Rick Steves Pocket Paris by Rick Steves & Steve Smith & Gene Openshaw

Author:Rick Steves & Steve Smith & Gene Openshaw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avalon Travel
Published: 2014-02-04T16:00:00+00:00

Length of This Day Trip: With the usual lines, allow 1.5 hours each for the Château, the Gardens, and the Trianon/Domaine. Add another two hours for round-trip transit, plus another hour for lunch...and, at around eight hours, Versailles is a full day trip from Paris.

Baggage Check: To enter the Château and the two Trianons, you must use the free baggage check for large bags and baby strollers.

Services: Reminiscent of the days when dukes urinated behind the potted palm trees, WCs at the Château are few and far between. The most reliable WCs are immediately upon entering the Château (Entrance H) and near the Grand Café d’Orléans. In the Gardens, lesser WCs are near the Latona Basin, at the Grand Canal, in the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, and several others.

Eating: The Grand Café d’Orléans, to the left of the Château’s entrance, offers good-value self-service meals (€5 sandwiches, great for picnicking in the Gardens). In the Gardens, you’ll find several restaurants, cafés, and snack stands. Most are clustered near the Latona Fountain (less crowded) and the Grand Canal (more crowds and more choices, including two restaurants).

In the town (east of the Château), several colorful eateries line lively Place du Marché Notre-Dame, including crêpes at Á la Côte Bretonne. Handy McDonald’s and Starbucks (both with WCs) are near the train station.

Photography: Allowed, but no flash indoors.

Fountain Spectacles: On certain days in spring and summer, piped-in classical music accompanies impressive fountain displays. The fountains run April-Oct Sat-Sun 11:00-12:00 & 15:30-17:30 (finale at Neptune Fountain at 17:20). They also run on Tue late May-late June at 11:00-12:00 & 14:30-16:00. On these spray days, the Gardens cost €8.50. On other Tue April-Oct you get all-day music, but no water (€7.50). Elaborate sound-and-light displays are staged on Sat nights (and some Fri) mid-June-mid-Sept at 21:00 (€23). The schedule changes, so see the full calendar at chateauversailles.fr.

Starring: Luxurious palaces, endless gardens, Louis XIV, Marie-Antoinette, and the ancien régime.

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