Versailles Opening Hours: Days, Times and Closures

Versailles opening hours follow a fixed weekly pattern once you know the one rule that trips up most first-time visitors: the palace is closed every Monday. Outside that, it runs Tuesday through Sunday, typically 9am to 6:30pm in high season and 9am to 5:30pm from November through March, though the gardens and the Trianon estate run on their own separate schedules layered underneath that core rule.

Here’s what I’d actually do before locking in a date: check the calendar for your exact travel week, not just the general pattern, since holiday closures and show-season extensions both sit on top of the base schedule below. I’ll lay out the palace, gardens and Trianon hours side by side, the Monday closure, and every seasonal wrinkle that changes what “open” actually means on a given day. Since how much time you actually have inside is exactly the attribute that separates one Versailles ticket or tour from another, it’s worth seeing how long each of the nine Versailles tours and tickets takes once you know which days and hours you’re working with.

Versailles Hours at a Glance

Area	High season (Apr to Oct)	Low season (Nov to Mar)	Closed
Palace	9am to 6:30pm	9am to 5:30pm	Every Monday
Gardens	~8am to 8:30pm	~8am to 6pm	Rarely, check show-day exceptions
Trianon estate	Noon to 6:30pm	Noon to 5:30pm	Every Monday

These are the standard patterns, and I’d treat them as a planning baseline rather than a guarantee for your exact date. Specific days can run shorter hours around holidays or special events, so cross-check against the official calendar once you’ve picked a date.

Is Versailles Open Today?

Versailles is open today unless it’s a Monday, which is the one fixed closure every week regardless of season, holiday, or how busy the calendar looks otherwise. Outside Mondays, the palace, gardens and Trianon all operate, though not always on identical hours.

My honest advice: don’t just trust a general rule like this one for a specific travel date. I’d check the official calendar for your exact day before booking anything, since occasional additional closures do happen around state events or holidays, and no evergreen guide can account for those in advance.

What Time Does the Palace of Versailles Open and Close?

The palace typically opens at 9am and closes at 6:30pm during the high season, roughly April through October, and closes earlier, around 5:30pm, from November through March. Last entry is usually 30 to 60 minutes before the stated closing time, so arriving right at closing won’t get you in.

I’d book the earliest slot available every time, not just to beat crowds but because the palace genuinely feels different in the first hour, quieter, better lit, easier to actually see the Hall of Mirrors without fifty people in the frame. Afternoon slots are fine if morning doesn’t work for your schedule, just don’t expect the same calm.

Is Versailles Open on Sundays?

Yes, Versailles is open on Sundays, and it’s actually one of the busier days of the week alongside Tuesday, since it’s the first open day after the weekly Monday closure for anyone who arrived in Paris over the weekend. Sunday hours otherwise match the standard daily schedule for the season.

I’d avoid Sunday if you have any flexibility at all. It’s not closed, but it’s consistently one of the most crowded open days, and a weekday morning will get you a noticeably calmer visit for the same ticket price.

Is Versailles Open on Mondays?

No, the palace is closed every Monday, year round, with no seasonal exception. This is the single most important fact on this page, since it’s the detail most likely to wreck an otherwise well-planned day trip from Paris.

My honest take: build your entire Paris itinerary around this closure before you book anything else. I’ve seen the frustration of travelers who assumed a major attraction would just be open every day of the week, and Versailles genuinely isn’t one of them. If Monday is your only free day, look at my day trip from Paris guide for how to fit Versailles into a different slot in your trip.

Is Versailles Open Every Day of the Week?

No, it’s open six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, with the Monday closure as the one fixed exception. That makes it genuinely different from attractions that run seven days a week, and it’s a detail that catches people who are used to assuming most major sights never fully close.

I’d mark this on your calendar the moment you start planning your Paris trip, not the night before. Working backward from “which day is Versailles closed” is a far more reliable way to plan a multi-day Paris itinerary than hoping it’ll fit in wherever you have a free afternoon.

