Versailles Visit With Lunch

Versailles Palace and Giverny Monet House Visit with Lunch.

Overview

This full day outing from Paris pairs Claude Monet's house and gardens at Giverny, a three course lunch in the countryside, and the Palace of Versailles with its gardens. The whole thing runs 9.5 hours and is run by Extime Travel, with a coach carrying a maximum of 30 travellers.

The meeting point is on Avenue de la Bourdonnais in Paris, and travellers are asked to arrive 20 minutes before departure. Hotel pickup and drop-off are not part of the package. There are two ways to do the day: a guided option with a licensed guide and individual earphones at both sites, or an audioguided option with commentary downloaded to your own phone, so you need your own headphones and a charged battery.

Entrance tickets with priority access to both attractions and round trip transport by air-conditioned coach are covered, along with lunch. Gratuities are not. Reviewers often single out the guides as the strength of the day, along with the air conditioning, and one traveller described the time split between the two sites as well judged.

What's Included

Itinerary

1. Meet in ParisGather at 45 Avenue de la Bourdonnais, 75007 Paris, 20 minutes before departure, where an Extime Travel ambassador meets the group.
2. Fondation Claude MonetTwo hours at Monet's house and gardens at Giverny, with admission included.
3. The Clos NormandThirty minutes at the Clos Normand at the Fondation Claude Monet.
4. Le Moulin de FourgesOne hour at Le Moulin de Fourges, listed as a pass by stop on the itinerary. A three course lunch is included in the tour price.
5. Palace of VersaillesOne hour inside the palace, including the Royal Apartments on the guided option.
6. La Galerie des GlacesTwenty minutes in the Hall of Mirrors.
7. Versailles gardens and returnThirty minutes of free time in the gardens, then the coach returns to the original meeting point in Paris.

What To Expect From The Tour

A few practical points shape how this day goes, from the meeting point logistics to how much walking is involved.

• Arrive early. The listing asks travellers to be at the meeting point 20 minutes before departure. One reviewer reported being left behind at the meeting point despite arriving on time, so save the operator's phone and WhatsApp contact details in advance.
• Guided or audioguide. The guided option includes a licensed guide with individual earphones at Giverny and the Royal Apartments. The audioguided option uses commentaries downloaded through a mobile app, so travellers need a fully charged phone and their own headphones, since earphones are not supplied on that option.
• Pace and fitness. The listing calls for moderate physical fitness and says the tour is not suitable for travellers with walking difficulties, and it is not wheelchair accessible.
• Crowds and heat. The listing warns of significant queues in high season, and one reviewer reported Versailles closing early because of heat, which cut garden access. The air-conditioned coach is a recurring positive in reviews on hot days.
• Lunch. It sits in a country spot between the two sites, which several travellers liked as a break from the city.
• Strollers and infants. Baby strollers are forbidden inside the Palace of Versailles, though infant seats are available for the coach. Families with very young children should plan for carrying them inside the palace.

Common issues. The most serious complaints in reviews involve departures and schedule changes: one traveller reported being left at the meeting point with no refund, another reported no notice when the Versailles portion was cancelled, and one reviewer described garden access cut when the palace closed early for heat. The listing itself flags heavy high season crowds with unavoidable queues, a maximum of 30 travellers, no wheelchair access, and no suitability for those with walking difficulties. Gratuities and hotel transfers are extra.

Common Questions