The Trianon Estate at the Palace of Versailles
The Trianon estate is the half of Versailles that people mean to see and miss. It is a kilometre and a half from the Palace across the park, and it does not open until midday. Those two facts decide more Versailles itineraries than anything else.
It opens at noon, and that changes your day
Midday, every day it opens, in both seasons, closing with the Palace at 6.30pm in high season and 5.30pm in low. So a morning half-day tour cannot include it, however long it runs. If the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon or the Queen's Hamlet are on your list, you need an afternoon or a full day, and a Palace of Versailles half day tour that says so in its inclusions.
The Grand Trianon, 1687 — the marble one
Construction began in 1687 under Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and it was originally known as the Marble Trianon for the pink marble panels on its facade. Louis XIV built it as a private residence away from the court he had spent thirty years assembling. Single storey, low, and after the State Apartments it comes as a relief. The long colonnaded loggia across the middle, open to the gardens on both sides, is the part people photograph.
It stayed in use long after the monarchy did. Napoleon had it refurnished, and much of what stands in the rooms today is Empire rather than Louis XIV, which surprises visitors who arrive expecting the seventeenth century throughout.
The Petit Trianon, 1768 — Gabriel's box
Ange-Jacques Gabriel completed it in 1768 for Louis XV. It is a small, square, almost plain building, and it is the most influential piece of architecture on the estate — the point where French taste turned away from the Baroque. You can walk round all four sides in a couple of minutes and each one is different, because Gabriel designed each elevation for the ground it stands on rather than repeating one facade four times.
Louis XV built it for Madame de Pompadour, who died before it was finished, and it passed to Madame du Barry after him. Marie-Antoinette was the third woman associated with it and the only one most visitors have heard of.
Marie-Antoinette takes it, 1774
Louis XVI gave her the Petit Trianon in 1774, and she made it the one part of Versailles that was genuinely hers. Access was by her invitation rather than by rank, which is most of why it was resented. The Queen's Hamlet beyond it is what she built next.
Getting there from the Palace
Distances across the park. The walk is flat, mostly gravel, and has very little shade in either direction.
| From | To | On foot | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | Grand Trianon | about 30 minutes | the estate's little train, ticketed |
| Grand Trianon | Petit Trianon | 5 minutes | — |
| Petit Trianon | Queen's Hamlet | 10 minutes | — |
| Queen's Hamlet | Palace | about 40 minutes | little train, or a hired bike |
The Trianon ticket, and when the Passport is cheaper
Estate of Trianon ticket: €15, or €12 reduced. Covers the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, their gardens and the Hamlet, and does not open the Palace. Passport: €35 in high season, €25 in low, and covers all of that plus the Palace on a timed slot. If you are seeing both, the Passport is the only sensible buy.
Frequently asked
Can you do the Palace and Trianon in one day? Yes, and the estate's own suggested plan does exactly that — Palace at nine, gardens until midday, Trianon from midday to half past four. Is it worth the walk? If you have the afternoon, yes; if you are on a three-hour tour, you will not get there. More in the FAQs and in half day or full day. Every departure is listed on Palace of Versailles Tours.
Tours that actually reach the Trianon estate
Paris to Versailles Small Group & Garden Access
Transport includedTrianon estateHeadsets
From $139 per person
Versailles Palace Bike Tour with Market & Marie-Antoinette hamlet
Transport includedBike includedTimed entry
From $128 per person