Complementary Hotel Tickets to Versailles
In some prior threads a few of you spoke about getting complementary tickets to Versailles from the concierge. I looked at the hotel's website and did not find an email address for the concierge. The only one was for reservations. Is this where you began your conversation asking for the tickets? If not, is there another address that you used?
Thank you.
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We did not contact the concierge ahead of time. We spoke to him upon arrival the day prior to tour start and the next morning he made the arrangements at no cost to us. Others here on the site did purchase their own tickets ahead of time to be sure they'd get them.
To get our tickets, we just went to concierge when we arrived at the hotel (we arrived two days before start of the tour). When we asked about Versailles tickets for Tauck guests, he immediately gave us two, then made a quick mark on his notes.
I suspect that concierge always has a supply of these tickets on hand, keeps track of how many go to Tauck guests, and the hotel is later reimbursed for these by Tauck.
We had already purchased Versailles admission tickets on our own because we specifically wanted a 9am timed entry for the Palace visit. So we used the concierge-supplied tickets for a second day of exploring other areas of the Estate on our tour Day 1.
Thank you very much. We will be arriving one day in advance and will ask about the tickets when we arrive.
I have always used whatever e-mail the hotel’s website has listed. I ask for assistance from the concierge and then write my request/question. Be sure to state you are arriving on such-and-such date as a Tauck guest. I always receive a timely reply.
Does the concierge provide a timed ticket or a "go whenever" ticket?
Most tickets regardless are for a timed entry. I suggest buying them on line through the official Versailles website. Go with the passport ticket so you can go to the Trianon and queens hamlet. You still have to wait in a queue for entry and the lines can be quite long and form early. To not have a timed ticket, you have spend a little more and get the one year ticket(duo) if you have a quest then you go to the front of the queue.
Between the freedom to skip the line, go at your desired time, unlimited multiple-reentry on any day for an entire year (great if you need a mid-day nap or want to eat in town), to visit the entire estate- Palace, Gardens, Trianon Estate (Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Queen's Hamlet), and temporary exhibitions, access to the Musical Fountains Show and Musical Gardens on designated days. etc. plus one free tram ride and other (food, etc.) discounts, we found it worthwhile for us to get the duo "1 Year in Versailles" card. We also separately booked the behind the scenes (English version) of the King's Chambers (and theater) tour. With the 1 Year card and early entry we were able to see the Hall of Mirrors before the big crowds arrived and before we started the King's chambers tour. This is truly a no brainer if you will be there two full days or more pre-tour or plan to return there sometime later in the year before or after another tour.
Remember for planning, the Palace of Versailles is closed on Mondays and it has seasonal hours: April-October (High Season), the Palace is open 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM; November-March (Low Season), 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM; the Gardens and Park have longer hours and are open daily but may close due to weather. During the summer period, the Musical Fountains Shows are scheduled every weekend, the Musical Gardens from Tuesday to Friday and the Night Fountains Show every Saturday evening. To get the most out of your visit go to and study the Versailles website. Versailles is a huge complex, be prepared for extensive walking.
Also remember, other attractions in Paris and elsewhere in France such as Sainte Chapelle/Conciergerie, etc. have different closure days. We did some of our most detailed planning to get the most out of this trip- maybe only equaled by Classic Italy and Petra to the Pyramids.
Thanks Alan (and Ben). Alan, when you wrote, "We did some of our most detailed planning..." First thing I thought of was your Egypt/Jordan trip!
We were on this trip last May. The tickets provided by the concierge were for two days but did not include any timed entrances. They permitted one entrance to each of the sites.
We had been into the Palace twice before and decided to explore the grounds, see the fountains and visit the two Trianons and the Hamlet. Even on a Sunday they were all uncrowded.
If you arrive a day early you could do the areas other than the Palace that day and arrive at the Palace first thing in the morning of the day the tour begins. We were limited because our flight left late and we didn't arrive in Versailles until later in the afternoon than we had expected.
On the day we arrived we walked into the town of Versailles and had dinner at a bistro that the concierge recommended. We enjoyed the boeuf bourguignon.
Thanks Kathy. Perfect! Was hoping to hear from you on this