What to see in Versailles ?

Versailles is not merely a château. It's a city built around a royal whim made real in stone and water, where Louis XIV relocated power from Paris the better to control it. The Palace of Versailles overwhelms everything by sheer scale, but the town itself, with its Saint-Louis and Notre-Dame quarters, maintains a quiet provincial life that most visitors entirely overlook.

Plumb for spring or September to avoid the queues that paralyse the Grand Apartments come July. One day suffices for the château, but plan an overnight stay if you want to experience the Grandes Eaux Musicales without fighting for an evening train back. The RER C from Paris remains the most direct journey. Skip the tourist guides hawked outside the RER station: they charge three times the price for a circuit you can do solo with the official app.