The royal château of Louis XIV, with its gilded state apartments.
- 2
Hall of Mirrors
A 73-meter gallery of 357 mirrors facing the gardens.
- 3
Gardens of Versailles
Formal terraces, fountains and statues by André Le Nôtre.
- 4
Grand Canal
A cross-shaped canal at the heart of the park, with rowing boats in season.
- 5
Trianon estate
The Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet.
- 6
Notre-Dame quarter
The town's market district of squares and old streets.
Food markets & where to eat in Versailles
Notre-Dame market
A large covered market and outdoor stalls, open most mornings except Mondays.
Rue de Satory
A pedestrian street of cafés and bistros in the Saint-Louis quarter.
Grand Canal
Picnic on the lawns or eat at the kiosks along the water.
Opening hours and prices change often. Please check with each place before you visit.
Planning a trip to Paris?
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