Versailles by bike day tour

Take a tour of Versailles with a difference - by bicycle! It's the only way to see Versailles' expansive gardens plus you'll get to see highlights of Versailles that most visitors miss, including Marie Antoinette's country-style Hameau, the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon. You'll also enjoy a picnic by the Grand Canal then take a tour of the Palace of Versailles.

Together with your guide, you'll walk to the RER train station to make the 20-minute trip by train to Versailles. Once in Versailles, you will pick up your bike at at an office just 5 minutes from the Palace of Versailles. The first of many highlights on this active day out is a visit to Versailles' village market to buy baguettes, cheese, ham, wine and whatever else you desire for your delicious picnic lunch in Versailles' gardens. These picnic provisions are purchased at your own expense.

The next highlight today is a bike ride through the gardens behind Versailles palace. You'll leave foot visitors behind on your tour of the palace by bicycle, as visitors on foot can visit only a small fraction of the palace gardens. Versailles' gardens and forests are crisscrossed by a network of fantastic trails and tree-lined paths, so bring your camera for picture-perfect views in every direction.

Arriving at the far end of the Grand Canal, you'll settle down for a picnic in the exact spot where Louis XIV, XV and XVI ate in order to marvel at their palace. Relax on the grass in peace where only your cycling group will be able to easily reach this end of the Grand Canal.

After lunch, pedal back towards the palace itself for an unforgettable view into the lives of the French monarchy before their removal from power by the Revolution in 1789. You'll visit the Hall of Mirrors (site of the treaty ending World War I), the King's State Apartments and the amazing King's Chapel (audio guide available). After your visit to Versailles you'll return to Paris via RER train.