Versailles Ticket Types: Which One to Buy in 2026

For most first-time visitors the right ticket is the Passport with timed entry. It is the only Versailles ticket that covers the Palace, the Trianon estate and the Gardens, including fountain show days, and the only one that guarantees entry to the Palace. The other tickets are narrower: Trianon alone, a garden-only event ticket, a discounted late-afternoon Passport, and free or reduced versions for eligible visitors. This guide explains each one, what it costs on the 2026 price list, how the time slot works, and how to match a ticket to the day you have.

Key Takeaways

• The Passport is the all-in ticket: Palace with a fixed time slot, Trianon, temporary exhibitions and the Gardens. It costs €25 in low season and €35 in high season on the 2026 price list.
• Only the Palace needs a booked time slot. Trianon and the Gardens are yours to enjoy at any point in the day.
• High season runs 1 April to 31 October. Garden admission is free in low season and charged in high season, with extra cost on fountain and musical garden days if your ticket does not include it.
• Visitors under 18, and EU residents under 26, enter free but still need to book a free time-stamped ticket online.
• Buy online. Palace entry within half an hour of your slot is only guaranteed for tickets bought online.

The Versailles ticket types at a glance

The estate has three distinct areas: the Palace (State Apartments, Hall of Mirrors), the Estate of Trianon (Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Queen’s Hamlet) and the Gardens and Park. Each ticket is a different combination of those areas. The prices below come from the official 2026 ticketing page. The reduced rate applies to nationals and residents of the European Economic Area.

Prices change from year to year, so confirm the amount on the official page when you book.

The Passport: the ticket most visitors need

The official description of the Passport is the ticket for a whole day across the entire estate. It includes the Palace with timed entry, the Trianon estate, the temporary exhibitions, and the Gardens through 31 October, with a single admission on Musical Gardens or Musical Fountains Show days. According to the ticketing page, it is the only ticket that includes a Palace visit with a fixed time slot.

Two practical points follow from that:

• Paris Museum Pass holders still need a Passport. The pass does not replace it. Holders must obtain a free Passport ticket to get in.
• The Passport is also the answer to queues. The official FAQ advises a Passport with timed entry to reduce waiting at the Palace entrance, and says other tickets should also be bought online to avoid the ticket office lines.

If you are choosing between tickets and want one safe answer, this is it. The other types make sense only when your plans are narrower than a full visit.

How timed entry works

The time slot applies to the Palace only. Per the official Passport with timed entry page, slots are available every hour from 9 am to 3 pm (9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2 and 3), and each admission is valid for thirty minutes. You can enter the Palace once, at your booked time. There is no timed entry for the Trianon estate.

The Tickets and prices page adds that every visitor must book a time slot to enter the Palace, and that entry within half an hour of the slot can only be guaranteed on tickets bought online. It also warns that with the latest visiting schedule you cannot see the whole Palace.

Once you are inside, you do not have to leave on a schedule. The Conditions of access page says only the Palace visit requires a booked slot, and you are free to enjoy the other areas of the estate throughout the day.

A sensible way to plan the day:

1. Book the earliest Palace slot that fits your arrival from Paris.
2. Spend the middle of the day in the Gardens, or at lunch.
3. Head to Trianon after noon, when the estate opens its doors (the Trianon estate opens at 12 pm).

The Palace and Trianon are closed on Mondays and on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May, so check the calendar before you commit to a date.

Gardens, fountain shows and musical gardens

Garden access is where visitors most often buy the wrong ticket, because it depends on the season.

Low season (1 November to 31 March). The 2026 ticketing page states that Gardens admission is free for everyone. Palace and Trianon tickets use the low-season prices.

High season (1 April to 31 October). Gardens admission is charged on Musical Fountains Show and Musical Gardens days, Tuesday to Sunday. The FAQ gives you two options on those days: a Passport (which grants admission to the whole estate), or a Musical Fountains Show or Musical Gardens ticket for the Gardens only. The garden ticket is sold online or at the garden entrances, via the Princes’ Courtyard from the Palace or the Queen’s Gate from the Park.

The arithmetic is simple. If you plan to see the Palace as well, the Passport already includes one garden admission on event days, so a separate garden ticket would be a duplicate. If you only want to stroll the grounds during the fountains, the garden event ticket is the cheaper route. On event days, garden access is free only for children from 0 to 5, according to the timed entry page.

The Estate of Trianon ticket

The Trianon ticket costs €15, or €12 for EEA nationals and residents, and it is valid all year. It opens the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, the Queen’s Hamlet and all the Trianon gardens, per the 2026 price list. It does not include the Palace.

This ticket suits a repeat visitor who has already seen the State Apartments, or someone who prefers the quieter, more intimate side of the estate. The combined event-and-Trianon ticket (€20, or €17 reduced) pairs the garden show with Trianon on high-season event days, again without the Palace.

The late Passport

The late Passport is the same estate ticket at a lower price for entering the Palace later. The price list shows €18 from 3 pm in low season and €28 from 4 pm in high season, with reduced prices of €15 and €25. Because Palace entry closes in the late afternoon and a late schedule means you cannot see the entire Palace, this ticket rewards travelers who are happy to see the Palace at a faster pace and spend the rest of the day outdoors.

