Versailles tickets and timed entry: Passport, free entry and closing days

The Versailles travel guide boils the ticket rule down to one line: book a time slot before you go. The palace is among the busiest sights in the France guide, and its entry system is built around timed slots rather than walk-up queues.

For the train and the route inside, see how to visit Versailles from Paris.

Yes. The palace's FAQ states that visitors to the palace must book in advance and select a specific time slot. This applies to paying visitors and to those who qualify for free entry, who must book a time-stamped ticket through the same online platform.

The practical effect is simple. Choose your date first, check that it is not a Monday, then pick a slot. Morning slots on weekdays outside the school holidays are the calmest, and weekend afternoons in high season are the busiest. If your plans are flexible, book the slot as soon as your Paris dates are set, because popular times can fill.

The slot is also a promise on your side. The palace says that with an online ticket you can enter within half an hour after your chosen time. Treat the slot as a window that opens at the time on your ticket, not as a loose suggestion, and be at the entrance a little before it.

Read the official FAQ for the current wording before you buy, and keep your confirmation on your phone for the entrance.

Most visitors need one of three things: the palace and everything else, the Trianon estate only, or a garden visit on a show day. The 2026 ticket table maps each of these to its own ticket, and choosing the right one saves money.

If you want the Hall of Mirrors, the answer is the Passport, because it is the only ticket that includes the palace tour with a fixed slot. If you have already seen the palace, or you mainly want the Queen's Hamlet and a long garden walk, the Trianon ticket is cheaper and does not carry a timed palace slot. Check the Trianon opening times on the day: it opens at noon for most of the year and earlier in July and August.

A cheaper late-afternoon Passport also appears in the 2026 table, with entry from 3pm or 4pm. It suits visitors who mostly want the gardens, but the palace rooms close at 5:30pm outside the high season, so the visit will be short.

The Passport grants admission to the whole estate: the palace, the Trianon palaces and the gardens, including temporary exhibitions, according to the official FAQ. It is the ticket most first-time visitors need, because it avoids buying several separate tickets and, with timed entry, helps you skip the longest line.

Some visitors ask whether the Passport covers the Musical Fountains Show and Musical Gardens. These are seasonal events with an admission charge to the gardens on show days, and the FAQ says that charge is included in the high-season Passport. Two official pages word the show days differently: one lists Tuesdays, Fridays, weekends and national holidays, the other lists weekends plus some Tuesdays for the fountains and Tuesday to Friday for the Musical Gardens. Rather than trust either, open the official calendar for your date before you plan around a show.

The Passport also does not make the day shorter. It is an entry right, not a fast pass, and the palace is large enough that a first visit with the Hall of Mirrors, the State Apartments and a garden walk takes most of a day. Our half-day plan shows how to split it.

The 2026 ticketing page splits the year in two. High season runs from 1 April to 31 October, and low season from 1 November to 31 March. The Passport is listed at €35 in high season and €25 in low season, with a reduced rate of €32 and €22 for residents of the European Economic Area. A separate concession rate of €10 is listed for some categories, so read the eligibility list on the ticket page if you think you qualify.

Garden admission follows the same line. From November to March the gardens are free for all visitors. From April to October there is an admission charge on show days, which is the €15 (€12 reduced) in the table above. Children under 6 are listed as free on show days.

Prices and season dates can change, so treat these figures as the listed prices on the day this page was checked, and confirm the current table and your date on the official ticket page before you pay.

If you are budgeting a whole Paris trip, compare the Passport with the cost of a guided option that includes transport. The tourist taxes in Europe guide covers per-night charges for your hotel, and the Paris travel guide covers the wider costs.

The official pages list several groups with free entry: visitors under 18, EU or EEA residents under 26, school pupils, French teachers with the Education Pass, disabled visitors plus one companion, holders of certain cultural cards, and some job-seeker and welfare categories in France. The palace's own pages word the under-26 rule slightly differently, as EU residents on one page and EEA residents on another, so read the eligibility list on the ticket page. Eligible visitors must still book a time-stamped ticket.

Bring proof. If you claim free entry as a resident under 26, carry an ID that shows your age and residence, because staff may ask for it at the entrance. If you are not sure whether you qualify, read the official list rather than relying on a third-party site.

Free entry does not skip the booking rule. A free ticket still has a time on it, and arriving outside your slot can mean waiting or being turned away. Treat it like any other ticket.

The palace and the Trianon estate are closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. The gardens and park keep their own hours. The FAQ lists the gardens as open from 8am to 6pm, and until 8:30pm in the high season, and the park from 8am to 6pm, or from 7am to 8:30pm in the high season, with free access for pedestrians and bikes. Hours may change by season.

Because so many Paris museums close on Tuesday, visitors often move Versailles to Monday and find the palace shut. Plan the other way around: use Monday for the gardens only if you want the grounds, and give the palace a Tuesday to Sunday slot.

The palace itself opens at 9am and closes at 5:30pm, or 6:30pm in the high season. The Trianon estate opens later, at noon for most of the year, so plan the palace first and the Trianon after lunch, or give the whole day to the estate.

The palace's ticket page states that tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. That is stricter than many sights, and it moves the decision to the moment you buy. Check the weekday, the forecast and your train before you commit, and avoid buying the earliest slot of the day if you are not sure you can reach the gate on time.

If your trip is fragile, for example because of a long-haul arrival the day before or a rail strike, a cheaper Trianon ticket without a timed palace entry is a lower-risk fallback. Travel insurance may cover some cancellations, but read the policy for what counts as a covered reason.

Use only the palace's official ticketing platform, linked from its website. The palace warns that counterfeit tickets are sold elsewhere, and look-alike sites can charge more for the same entry. If a seller's page does not lead back to the official platform, check before paying.

After you buy, confirm that the date, the time slot and the ticket type match your plan. Save the QR code on your phone and, if you can, take a screenshot in case the signal is weak at the gate. An eSIM for France helps if you are not on Wi-Fi.

When you have the slot, go back to how to visit Versailles from Paris for the route, and read Versailles, Fontainebleau or Giverny if you are weighing a different day trip. Visitors from outside the EU should also check the Schengen 90/180 rule before a long trip.