Events at the Palace of Versailles
Versailles publishes one big dated programme a year, and it runs in the gardens rather than the building. Here is what is on in 2026, what the difference between the two garden shows actually is, and where to check before you travel.
Dates and times change. This page follows the estate's own published programme, and programmes move. Check chateauversailles.fr before you travel, and if a show is the reason for your trip, book a departure with Palace of Versailles guided tours, every one of which refunds up to 24 hours ahead, so a change of programme costs you nothing.
The Musical Gardens and the Musical Fountains Show, 1 April to 1 November 2026
The estate's own wording: from 1 April to 1 November 2026, the Musical Gardens and the Musical Fountains Show run in the gardens and in groves opened for the occasion. This is the season, and it is the only reason a garden ticket exists. Outside it the gardens are free to everyone, every day.
What the difference between them is
Both put music through the gardens and both open groves that are otherwise closed. The Musical Fountains Show also runs the fountains — Latona, Apollo, the grove basins — on a set timetable rather than continuously. The Musical Gardens is the same gardens and the same opened groves, with music and without the water.
The estate publishes the season and the distinction; it sets the fares and the weekly pattern itself, and neither is reproduced here.
| Musical Gardens | Musical Fountains Show | |
|---|---|---|
| What runs | music through the gardens, groves opened | music, groves opened, and the fountains |
| Fountains | no | yes, to a set timetable |
| Season | 1 Apr – 1 Nov 2026 | 1 Apr – 1 Nov 2026 |
| Ticket | a garden ticket | a garden ticket |
| Under 6 | free | free |
The Night Fountains Show
A separate evening programme in summer, with its own ticket and its own dates, ending with fireworks over the Grand Canal. It is routinely confused with the daytime show when people book. If an evening in the gardens is what you want, check the estate's own calendar rather than a tour listing.
The Royal Opera and the Royal Chapel as venues
Both are working venues with their own seasons of opera, ballet and sacred music, sold separately from admission. A concert ticket is not a museum ticket and does not include a daytime visit. It is also the only reliable way to sit down inside the Royal Opera.
Free days, and the first Sunday rule
The estate is open free of charge on the first Sunday of the month from November to March. In the same months the gardens are free every day to everybody. That combination makes a winter Sunday the cheapest full day Versailles offers, and it is busy for exactly that reason.
Which guided departures include a show
Several bundle garden access on show days and one or two guide you round the gardens while it runs. The wording to look for in the inclusions is Musical Gardens, Musical Fountains Show or garden tickets from April to October. Others exclude the garden ticket in so many words, which is not a trap if you read it — it is just a different product.
Departures that include the gardens
Compare which ones carry a garden ticket in the show season and which leave it to you, alongside price, duration and what else they cover.
Dates in one table
Verified against the estate's own pages on 2 September 2026.
| What | When | Where | Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Musical Gardens | 1 Apr – 1 Nov 2026 | the gardens and opened groves | garden ticket |
| Musical Fountains Show | 1 Apr – 1 Nov 2026 | the gardens and the fountains | garden ticket |
| Night Fountains Show | summer evenings, estate calendar | the gardens | separate evening ticket |
| Royal Opera season | estate calendar | the Royal Opera | concert ticket |
| Free first Sunday | Nov to Mar | the whole estate | free |
| Gardens free to all | Nov to late Mar | the gardens | free |
Sources, and where to check for changes
- chateauversailles.fr — the estate's own site, and the authority on every date here.
- Practical information — opening hours by season, and the closing days.
- Tickets and prices — the Passport, the Trianon ticket and the free-admission rules.
The gardens the shows run in are described on the gardens page, and month by month covers which weeks are worth planning around. A Versailles palace and gardens tour that includes garden access is the simplest way to see one. Every departure is on Palace of Versailles Tours.
Departures that include the gardens in show season
Paris to Versailles Small Group & Garden Access
Transport includedTrianon estateHeadsets
From $139 per person
From Paris: Versailles Palace Live Tour with Gardens Access
Transport includedTimed entryTrianon estate
From $135 per person