Guided tours

Tickets for guided tours cost €10 and are purchased in addition to a Palace or Passport ticket. You get direct access to the Palace during the time slot of your tour, and when the tour ends you can continue straight into the unaccompanied visit. If the Hall of Mirrors and the King’s and Queen’s apartments are your reason for coming, a guided slot adds context to the rooms.

Free and reduced admission

Several groups visit free, listed in the official FAQ: young people under 18, European Union residents under 26, school pupils, disabled visitors with one accompanying adult, and French jobseekers with documents dated within the last six months. Free admission covers the Palace, the Trianon palaces, Marie-Antoinette’s Estate, temporary exhibitions and audioguides.

Two details trip people up:

• Free still means booking. You must reserve a time-stamped ticket online and select the free ticket option. Bring proof of entitlement and ID.
• Free does not always cover the fountains. On garden event days, the FAQ describes a concessions Passport for people entitled to free entry (non-EU residents aged 6 to 17 and EU residents aged 6 to 25), which includes the gardens on those days. Check the current amount on the official page.

The EEA reduced prices in the table apply to nationals or residents of the EEA, so US visitors pay the standard rate on the Passport.

Which ticket for which kind of day

A full day from Paris

Buy the Passport with timed entry for a morning slot, in either season. You cover the Palace, the Gardens and Trianon without buying anything else, and on event days the garden admission is included.

A half-day visit

This is the question behind many searches for a Palace-only ticket. The official sources describe the Passport as the only ticket that guarantees entry to the Palace, so a half-day visitor still starts with the Passport. The difference is how you spend it. Take an early slot, finish the Palace in the morning, and walk the Gardens before you leave. Trianon opens at noon, so if you want it, the half-day ends there. In low season the Gardens are free, which makes a short visit particularly good value.

If you can only arrive in the afternoon, the late Passport lowers the price, though the Palace visit will be shorter.

A garden afternoon during the fountains

In high season, if you do not need the interiors, buy the Musical Fountains Show or Musical Gardens ticket and stay outdoors.

A second visit

The Trianon ticket alone gives you the quieter half of the estate.

Before you book: a short checklist

• Check the season. The ticket you need and the price both depend on whether your date falls between 1 April and 31 October.
• Check the weekday. The Palace and Trianon are closed on Mondays.
• Book online. Tickets can be shown printed or on your phone, per the FAQ.
• Choose the slot realistically. Allow for the train from Paris and security, since your admission is valid for thirty minutes.
• Confirm any current exhibitions or event days on the official site before you pay.

If you are arriving by car, the park can be entered through the Queen’s Gate without a reservation for 12 euros per vehicle. That is a park entry, not a Palace ticket.

Our perspective

Ticket types at Versailles look like a pricing puzzle, but they are really a question of how you want to spend your day. A visitor who understands that the Palace is timed, while Trianon and the Gardens are open-ended, can build a day around the rhythm of the place instead of around a queue.

We design trips around that idea. At Noble Voyages we pair restrained, carefully curated planning with quiet coordination, so that the single detail that matters, the Palace slot, is settled early and everything else is allowed to unfold. For a complex itinerary that also includes Paris museums, a day trip to Versailles and a dinner reservation, one point of contact beats juggling confirmations.

Our advice is to treat the Passport as the default and let your pace decide the rest. The estate rewards unhurried visitors.

Sam

Plan Versailles as part of a wider trip

If Versailles is one stop in a longer itinerary, our travel design service shapes the whole journey around the sites you care about most, and our quiet coordination handles the timing and tickets so the days run smoothly. See how we work on the Noble Voyages home page, or browse our France destination guide.

If the Louvre is also on your list, our guide to Louvre ticket options explains what to buy and when to go.

FAQ

Do I need a separate ticket for the Versailles gardens?

Not in low season, from 1 November to 31 March, when garden admission is free. In high season the Passport includes the Gardens, and on fountain and musical garden days it includes one admission. If you want only the Gardens on those days, buy the event ticket.

Is the Versailles time slot for the whole estate?

No. The time slot applies only to the Palace, and you can enter once during the thirty minutes of your booked slot. Trianon has no timed entry, and you can visit the Gardens throughout the day.

Which Versailles ticket should I buy if I only have a few hours?

The Passport with an early Palace slot, since it is the only ticket that guarantees Palace entry. In the afternoon, the discounted late Passport is an option. Both let you add the Gardens, and Trianon if you arrive after noon.

Can I buy Versailles tickets at the gate?

You can, but it is not the best plan. Palace admission within half an hour of your slot can only be guaranteed on online tickets, and the official advice is to buy online to avoid queues. Free tickets must also be booked online.

Do Paris Museum Pass holders get into Versailles?

Yes, but they must still reserve a free Passport ticket. The pass alone does not grant entry, so book the free Passport online before your visit.

Sources

• 2026 ticketing | Château de Versailles
• Conditions of access to the Estate of Versailles
• Passport with timed entry | Château de Versailles
• Tickets and prices | Château de Versailles
• FAQ | Château de Versailles

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