Do you need tickets for the Versailles gardens only?

[Walkthelakes]

I'm wanting to visit the gardens of Versailles as we travel from our Eurocamp to Disneyland. I can't work out if I need a ticket or not--on the internet it says the gardens are free...but online it loos like there are tickets. Has anyone been and can explain? We don't want to go in the palace as we have 5 children and it would be stressful but would like to see the palace from the outside and visit the gardens. I'm happy to book tickets but just finding ti hard to navigate

The website suggests the gardens are free

"The Park and Gardens are open every day. Access to the Gardens is free except on days of fountains shows and musical gardens."

The tickets page suggests that only Mondays are free as every other day is a musical fountain or garden show.

https://ticket.chateauversailles.fr/en/?_gl=1auw09l_gcl_au*MTEyNDM1MDgwOC4xNzc1ODc5Njkw&date=2026-07

However I don't understand the difference in the two ticket prices, if the cheaper one includes access to the gardens you want to see and close to the palace or if it's somewhere else?

When I went, I saw everything and remember going through a few ticket checks and there were some separate gardens little way from the palace and main ornamental gardens. So the cheaper ticket might only cover the separate gardens and you might need the full ticket to see the bits you want to see but I'm not sure.

Tbh, I'd see if there's another way to do it if you can't go on a Monday. Can you go by yourself and also see the palace, which is spectacular, while your partner does something else with DC for a day?

Thanks everyone. Glad it’s not just me being a bit thick! I read it was it’s free—-but you also need to buy a ticket. Im wondering if it’s worth buying a full ticket as I think kids go free and maybe then having free access to everywhere . Unfortunately we are tight on time so would all need to go as we are driving from one place to another and Versailles is en route

The gardens are free except on the days of the Grands Eaux and Jardins Musiceaux, which basically leaves you with Mondays only. We went to the Grands Eux, and they are lovely, though. Kids under 6 don’t pay.

Why not go to the Petit Trianon and Hameau of Marie Antoinette instead; they’re free. MA’s little farm is absolutely gorgeous. The main Versailles park is also free.

Oh, and for parking, look up the Westin Trianon right by the gates. They have a deal with one of the parking apps. We paid less than €10 to park there. Parking right in front of the chateau is very expensive.

We paid when we visited the gardens, but the fountains were operating on that day and that was presumably why we had to pay. The fountains were really good if you can time it perfectly.

Thankyou. It sounds like we pay for the gardens --but it much less than the full ticket. We are driving so will have an afternoon so hopefully will have enough time to see the gardens. Is the Petit Trianon part of the Chateau and includes the farm. What is the main Versailles park you refer to?

Thankyou. I am more than happy t0 pay--but was just getting confused. May I ask what you mean by timing it perfectly?

We went to Versailles last April. We had a Paris Museum Pass and bought tickets for the palace using that. We thought the gardens would be free but they weren't and we had to pay. The fountains weren't running. We found tickets for Versailles quite confusing, I think there are some scam sites and the usual recommendation is to only buy from the official website.

I dont know what the ticketing arrangements are now as it is many years since I visited. However the Trianons and the Hameau are buildings separate from the main palace. There are two Trianons - the large and the small. If you want to eat anywhere near the palace is very expensive. Buy some fruit, cheese and bread in the market as you pass through the town and have a picnick.

Each fountain works on timers, and ideally you want to arrive when they just start, so you can enjoy the music. That said, it's all good. The grounds are huge, and the views magnificent. They only run them in summer (which is why there's no 'free 1st Sunday of the month' access from April-Sept.

So the estate of Versailles is huge. There is an outer boundary park, which is open and free. By separate entrance (nowhere near main chateau entrance) is the Petit and Grand Trianon plus the Hameau. These Trianons are basically smaller buildings. They're not included as part of Chateau because they're miles away - I've attached a screenshot. The gardens are much less formal, but very pretty, and the farm area is gorgeous.

Btw, the parking i referred to is the Waldorf Astoria. If you book via One Park, you'll pay €12 for 6 hours, which is good value. It's right next to the park gates and handy for both chateau gardens and the main park.

Just popping on here to confirm that the scale is enormous. You can hire golf buggies to get around. With kids in tow you will struggle to see much on foot. It’s very beautiful, though.

Oh, and I agree the ticketing is crazy confusing. EU passport holders get a discount of €3; bring the passports and show at ticket desk. Entrance to main chateau gardens/chateau is reduced after 4pm, but be warned that they started kicking us out of the chateau itself after 5pm (we visited on the free Sunday).

Cars can also drive into main parc itself; it's €12 (but Waldorf handier if wanting to walk around Versailles itself).

Fi ally, there's a great Westfield nearby called Parly 2. Handy if wanting to shop or eat afterwards.

I meant if you can time it for a day when the fountains are operating. Also when we went in 2022 they had some fountains operating on the morning and some in the afternoon, that might have been because there was a water shortage but it's been more than 3 years and I can't remember clearly.

Parly 2 is great, it was my local shopping centre when I was a child!

I think the Palace itself is closed on Mondays. We had a private tour last year and had to be a Monday for that reason. We were there late April. I dont remember seeing many tourists in the gardens but we weren't in the gardens for long.