Itinerary · Île-de-France
Versailles in 3 days: the château at length
Three days to skip the timed circuit: the state apartments and the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Chapel and the stables on the Place d'Armes on day one; Le Nôtre's gardens, the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon on day two; and finally the town of Versailles itself, from the Musée Lambinet to the Salle du Jeu de Paume and the Cathédrale Saint-Louis. A connoisseur's itinerary across eleven stops, built to take the château at length rather than at a run.
3 days · 11 stops · Connoisseur
Other itineraries for Île-de-France:
Overview
Numbers follow the order of the route, day by day — the dashed line is indicative, not a precise driving route.
Day 1
The Château de Versailles, residence and power
A full day to go beyond the timed circuit: the state apartments and the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Chapel completed in 1710 where the Clicquot organ once sounded under masters such as François Couperin, then the two stables designed by Hardouin-Mansart on the Place d'Armes — one housing royal and imperial carriages, the other the Louvre's collection of plaster casts.
Hall of Mirrors and state apartmentsCastle · Versailles
Château de Versailles
The National Museum of the Châteaux of Versailles and Trianon is a site museum occupying the national estate of Versailles, in Yvelines. A former royal…
Where Couperin once playedChurch · Versailles
Chapelle royale de Versailles
La Chapelle royale est une chapelle palatine de style baroque, achevée en 1710 à la fin du règne de Louis XIV au château de Versailles. Conçue par Jules…
Royal carriages of the Grande ÉcurieMuseum · Versailles
Galerie des Carrosses
The Carriage Gallery is a site museum located on the ground floor of the Grand Stable of the Palace of Versailles, built by Hardouin-Mansart between 1679 and…
The Louvre's plaster casts at the Petite ÉcurieMuseum · Versailles
Galerie des Sculptures et des Moulages
The Gallery of Sculptures and Plaster Casts is housed in the Petite Écurie of the Palace of Versailles, a building constructed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart…
Day 2
The gardens and the Trianon estate
The estate stretches far beyond the palace itself: Le Nôtre's formal gardens, listed as Unesco World Heritage together with the whole site since 1979, then the Grand Trianon, a pink-marble palace built by Hardouin-Mansart for Louis XIV, and finally Ange-Jacques Gabriel's neoclassical Petit Trianon, given by Louis XVI to Marie-Antoinette.
Le Nôtre's formal gardensHeritage · Versailles
Palais et parc de Versailles
Built during the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th century, this royal residence and its expansive grounds represent a masterpiece of French classical…
Pink marble and porphyryMuseum · Versailles
Le Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon is a palace built in 1687 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart on the estate of Versailles, replacing the Porcelain Trianon constructed by Louis XIV in…
Marie-Antoinette's retreatCastle · Versailles
Domaine de Trianon
Le Petit Trianon est un château néo-classique édifié à Versailles entre 1758 et 1768 par l'architecte Ange-Jacques Gabriel pour Louis XV. Construit au cœur des…
Day 3
Versailles, the town behind the château
A final day at the scale of the town itself: the Musée Lambinet and its municipal collections, the Espace Richaud housed in the former premises of a hospital, the Salle du Jeu de Paume where the deputies of the Third Estate swore on 20 June 1789 to give France a written constitution, and the Cathédrale Saint-Louis, seat of the diocese.
Versailles' municipal collectionsMuseum · Versailles
Musée Lambinet
The Lambinet Museum is a labeled museum since 2003, located in Versailles in Yvelines. A municipal establishment, it is part of the city's cultural offerings…
A former hospital turned exhibition spaceMuseum · Versailles
Espace Richaud
The Richaud Space is a cultural center and museum located in Versailles, in the Yvelines. Installed in the premises of a former hospital bearing this name, it…
The oath of 20 June 1789Museum · Versailles
Salle du Jeu de Paume
The Jeu de Paume Hall, located in Versailles in the Yvelines, is a site museum under the national heritage authority. Formerly a royal exercise and…
Seat of the Versailles dioceseChurch · Versailles
Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Versailles
La Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Versailles est une cathédrale catholique de style classique, siège du diocèse de Versailles. Située à Versailles en Yvelines, elle…
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