VIP Secret Rooms of Versailles

 

Appearances can be deceiving, and the royalty that once graced the halls of Versailles was no exception. In secret rooms, behind closed access doors not normally open to the general public, Kings and Queens once set about their daily private lives. On this exclusively designed, behind the scenes tour you’ll have the incredible honor of exploring rooms of Versailles that seem frozen in time on this very special Skip the Line: VIP Secret Rooms of Versailles Extended Tour. Our representative will meet you in Versailles where your experience will begin with an expert local guide at the entrance. Your privileged group of 25 people or fewer will be the only one allowed into each of these rooms at a time with this highly regulated access. Our trademark Skip the Line access takes us straight past the famously long lines and through a reserved entrance, from where we’ll take our first steps into this hidden world, as we suddenly find ourselves standing in the King’s private apartments. You’ll feel miles away from the throngs of tourists visiting Versailles outside these walls, almost completely unaware of the existence of these concealed rooms. Here Kings Louis XV and XVI and their queens (and mistresses!) would escape from the long rituals and prying eyes of the court of Versailles. With the precious insights and fascinating stories of your local Versailles guide, you’ll discover how the royalty went about their daily lives when nobody was watching. Learn how the King would go to bed in public, then wait for everyone to leave, before retiring to his private apartments to really sleep, making sure of course to return to the public bedroom before sunrise so that the court could watch him wake up! With such restricted access today, and none of the crowds of the main rooms, these apartments remain as lavishly furnished as they would have been in the King’s time. You’ll encounter family portraits, personal furniture and art collections. Access is so restricted that the itinerary will adapt and change each time, to include either the stunning Opera House or the private Chapel, both closed to the public. At the end of our visit we’ll reappear through a hidden door into the public apartments to find the crowds there again, just as the Kings and Queens would have in their day! This unique and carefully designed itinerary also includes access to the main apartments of the Château, including the spectacular Hall of Mirrors. Of course, no visit would be complete without a guided stroll in the magnificent gardens. Your guide will of course accompany you, as the gardens were equally as important as the palace in the days of the royal court, and then at the end of the visit you will be free to wander as long as you like. You’ll have time to reflect on a day of pure indulgence and to slowly drag yourself back through the centuries to modern-day Paris. In Versailles’ time you could only enter these private apartments with the permission of the King. Courtiers would do almost anything for an invite! Luckily, all you need to do is book our Skip the Line: VIP Secret Rooms of Versailles Extended Tour. Meeting/pick-up point: Meet your guide by the statue of Louis XIV (the bronze horseman statue in the Place d’Armes, the square in front of the palace). It is the responsibility of all visitors to be at the meeting point 15 minutes before departure. Guests arriving after departure cannot be accommodated and missed tours or tickets cannot be refunded. Our coordinators will be wearing blue polo shirts or jackets at the meeting point for easy recognition. Additional information: Non-flash photography is permitted throughout the tour.