The King's private apartments at Versailles

Why it is on the list

The petit appartement du roi is on the first floor, in the oldest part of the palace. Louis XIV kept his paintings, medals and rare books there, and only those he allowed could enter. Louis XV and Louis XVI then made it their private rooms.¹ What survives are some of the best rooms in the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. These include the cabinet intérieur, with panelling by Jacques Verberckt and the roll-top desk Jean-François Oeben delivered in 1769. There is also the salon des pendules, where Louis XV held card parties. The library of Louis XVI was begun in 1774, with carving by the Rousseau brothers' workshop.¹ The palace shows these rooms only on a guided tour.²

The tour moves through narrow passages, some no wider than 80 cm, which makes it the wrong choice for anyone with limited mobility.² For an evening with no crowd at all, take the dome at Vaux-le-Vicomte on a candlelit Saturday.

How to get it

Book the tour on the palace's ticket site. It costs €10 on top of the palace admission ticket and lasts 1½ hours.² Through the autumn most days have a 10 am tour, with a few days at 11.30 am, 1 pm or 2.30 pm as well.² The group meets at the North Ministers Wing.²

The palace is closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. It opens at 9 am.³ From Paris, RER line C runs to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, which is a 10-minute walk from the palace. There are also SNCF trains from Gare Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite, a 17-minute walk away. By car, there is a car park on the Place d'Armes.³

Discretion

The rooms on the tour are otherwise closed to visitors; only the group and its guide go in.² The Grand Apartments outside are open to every ticket holder from 9 am.³