Versailles Palace King's Private Apartments Guided Tour
Description
Get a truly intimate look at the life of French Royalty from a time gone by on this tour of the King's Private Apartments. Your tour gives you priority access to the Palace of Versailles without even a minute's wait in line! Explore the lavishly decorated former living quarters of King Louis the XV and XVI, an area rarely opened to the public, with an official Versailles guide. End your tour with a visit to the state apartments - the Hall of Mirrors and the Queen's bedroom. With the help of your audio app, learn about the history and significance of these rooms.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Welcoming Time at the foot of the Statue of Louis XIV before heading to the Palace
Enter the intimacy of the kings during this exclusive tour of the private apartments of the kings and discover, far from the crowds of visitors, more private areas of the Palace (not accessible outside of a visit guided tour) rarely open to the public among which the bedroom of Louis XV, the Salon de l'Horloge, the recently renovated Salon d'Angle, the library of Louis XVI and much more..
After immersing yourself in the intimacy of the Kings with your guide during a guided tour, you will end your tour with a visit to the state apartments where you will reach the other visitors. There, you will discover for yourself and at your own pace the other rooms of the Palace of Versailles such as the Hall of Mirrors and the Queen's bedroom this time using an audio application (Official App of the Palace of Versailles) that you will have previously downloaded on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (before your visit) you will learn more about the story and the importance of the remaining rooms. So Don't forget your earbuds!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(7)
This was excellent. Our tour guide Stephanie worked there 15 yrs and knew so much history about the palace and previous residents. It was Victory holiday so she told us to see the prince’s apartments as they are rarely open.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed your Versailles Palace King’s Private Apartments tour with Stephanie. Her years of experience and passion for the history of Versailles truly make the visit come alive, and we’re glad you had the opportunity to discover special areas such as the Prince’s Apartments during the Victory holiday opening. Thank you again for choosing Paris TRIP for your Versailles experience. We hope to welcome you back soon for more unique and memorable tours in France! Warm regards, The Paris TRIP Team
Booked this excellent tour through the Palace website. Our guide - wish I'd recorded his name - was a veritable font of information, such a pleasure to tour this special part of the Palace with him, so much information and so many insights! The only tricky bit for us was that it was not clear where we were supposed to go to find the tour. Signage is poor. We went into the main Palace entry, went through security, got in line for the Palace tours, only then to be told that we had to go over across the courtyard for this tour. Be aware of directions, but absolutely, this tour is fantastic. Very nice to have a small group and an exceptional guide.
Extremely disappointing visit. I'll explain. We paid, like everyone else, to visit the private apartments, and listen to the knowledge of a guide. But that's not what we went through. First of all, a group of children constantly stepped in to ask questions she had already answered, but parents proud to show their little scientists did not intervene to silence them. We're told we're going on a "away from the crowd" tour. However, we had to settle in a corner several times, to let through lines of visitors. The tour does not explain the apartments, leaf gilding, paintings and the use of different rooms (mostly empty). You hear our guide talking about consanguineous marriages and saying, "marrying cousins is not great." What does this have to do with the apartments? During the classes, we have to listen to a class at level CM2 on the History of France, muffled by untimely interventions of the children. All we could remember (after removing the earphones, tired of hearing the comments of the little ones), is the weight of 20 kg of Marie Antoinette's large garment, and the 6 months necessary to weave a curtain. By the way, when we were in the boiler room (for which we had no explanation), the guide showed us the portrait of Marie-Antoinette, saying: "We're standing here before what we call the great... Tabit." A timeout between the two words left the group perplexed, because we had not understood that "tabit" was in fact "habit" in staggered liaison. We would have liked to know who was invited to the "Small Cutlery" and the "Large Cutlery", instead of hearing that the chairs were beautiful, but that they were not of an era. Visiting the Royal Chapel does not bring anything: we had the privilege of sitting inside 3 minutes, and hearing that originally the walls were painted with frescoes. By whom? What subjects are represented? A look at the balcony, where the king and queen were going. And that's it. In short, we will never again take tours organized by the Palace of Versailles, for lack of a competent guide. One does not pay to take a course at the primary school level, nor to be bothered by the children who were given explanatory priority. We came out of this visit very frustrated. The level of the guide seems to reflect that of our National Education: a vague fattening.
