I plan to get the Versailles Day Pass at the RER station in Paris, so it will cover my travel costs and help us avoid the long ticket line at Versailles. My daughter will be 17and should be able to get in for free, according to what I%26#39;m seeing on their website. Will they let her skip the line and go in with me - sort of like with the museum pass?
Also, how long should we allow for our Versaille visit - inside and out? I know this depends on the person, but a time range would be helpful for planning purposes. We%26#39;re going in late May and are not huge history fans and probably won%26#39;t even use the palace audioguides that come with the passes very much. What time of day is best - first thing in the morning, or should we wait until afternoon when most everyone else is getting ready to leave?
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You should definitely get the audioguide, especially if you aren%26#39;t big history fans. It really helps when you know what you are looking at, how a room was used or what historical events took place there. Your visit will be much more interesting with the guides.
A word of warning: we tried to get our pass at the RER but the woman claimed they didn%26#39;t sell them. I had asked in French and used all the polite words but she would not budge.I gave up and I asked for 2 tickets to Versailles. Because I did not specify round trip, she gave me two one way tickets! It all worked out fine but that was a little frustrating.
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M.A. - I know you%26#39;re right about the audioguides, but try telling that to a teenager. I want to take her to see one of the Marie Antoinette movies before we go. Maybe that will whet her interest for the history. How long did you spend touring Versailles?
Does anyone know - if the day passes aren%26#39;t available at RER stations, where should I try to get them (other than at the gate)? And do you know if my daughter can skip the line with me?
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According to several guide books and our friend who lives in Paris, the pass is available at the RER station. I think I offended the lady in some way and she decided not to be as helpful as she could%26#39;ve been. Also the Museum Pass will cover it.
We were there most of the day. We really enjoyed it . When we planned, we had just Versailles for that day, thinking if we got done in half of day, we%26#39;d go shopping or visit something else when we got back to Paris.
I enjoyed the new Marie Atoinette movie. I%26#39;d heard it described as a French pastry--light, fluffy, sweet and it%26#39;s good because of that. I didn%26#39;t have grand expectations and I liked it. There are a lot of scenes shot at Versailles in the movie.
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YES! ! !
Buy the pass to get in and the train ticket at the Metro station (in Paris) before even getting onto the train! You will be happy you did. I think it cost about 25 euro or so for the entry and train ticket? Can%26#39;t remember exactly, but you will save yourself a little money and also the time to get into the Versaille when you get there! Seriously, if you don%26#39;t have your entry pass in hand when you%26#39;re walking up to the building, you%26#39;ll be waiting a long time to get your ticket to get in. if you have one, you go in through a different door bypassing the long lines!
Make sure you get onto the right train to Versaille as well. We jumped on the wrong one and went the wrong way until I noticed it... too funny. Getting home is a piece of cake as the train conductors point you to the train to Paris along with the hundreds of people jumping onto the same train.
Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allforfun/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allforfun1/
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By the way, you can spend the entire day at Versaille!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allforfun/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allforfun1/
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Maybe they didn%26#39;t know the expression Versailles Day Pass. It is called a %26quot;Forfait Loisirs Chateau Versailles%26quot;. It is sold in the SNCF-train stations in Paris, that is the big train stations. We bought ours in Gare d%26#39; Austerlitz, where the RER line to Versailles also goes through. I don%26#39;t know if your daughter will be allowed to get in for free (not with the train, I should think - but ask at the selling booth).
You will be able to skip the ticket line, but there is no way of escaping the equally long security lines to get in the building at all.
http://212.99.40.193/web/site/accueil/citylien/forfaits-loisirs/Chateau-de-Versailles/lang/en
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YES the day pass is great and YES I had trouble trying to buy one because you have to be at the correct %26#39;transilien%26#39; type of ticket office - if not, they don%26#39;t know what you%26#39;re talking about and try to sell you a plain rail ticket to Versailles.
This is one case where it is really, really helpful to print out the web page about the forfait loisir (link in above post) and take it with you to show them at the ticket office. Perhaps even print the French version from the Versailles web site. We found the staff then took more care to point us to the right office instead of selling us the wrong thing.
It is well worth getting the forfait loisir!
We spent all day at Versailles. Get there at the opening and make the King%26#39;s apartments your first visit to beat the tour groups which amass by 10 or 11am (and I mean, a-MASS!!) . The King%26#39;s apartments will only take you half an hour then you%26#39;re free to decide how long you spend at the palace. We hired bikes and rode the length and breadth of the grounds, including popping in to the Trianons and the %26#39;pretend%26#39; farm village. That%26#39;s largely why we stayed so long but we%26#39;re fanatics - you don%26#39;t have to be!
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Great pics jonnyminneapolis. What camera do you have by the way? Love the colors!
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Oops, forgot my question. Can you buy the day pass from Gare Monparnasse? I know it goes to Versaille Chantier instead of Rive Gauche, but how much farther is it to walk from Chantier?
Since I%26#39;ll be staying right next to Gare Montparnasse, I%26#39;m thinking this may be easier? Or should I head to an RER station instead? Would the price for the Forfait Loisirs Château de Versailles be the same from Montparnasse? Is Chantier the last stop (wouldn%26#39;t want to miss it!)? Sorry for the many questions...
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