What Are the Gardens of Versailles Hours?

The Gardens of Versailles generally open earlier and close later than the palace itself, often from around 8am to dusk, which can mean as late as 8:30pm in peak summer and closer to 6pm in winter. Garden access doesn’t share the palace’s Monday closure in the same strict way, since the grounds themselves stay accessible on more days.

I’d treat the gardens as a separate planning question from the palace interior. If you only have a Monday free in Paris, checking the current garden-specific schedule is worth doing, since it may still give you something to see even though the palace interior is shut. My Versailles ticket prices and types breakdown covers the paid show days that sit on top of this base schedule, along with every ticket tier that bundles garden access.

What Are the Trianon Estate’s Hours?

The Estate of Trianon and Marie-Antoinette’s Estate generally opens later than the main palace, often around noon, and closes around the same time as the palace on a given day. That later opening is easy to miss when you’re planning a tight schedule.

My honest read: don’t show up at the Trianon gates right at the main palace’s opening time expecting to get in. I’d visit the palace first thing in the morning and save the Trianon for midday onward, which also matches the natural walking order across the estate.

How Do Hours Change by Season?

High season, roughly April through October, runs later closing times and includes the weekend Musical Fountains and Musical Gardens shows; low season, November through March, closes earlier and drops the paid show days entirely, though it also means free garden entry on non-show days. Both seasons keep the same Monday closure.

I’d pick low season if avoiding crowds matters more to you than catching a fountain show in motion, and high season if the reverse is true. My best time to visit Versailles guide ranks months and days by actual crowd levels if you want a direct recommendation rather than just the seasonal pattern.

Why Is Versailles Closed on Mondays in the First Place?

Many major French museums and monuments stagger their weekly closure day, partly to spread maintenance and staffing needs across the week rather than everything closing on the same day. Versailles’ choice of Monday happens to pair awkwardly with a lot of travelers’ instinct to treat the start of the week as a safe default sightseeing day.

I’d flip that instinct specifically for this trip. Treat Monday as your museum-shopping or neighborhood-wandering day in Paris, and save Versailles for any other day of the week, since that one habit alone prevents the most common planning mistake I see.

Are There Additional Closures Beyond Mondays?

Yes, Versailles closes on a small number of annual public holidays, typically including January 1st, May 1st and December 25th, on top of the weekly Monday closure, and occasional state or diplomatic events can close specific rooms or the whole palace with little notice. These extra closures are rare but real.

I’d always check the official calendar close to your travel date rather than relying purely on the standard weekly pattern, especially if your trip falls near a major holiday. Chateauversailles.fr posts the current year’s exact closure dates, and that’s the only source I’d trust over a general rule like the ones on this page.

Do Hours Differ Between Peak Summer and Shoulder Season?

Within the broad high-season window, July and August run on the same stated hours as April or September, but they feel busier for the same closing time because demand, not the schedule, is what changes. The clock doesn’t shift inside high season, only how many people are using the same hours.

I’d pick May, June or September over July and August if your dates are flexible, since you get the longer high-season hours without the peak-summer crowd density. The gardens in particular reward the extra daylight in late spring and early autumn without the heat and queues of midsummer.

How Should You Plan Your Day Around These Hours?

Book the earliest entry slot the calendar allows, visit the palace first since it opens earliest, then move to the gardens and finish at the Trianon once it opens around midday. That order matches both the opening times above and the natural geography of the estate, palace nearest the gate, Trianon furthest out.

I’d rather start early and finish by mid-afternoon than try to stretch a late start into a full day, since the palace crowds build steadily from mid-morning onward no matter which day you pick. My one day in Versailles itinerary walks through this hour by hour if you want a complete plan rather than just the timing logic.

Do the Hours Change for Guided Tour Groups?