Cher(e) ratafiar, Nous vous remercions d’avoir pris le temps de partager votre expérience concernant la visite guidée des appartements privés du Château de Versailles. Nous sommes sincèrement désolés d’apprendre que votre visite n’a pas répondu à vos attentes et comprenons pleinement votre frustration. Votre retour détaillé est essentiel et sera transmis aux équipes du Château de Versailles, qui s’efforcent constamment d’améliorer la qualité de leurs visites. Concernant les points évoqués : Perturbations dues aux enfants : Nous regrettons que la dynamique du groupe ait impacté votre expérience. Bien que la curiosité des enfants soit encouragée, il est également important pour nos guides de garantir un équilibre pour tous les participants. Nous veillerons à transmettre cette remarque pour que des mesures soient prises à l’avenir afin de mieux gérer ce type de situation. Contenu des explications : Vous soulignez un manque de profondeur dans les informations fournies. Nous comprenons votre souhait d’en apprendre davantage sur les détails historiques et artistiques des appartements visités. Cela sera communiqué afin que les guides enrichissent leur présentation et adaptent davantage le niveau de leurs explications à l’audience adulte. Confort et cadre de visite : Nous sommes désolés d’apprendre que la visite, annoncée comme étant “loin de la foule,” n’a pas respecté cette promesse. Cette question sera également remontée au Château pour qu’ils ajustent, si possible, la gestion des flux de visiteurs. Qualité du guidage : Nous notons votre remarque sur le niveau d’élocution et la pertinence des informations partagées. L’objectif est que chaque visite guidée soit une expérience enrichissante et immersive, et il est regrettable que cela n’ait pas été le cas pour vous. Nos engagements : Nous prenons votre insatisfaction très au sérieux et collaborons étroitement avec les équipes du Château de Versailles pour améliorer les visites proposées. Votre témoignage est une opportunité pour eux de repenser certains aspects de leur prestation. Nous espérons malgré cette expérience que vous donnerez une autre chance à Versailles ou à une autre visite culturelle dans le futur, et nous vous remercions encore pour votre honnêteté. Cordialement, L’Équipe de Paris TRIP
The guide was extremely knowledgeable and personalised the amazing Versailles Palace King’s Private Apartments tour by highlighting the human side of the apartments’ occupants. The small group made the tour more accessible and enjoyable. Thanks
Bonjour Natalie, Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the Versailles Palace King's Private Apartments tour. Our guides take pride in sharing the rich history and personal stories of the palace's occupants, and we're glad this made your experience special. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we hope to welcome you on another tour soon! The Paris TRIP Team
The Palace was a worthwhile visit. The history is fascinating. Luckily, we did not go on a day that was too crowded. Our guide, however, was terrible. I am not sure if she is hired by the tour company or part of the Palace, but either she had a bad day or she needs some brushing up. When we pay lots of money for tours, we do so to enrich our current knowledge by that of the guide's as well as by that of the people on our tour. This guide could not figure out the mic system and readily got that fixed by calling someone. Then she was horribly short of breath - seriously, I was going through my CPR skills in my head so I would be ready at any moment. She was constantly fanning herself and all of this came through very clearly on the mic system. She gave conflicting information and when I asked for clarification, she got flustered. There was a young man on our tour, clearly very smart with this period of history and she seemed very dismissive of his questions. I do not remember our guide's name, but hopefully the company can look it up and provide some guidance to her.
Bonjour sf8588, Thank you for your feedback on your recent visit to the Palace of Versailles. We're pleased to hear that you found the history fascinating and that your visit was not overly crowded. However, we're very sorry to learn about the issues with your guide. We can confirm you that the guide you had for the King's Private Apartments is part of the Palace's staff. It is clear that your experience was not up to the standard we strive for. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the guide's difficulties with the microphone system, her physical discomfort, and the conflicting information provided. We value your feedback and will use it to improve our services. We hope that despite these issues, you still enjoyed your time at Versailles and that you will consider touring with us again in the future for a better experience. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The Paris'TRIP Team
The guided tour of the king's private apartments at the Palace of Versailles, led by a tour guide as cultured as she is passionate, was a truly captivating experience. His rich knowledge of history and his infectious enthusiasm made this dive into the royal past as enriching as it was memorable.
Bonjour Penelope, Merci infiniment pour votre superbe évaluation de notre visite guidée des appartements privés des rois au Château de Versailles ! Nous sommes ravis d'apprendre que vous avez trouvé l'expérience captivante et mémorable. Il est merveilleux de savoir que notre guide, à la fois cultivée et passionnée, a su rendre la plongée dans le passé royal aussi enrichissante grâce à sa profonde connaissance de l'histoire et son enthousiasme contagieux. Vos mots gentils sont très appréciés, et nous espérons vous revoir bientôt pour d'autres expériences enrichissantes ! Toute l'Équipe de Paris TRIP
Amazing tour with true skip-the-line access! I had behind-the-scenes access to the palace and saw the private residences of the kings with the guide. Then the guide left the group alone to explore the State apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and the Queen's bedroom. It wasn't my first time in Versailles but I had never seen this part of the castle. I'm really glad I booked this tour and highly recommend it
Thank you for your wonderful feedback on the Versailles Palace King's Private Apartments Guided Tour! We are delighted to hear that you had such a fantastic experience exploring the private residences of the kings and discovering parts of the castle you hadn't seen before. It's great to know that the skip-the-line access and behind-the-scenes experience added value to your visit. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you back for another memorable tour in the future! The Paris TRIP Team
