A Day Trip to The Palace of Versailles - Bike Tour

Versailles is just one of the activities included in my 7 things you must do in Paris and while it’s not technically located in Paris, it’s less than an hour by train and is a great way to spend an afternoon.

The gardens of Versailles are spread across 1,976 acres and are one of the biggest gardens in the world which means it’s nearly impossible to explore even a fraction of it by foot. Most visitors head straight to the palace and miss out on the grounds entirely which is why a bike tour should be on your radar.

I booked the tour below which was a full 8 hour day and included the following:

Round-trip train tickets from Paris to Versailles
Guide
Bicycle
A visit to Versailles open market for picnic supplies (supplies not included in ticket)
Enjoy a picnic along the Grand Canal
Timed entrance and skip the line tickets to the Palace of Versailles.
Entrance to the Grand and Petit Trianons and Marie Antoinette’s Hameau

CLICK BELOW TO BOOK YOUR BIKE TOUR

IT'S THE ONE I BOOKED AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND

PICNIC AND EXPLORING THE GROUNDS

The tour begins in Paris where you’ll board the train as a group and depart to Versailles to pick up bikes at their headquarters. After choosing a bike you’ll head straight to the Versailles open market, which as you can see from the reviews is a great place to pick up picnic supplies.

Visiting the market as a group is nice since people pair up to share a few different things, and that camaraderie continues once you’re sprawled out on the picnic blanket at Versailles basking under the sun with your baguette, cheese, olives, wine, and desserts in hand.

PALACE OF VERSAILLES

Once the picnic and tour of the grounds are complete you’ll receive your return train ticket and Palace ticket so that you can explore on your own.

The bike tour takes up most of the morning and early afternoon which is when most people visit the Palace so you’ll be heading there when the crowds have diminished a bit. I recommend heading straight to the infamous Hall of Mirrors and taking your photos before exploring the rest of the palace. That’s what I did, and was able to get some great shots with almost no one in them.

As a solo traveler, I’m accustomed to taking my own photos so when I made friends with a fella from the bike tour, he ended up becoming my official photographer for the day, and let me tell you there’s nothing like gallivanting around a Palace to make you feel like a queen in front of the camera.