RER from Paris and other Versailles, France Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: As of January 2009, it appears that they've discontinued the Forfait Loisirs, too bad it was very convenient

It's very simple to do a day trip on your own from Paris to the palace at Versailles. We were staying near Invalides so we walked to the Invalides RER station, bought our Forfait Loisirs ticket that included the return trip on the train plus admission to the palace.

We took the RER C line, direction Versailles Rive Gauche (train called VICK) and got off at Versailles Rive Gauche station. For the train we were on, Versailles Rive Gauche was the end of the line and coming back, Invalides was the end of the line. The platform was clearly marked at Invalides and we had no trouble figuring out what train to get on to get us back. The train took about 40 minutes and they run fairly frequently.

There are several other options using the SCNF trains from Saint-Lazare station or Montparnasse station or by bus listed on the website attached.

Once we got off the train, it was only about a 5 minute walk to get to the palace and it was clearly marked which way to go plus we had a herd of people to follow to get there.

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Website: http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/560_Finding_us.php?idT=1

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: We walked from the main palace to Marie Antoinette's estate, the Grand and Petit Trianon, but there's another way to get there if you're not inclined or able to walk long distances.

Once you leave the main part of the Palace, you can head out into the gardens and find Les Petits Trains du Parc de Versailles, a tram that will take you from the Palace to the Petit Trianon, the Grand Trianon and the Grand Canal. According to the website you can get off at each of the stops or stay on the tram, the whole circuit is supposed to take 50 minutes by tram and it says it covers 5 km or about 3 miles.

The tram looks like it currently costs €6, €4.50 for kids 11-18 and disabled visitors and free for kids under 11. The tram is enclosed but didn't seem to have any air conditioning, in the heat we were in, it looked like the people inside were baking behind the glass windows.

We also saw people in golf carts, the Versailles website says they are only for people with limited mobility so I don't know how you go about arranging for these.

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Website: www.train-versailles.com