Paris to Versailles by Train: The Three Routes Compared

The Comparison Table

The table below compares every way to get from Paris to Versailles that the official palace and transport sources confirm. Rail fares are flat Île-de-France fares, tour prices are the exact bookable prices on this site, and walk times come from the palace's own FAQ. The RER C row wins on almost every count because its station sits closest to the Palace gates.

Reading the Table

The €2.55 single is the adult flat fare for any Métro-Train-RER journey in Île-de-France, and it covers RER C to Versailles. Round-trip transport therefore costs €5.10 per adult before entry tickets. Every guided option costs more than a full DIY day, and the difference buys you a guide, pre-booked entry and a fixed schedule.

• Palace entry on top of transport: Passport ticket €35 full rate in the high season.
• Trianon ticket €15 full rate if you skip the Passport.
• Navigo Day pass zones 1 to 5: €12.30, worth it only if you make several paid trips in one day.

Step 1: Pick Your Line

Three routes serve Versailles. The RER C runs from Champ de Mars, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame or Musée d'Orsay to Versailles Château Rive Gauche in 30 to 35 minutes, and is the route most visitors should take. Trains from Paris Montparnasse reach Versailles Chantiers, and trains from Paris Saint-Lazare or La Défense reach Versailles Rive Droite.

All three are covered by the same ticket.

Step 2: Get the Ticket

Paper Métro tickets have been phased out, so you need a Navigo Easy card or the Île-de-France Mobilités app. The Navigo Easy card costs €2 and loads the Métro-Train-RER ticket at €2.55 for adults, or the Navigo Day pass for zones 1 to 5 at €12.30. The single ticket is valid for 120 minutes, so the same ticket covers your RER ride and any connecting Metro leg in Paris.

• Single Métro-Train-RER ticket: €2.55 adult, €1.30 reduced child fare, valid 120 minutes.
• Navigo Easy card: €2, reusable, top it up as needed.
• Navigo Day pass zones 1 to 5: €12.30, loaded on a Navigo Easy or Navigo pass.
• Staying longer? The weekly Navigo pass for zones 1 to 5 costs €32.40 and runs Monday to Sunday, not seven days from purchase.

Step 3: Ride and Walk the Last Mile

From Versailles Château Rive Gauche the walk to the Palace is 10 minutes. From Versailles Rive Droite it is 17 minutes, and from Versailles Chantiers 18 minutes. No shuttle figures are published by the palace for these routes, so plan for the walk and wear shoes that can handle it, then go the extra 30 minutes on foot through the Gardens if you also want Trianon.

Step 4: Check Before You Leave

Four checks prevent most bad days at Versailles. First, book your Palace time slot online in advance, because all visitors must have one and online booking guarantees admission within half an hour of your slot. Second, remember the Palace and Trianon close on Mondays and on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

Third, check whether it is a Musical Fountains day, because the Gardens are charged on those days in the high season. Fourth, look at last admission, which is typically 45 minutes before closing, and work backwards from it.

• Book the time slot before you board the train, not on the platform.
• Closed Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.
• Last Palace admission is typically 45 minutes before closing.

Tickets, Passes and the DIY Hub

If your itinerary includes more than one monument, the Paris Museum Pass at €85 for 2 days covers Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chantilly and others, but pass holders still need the free Versailles time slot. For a broader view of rail day trips, the free day trips from Paris by train hub lists seven more destinations on the same flat-fare logic, and how to plan a day trip from Paris covers passes and booking order in general.

The Three Stations Compared

Versailles Château Rive Gauche wins for almost every visitor because it is built for the Palace trade and sits 10 minutes from the gates. Choose Chantiers only if you are starting near Montparnasse, and Rive Droite only if Saint-Lazare or La Défense is your nearest hub. The extra 7 or 8 minutes of walking from those two stations is real, and with Trianon 30 minutes beyond the Palace on foot, the distances add up over a day.

The Return Trip

The same three routes run back to Paris, so there is no last-train panic of the kind that plagues rural day trips. RER C trains return from Rive Gauche towards central Paris, and the Transilien lines run back to Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare. The palace's high season Gardens and Park close at 20:30 and the Palace at 18:30, so an evening return is normal on this route rather than an exception.

What Things Cost

The Passport ticket covers the whole Estate and costs €35 full rate in the high season and €32 reduced. The Estate of Trianon ticket costs €15 full and €12 reduced if you only want that part. On Musical Fountains and Musical Gardens days in the high season, the Gardens themselves carry a charge: the Musical Fountains Show costs €13 for EEA residents and €16 for non-EEA visitors, with children under 5 free.

The show is a walking tour with no seats, runs regardless of weather, and its tickets are non-refundable.

Free Entry and the One Rule That Still Applies

Entry to the Palace is free for visitors under 18, EU residents under 26 and Paris Museum Pass holders. Free does not mean walk in: every visitor, including free-entry visitors and pass holders, must book a time slot online. The Musical Fountains Show is free for children under 5.

Book the slot in advance, because arriving at the gates without a slot is the single most common way to waste a train trip.

• Free: under 18s, EU residents under 26, Paris Museum Pass holders.
• Still required: an online time slot for everyone.
• Show entry free for children under 5.

Opening Days and Hours

The Palace and Trianon close on Mondays and on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. In the high season the Palace opens 9:00 to 18:30, the Gardens and Park 7:00 to 20:30, and Trianon opens from 12:00. Last Palace admission is typically 45 minutes before closing.

The Gardens are free in the low season, and the Musical Fountains Show runs on Tuesdays, Fridays, weekends and holidays in the high season. The show is a walking tour with no seats and is held whatever the weather.

Three Versailles Tours Compared

Several tours on this site cover Versailles from Paris. The Versailles Palace and Gardens Tour by Train from Paris costs $100.80 and honestly includes the train tickets, pre-booked palace and gardens entry with fast-track access, and a 3-hour guided visit in a group of up to 20. It meets 15 minutes before a fixed train, so you still travel by rail, just without the planning.

Lunch is not included and there is no hotel pickup.

• Versailles Palace and Gardens Tour by Train from Paris: $100.80, train and palace entry included, 3 hours guided, up to 20 people.
• Versailles Bike Tour with Palace Entry by Train from Paris: $125, covers palace, gardens, Trianons and Marie Antoinette's village, plus train, bike and helmet, 8.5 hours, up to 14 people. Lunch not included.
• Versailles Small-Group Guided Tour with Transportation from Paris: $192.31, minibus from Paris, palace and gardens admission with skip-the-line access and headsets, 75-minute guided visit, 4 hours total.

When the Tour Wins

A tour wins when your Paris days are few and you cannot risk a sold-out time slot, or when you want commentary inside the Palace, which the DIY ticket does not include. It loses on price, on flexibility and on pace, since the DIY train day lets you linger in the Gardens until 20:30 in the high season. If you would rather combine Versailles with Monet's garden, the Giverny and Versailles Day Trip from Paris at $151 covers both entry tickets in an 11.5-hour day.

Ticket

The table sets each sight's official adult price beside a link to book a dated entry ticket online. Free-entry rules for under 18s and EU residents under 26 still apply at the gate where the site offers them, so check them before you pay.