Trip Motivation
During our May 2022 trip to Paris, we knew we needed to take some time to visit Versailles. While making our plans for our trip, we decided it actually made sense to start our trip here so we wouldn’t be in the main parts of Paris during the weekend. It was a crazy overwhelming visit but so awesome. Lots of tips below, so keep reading!
Read all of our Paris posts at the following links:
- Flight details (free using points!) Jetlag with kids, packing tips, and more.
- Hotel stays: Versailles, Hyatt Paris (free using points!) & Disney
- Itinerary and Logistics (phone, metro, language)
- Versailles Palace and Gardens & an awesome Chartres light show (This post)
- Paris Day 1: Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomph, Boat Tour
- Paris Day 2: Sainte Chapelle, Musee D’ Orsay, Montmartre
- Paris Day 3: Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, Macaron Class
- Disneyland Paris: Best rides, shows and activities
Overview of our 2 night stay in Versailles
Day 1: Arrival, train to Versailles, Versailles gardens and fountains, sleep early at an apartment in Versailles.
Day 2: Versailles palace, nap, train to Chartres to visit Church, wander, play at a playground, and see the light show, sleep in Versailles
Day 3: Leave for Paris
Getting To and From Versailles
The most common and easy way to get to Versailles is to take the RER C train that will take you to Chateau rive Gauche train station at Versailles. It is about 30-45 minutes from Paris. It took us over 2 hours to get from the airport to Versailles due to the crowded trains and transfers. We used the Citymapper app to give us details on how to get all the way from the airport to Versailles. You could also take a taxi or uber although it will be expensive.
Versailles Gardens
On our first day, we spent a few hours visiting the gardens. On the day we visited, there were several fountain shows so we required tickets separate from the palace tickets that were about 8 euros each. We picked up a map and meandered through the large gardens, looking at fountains, vast landscapes, and tons of statues. There are options for bikes, trains, and golf carts around the area but we didn’t do those. As with all walking adventures with kids, don’t forget some water and pocket snacks!
Versailles Palace
On our second day, we aimed to be the first ones to the palace at 9am. Our Paris museum tickets came with Versailles tickets but we still needed to pre-book a timed slot online. We went on a Sunday morning and this was definitely the busiest part of our whole trip. We put masks on everyone and shuffled from room to room, shoulder to shoulder oohing and ahhing at the paintings, ceilings, and watching mini-movies. The movies were some of my favorite parts as it really gave context and background to who and why each King built each section. Ellie loved the different color rooms and Carter loved the ceilings.
Towards the end of our visit, we decided to eat a breakfast/brunch snack at the Angelina cafe. We shared a breakfast set (20 euros) of a juice, croissant, bread and jam, and hot chocolate. It was fancy and delicious but we definitely didn’t need to spend that amount of money and should have left the palace for other options instead.
We didn’t visit the other areas of Versailles including the Trianon or Hamlet areas. Our palace visit took about 2 hours and then we were ready for naps.
Versailles Area
Beyond the palace and gardens, we didn’t do a lot else in the area besides eat a few meals nearby including some sandwiches at a small cafe and yummy pizza at Caesar Pizzeria,
Chartres
I read about this town and its famous light show in Rick Steve’s book and knew we needed to make a trip out to this small town. From the Chantiers station, we purchased round-trip tickets for the 4 of us from Versailles to Chartres (90 RT). It was direct but limited in timing and we missed one train due to not understanding the ticket machine. Chartres is about 45 minutes from Versailles and an hour 15 from Paris.
Our visit was brief. We were only in the city from 4pm-10:30pm. The main draw of the city is the Cathedral. It is old and massive and incredible. A fragment of Mary’s venerated veil is on display in the cathedral, kept in a gold frame — away from light and behind bulletproof glass. The stained glass is gorgeous and tells biblical stories in a beautiful way. There is also a labyrinth on the floor that is open to walking on Friday afternoons.
After our brief visit, we needed to wait till nightfall to see the evening light show. Because we were there on a Sunday, many places were closed. We ate an early dinner at a kid-friendly creperie called L’Etabli and then spent some time at a nearby playground. I always love spending time at playgrounds. Our kids are mostly independent and me and Ben can relax. We wandered the city and enjoyed the small provincial French life. We stopped for some ice cream and cheese at Le Cafe Serpente, a cute patio restaurant near the cathedral before the light show started.
The Chartres en Lumières light festival is incredible. Video projections and music is played around various sites around the city. If you’ve ever seen the castle show at the end of a Disney day, it’s similar 🙂 From dusk to 1am, churches, bridges, museums, and other sites are illuminated in a really cool magnificent way. There is a small train ride that can take you to sites. Because of the late sunset (10pm) and the train schedule (10:52!), we were only to see the Cathedral lights and not the other sites. But I’m so glad we took time to see it. It was incredible and well worth our time.
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Read all of our Paris posts at the following links:
- Flight details (free using points!) Jetlag with kids, packing tips, and more.
- Hotel stays: Versailles, Hyatt Paris (free using points!) & Disney
- Itinerary and Logistics (phone, metro, language)
- Versailles Palace and Gardens & an awesome Chartres light show (This post)
- Paris Day 1: Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomph, Boat Tour
- Paris Day 2: Sainte Chapelle, Musee D’ Orsay, Montmartre
- Paris Day 3: Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, Macaron Class
- Disneyland Paris: Best rides, shows and activities