A guided tour’s start time is set by the tour operator, not by the palace’s general opening hours, and most group tours deliberately book an early morning slot to get through the busiest rooms before independent visitors arrive in volume. The palace’s official hours set the outer boundary; your specific tour sets the actual time you’ll be inside.

I’d ask directly what time a tour actually enters the palace rather than assuming it matches the general opening time, since the gap between a tour’s first entry and the official opening can be the whole reason that tour is worth the extra cost over booking the same hours yourself.

What If You Can Only Visit on a Day It’s Open Late or Early?

If your only available day has a shorter low-season schedule, I’d prioritize the palace interior over lingering in the gardens, since the interior is harder to revisit on a future trip and the gardens are at least partially visible from the palace windows if you truly run out of time. On a long high-season day, the opposite holds: linger, since you genuinely have the hours to spare.

My honest opinion: don’t try to force every part of the estate into a schedule that’s genuinely too short for it. I’d rather see the palace and gardens properly and skip the Trianon than rush all three and remember none of them clearly. If you’re unsure whether Versailles is worth the time commitment at all, my is Versailles worth visiting guide weighs the honest tradeoffs.

Can You Check the Hours Without Visiting in Person First?

Yes, the château’s own site publishes the current calendar, and a quick virtual tour of Versailles can give you a sense of scale before you commit to a specific day and time slot. Neither replaces checking the actual hours for your travel date, but both help you plan with more confidence.

I’d use the virtual tour mainly to decide how much time to budget, not as a substitute for checking the live calendar. The rooms you’ll want to linger in longest become obvious pretty quickly once you’ve seen them, even on a screen.

What Should Families and First-Timers Know About the Hours?

Families traveling with young children should budget extra time beyond the stated hours for stroller logistics and rest breaks, since the palace’s own pace assumes an adult visitor moving steadily through each room. First-timers should treat the stated opening time as a target to beat, not a target to match.

I’d arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the official opening time regardless of who you’re traveling with, since the security queue starts forming before the doors actually open. My visiting Versailles with kids guide and what to wear and bring guide cover the practical side of a day built around these hours.

What’s the Single Biggest Mistake People Make With These Hours?

The single biggest mistake is assuming Versailles runs on the same daily schedule as the rest of Paris’s major sights and only discovering the Monday closure after a trip is already planned around it. The second most common mistake is underestimating how much the Trianon’s later noon opening compresses an already tight afternoon.

I’d rather you walk away from this page with just those two facts memorized than the exact closing time down to the minute, since the exact time shifts by season anyway and the official site will always have the current figure. The day of the week you’re not allowed in, and the hour the Trianon actually opens, are the two details that genuinely wreck a plan if you miss them.

My Recommendation

Mark the Monday closure on your calendar first, before you plan anything else around your Versailles day. Beyond that, book the earliest slot your schedule allows, see the palace before the Trianon opens at midday, and check the official calendar close to your travel date for holiday closures and show-season extras.

I’d rather build a Paris itinerary around Versailles’ real schedule than discover the Monday closure after already planning a trip around it. It’s a small amount of upfront planning for how much it saves you from scrambling to rearrange an entire day once you’re already on the ground in Paris. Whichever day and time you land on, see what’s available for Palace of Versailles tickets for that date, and confirm the current calendar directly on chateauversailles.fr before you book, since hours are the one detail here most likely to shift year to year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Versailles open? Typically 9am, with last entry 30 to 60 minutes before closing, which varies by season.

Is Versailles closed on Mondays? Yes, every Monday, year round, with no seasonal exception.

Are the gardens open on days the palace is closed? Garden hours run on a broader schedule than the palace interior, so checking the current garden-specific calendar is worth doing if the palace itself is closed on your only free day.

Do opening hours change for the Musical Fountains Show? The base hours stay the same, but show days add a separate ticketed event within those hours on select weekends from April to October.

How early should you arrive before the official opening time? I’d arrive 15 to 20 minutes early, since the security queue starts building before the doors open.