Versailles

Last weekend, I went on a trip to Versailles to see its famous château. A great thing about the trip was that it was absolutely FREE to get there and to get in! As I have already said in my blogs, getting something for nothing in Paris is a rare and happy moment so I was delighted to find out that European Citizens under 26 can enter both Versailles’ palace and gardens for free. What’s more, getting there cost me nothing too as I have a student travel pass here called a ‘Carte ImagineR’ and I pay for Zones 1 to 3 which I need to get to Uni and back However, during the weekends/bank holidays, my ImagineR becomes ‘dézonée’ which means that you can travel freely through all of the Zones at no extra cost! As Versailles is in Zone 5, we hopped on the RER (Double-decker trains that travel through the region of Île-De-France) and we were there in 30 mins.

I was astounded by the sheer size of the palace, it was truly enormous. We spend more than 3 hours walking around listening to our audio-guides taking in all the rooms- each one seemed more grand than the last!

Outside Versailles

Hall of Mirrors

Elliott and his Audio-Guide

Marie Antoinette’s bedroom

Versailles’ Gardens

After a nice but expensive lunch (25 Euros for 2 sandwiches, a small pie and 2 drinks- Oh Paris/Versailles, must you be so expensive?!), we explored the gardens outside the palace. We had read in a guide-book that it is possible to rent a golf-buggy to see the extent of the gardens as they span over several acres. Unfortunately however, you have to be over 24 to hire a buggy so I would say the golden age to visit Versailles is as a 24/25 year old when you can both get in free and drive a buggy! After a walk around part of the gardens, we took the RER back home again pleased to have done something low-cost and cultural. If you are visiting Paris for longer than a weekend, I would definitely recommend Versailles as a place to visit as it is definitely worth the trip.