Getting to the Palace of Versailles from Paris

Name: Palace of Versailles Tours
Brand: Palace of Versailles Tours
Availability: InStock

Hours, prices and access verified by the Palace of Versailles Tours team — last checked 2026-09-02

Three railway stations serve Versailles, on three different lines, from three different Paris terminals, and each leaves you a different walk. Pick by which terminal is nearest your hotel rather than by which station is nearest the Palace — the difference at the Paris end is bigger than the difference at the other.

Versailles is not in Paris, and that is the whole problem

The estate is in Versailles, its own town in the Yvelines, about 20 kilometres south-west of Paris. Nothing on the Metro reaches it. You need a suburban train, a coach or a car, and the journey runs 35 to 60 minutes each way depending on which you take. That is why so many of the tours here sell the transport rather than just the ticket.

RER C to Versailles Château – Rive Gauche

The closest station to the Palace, about ten minutes' walk. Trains run from Saint-Michel, Musée d'Orsay, Invalides and Champ de Mars along the left bank, so it is the obvious choice if you are staying anywhere near the river. Buy a ticket to Versailles Château – Rive Gauche rather than a Metro ticket; the fare zones are different.

Gare Montparnasse to Versailles Chantiers

The fastest of the three trains, and a 17 to 18 minute walk at the other end. Chantiers is also the station most likely to be running when something else is not. If you are staying in the 14th or 15th, this is your line.

Gare Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite

Also a 17 to 18 minute walk, and the right choice from the 8th, 9th or 17th. The walk comes down through the town rather than straight up to the gates, which some people prefer — you pass the market square on the way.

The three stations compared

Walk times as published by the estate. All three are on level pavement and then cobbles at the Place d'Armes.

Station	From	Walk to the Palace	Best if you are staying
Versailles Château – Rive Gauche	RER C	about 10 min	near the Seine, the 5th, 6th, 7th
Versailles Chantiers	Gare Montparnasse	17–18 min	the 14th, 15th, or anywhere on line 4 or 6
Versailles Rive Droite	Gare Saint-Lazare	17–18 min	the 8th, 9th, 17th, or Opera

Bus 171 from Pont de Sèvres

RATP line 171 runs from Pont de Sèvres, at the end of Metro line 9, and takes about thirty minutes. It puts you close to the gates and it uses an ordinary Paris bus ticket. It is slower than any of the trains and it sits in traffic, so take it if you like buses rather than because it is quicker.

Driving, and the Queen's Gate car park

Parking is available through the Queen's Gate at €12 per vehicle, with no reservation needed. Driving is worth it if you are already outside Paris and heading on afterwards. From central Paris it is a bad trade: you swap a 35-minute train for the morning traffic on the A13.

Getting between the Palace and the Trianon estate

It is a kilometre and a half, about thirty minutes on foot across the park with almost no shade. The estate runs a little train on a ticket of its own, and bikes are hired near the Grand Canal. If your afternoon includes the Queen's Hamlet, budget for one of those rather than assuming you will walk it twice.

When the RER C is not running

Engineering work closes the Versailles branch of the RER C in stretches, usually in summer, and one operator's own booking notes flag exactly that for part of July and August. When it happens, the Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare lines both still run. Check before you set out, and give yourself the twenty minutes you would otherwise have spent finding the meeting point.

What a departure from Paris takes off your hands

Several departures include round-trip transport from a named Paris meeting point, and a few of those collect you at your hotel. What you are paying for is not the fare — the RER is cheap — but not having to work out the line, the ticket machine and the walk on a morning when you have a timed entry slot to meet.

Departures that handle the journey

Train, coach, minibus or a car from your hotel door, with the entry slot already held. Compare them by what else they cover.

See the tours Compare them

Frequently asked

Which station is nearest? Rive Gauche, about ten minutes. Can you use a Metro ticket? No — buy to the Versailles station by name. How early should you leave? Allow an hour door to door from central Paris and twenty minutes more than that if you have a timed slot. More in the FAQs, and visiting covers what happens once you arrive. Every departure is on Palace of Versailles Tours.