Wild party like it's the 1700s…read more Full review of the masquerade ball at the place of Versailles is up on my account. Cheers

Our day at the Palace of Versailles was one of the highlights of our trip to France. Despite the…read moreintense summer heat, it was an unforgettable experience. The sheer opulence of the palace is almost impossible to describe. Every room is more breathtaking than the last, and learning about the history and significance of Versailles made the visit even more inspiring. Standing in a place where so much history unfolded was truly awe-inspiring. We booked a private tour that included transportation to and from our hotel, making the day completely stress-free. Our guide was knowledgeable and shared fascinating stories and historical details that brought the palace to life. After touring the palace, we rented a golf cart to explore the grounds. With temperatures nearing 100 degrees, it was the perfect way to experience the magnificent gardens without having to walk for miles in the heat. The gardens are stunning and deserve just as much time as the palace itself. If you're visiting Paris, I highly recommend setting aside a full day for Versailles. Between the incredible history, spectacular architecture, and beautifully landscaped grounds, it's an experience you won't soon forget.

The coach gallery at the Royal Stables of Château de Versailles is impressive ... because the…read morehorse-drawn carriages are impressive (extravagant, pretentious, gaudy, or pick a word) ... just as they were 200 years ago, 100 years ago, and today. French Royalty (like Louis XIV), Emperors (like Napoleon I), and state visitors (like Czar Nicolas II) all rode in pimped out traveling thrones designed to impress with so much attention-grabbing bling that even Liberace would of been embarrassed. The stables were built from 1679 to 1682 and manned by up to 1,500 people during the Louis XIV era to house 2,000 horses. This setting on the ground floor of the Great Stables is a perfect home for the carriage museum. The coaches are works of art ... blending gold decorations, wood carvings, metal work, upholstery, and other decorative elements in creative, ostentatious, and luxurious ways to show the splendor of the sovereign. * Open 12:30 - 5:30 p.m. (6:30 in summer) * Closed Mondays * Admission is free / No ticket required * It's about 5 minute walk from the Château * Plan about 1 hour or less * There is no tour nor is it needed * Photography (without flash) is allowed * No food or drink allowed La Galerie des Carrosses at Les Écurie Royales is impressive. If your visit to Château de Versailles permits an hour excursion, I recommend taking the time to see the museum ... because the carriages were crafted to impress ... and their ornate flamboyance continues to impress.

The Grand Ecurie just opened for tours a year or so ago, so many Versailles visitors may…read moreunknowingly pass it by. It's a good stop on the way back to the train station - it's right on the way. Best of all - it's FREE! The exhibit space isn't huge - maybe it will take 30 minutes to go through, but it's worth a short detour. You'll get to see inside the historic stables, which still have the old feeding troughs. The kings horses lived better than I do - the interior is beautiful. The carriages on display are from the reign of Napoleon and later with lots from Napoleon III. I was a little surprised there wasn't anything from the Ancien Regime but maybe none of that stuff survived? Anyway, it's a great detour to a day trip to Versailles and a fascinating look at the old stables. If you're lucky, you may see some of the resident horses being trained.

Visiting the Château de Versailles was truly a dream come true. The architecture is absolutely…read morestunning--every detail, from the grand halls to the intricate ceilings, is a testament to the opulence of the French monarchy. The grounds are just as impressive: beautifully kept gardens, sparkling fountains, and perfectly restored landscapes that make you feel like you've stepped back in time. As someone who loves history, I was in heaven. The palace is filled with artifacts from the Sun King himself, Louis XIV, and the stories about his many mistresses add an extra layer of intrigue. I could have spent hours just wandering the Hall of Mirrors and imagining the lavish parties that once took place there. Marie Antoinette's area, with its charming hamlet and gorgeous gardens, was a highlight for me--so peaceful and picturesque. We spent an entire day exploring and still barely scratched the surface. There's just so much to see and experience! I also have to mention the restaurants on the grounds. The food was surprisingly good--fresh, flavorful, and honestly better than most of what I get back home in America. If you love history, art, or just want to be wowed by breathtaking beauty, Versailles is an absolute must-see. I loved every minute and can't wait to go back!

I've been to Versailles twice in my life, and honestly, it's a place you only need to visit once…read more It's worth checking off, though, that first time, and I was happy to go back on our family trip this month, as my brothers and kids had never been before. I booked tickets online about a month in advance, and it was easy to do--not always a given, as I found when booking the Eiffel Tower and London Eye this same trip. Tickets were €35 each for eight adults and €15 for my six-year-old, with my younger son and niece getting in for free. We set aside a whole day for our excursion from Paris, and we definitely needed it. We were there for over five hours and covered what felt like very little ground. It was kind of a grueling day for everyone, most of all my older son, who got nauseous in the cab ride over and immediately threw up on the sidewalk leading up to the castle. We were lucky enough to miss the heat wave, but it was still brutally hot, and the grounds were so massive and sprawling that no one had the will to really explore them. We did spend a couple hours at the actual castle, though, the infamous, guillotine-worthy Château de Versailles. (My grumpy sick son had some questions about what happened to the people who lived there, and I entertained him with a little history lesson. My husband later reported that another mom was listening in and judging me for my frank description of the French Revolution.) I remembered it from my first visit almost twenty years ago and had the same general reaction, which is that the opulence was impressive and repetitive. You get the idea pretty quickly, and understand immediately why heads had to roll. The private chapel kind of said it all on its own. We didn't go to every room, but we saw plenty and made sure to hit the Hall of Mirrors with its gaudy profusion of chandeliers and gold sculpture. There were a few spaces that incorporated modern artwork, which was pretty cool. When everyone was tired and hungry, we found our way to an Angelina cart and a back room with tables and fans where we were able to sit and eat. There are a number of restaurants on the grounds where you can make reservations, but this worked better for us (and also nothing was available for our huge party by the time I got around to looking). We spent a couple more hours wandering around the garden, but we didn't get particularly far. The garden was beautiful but enormous and short on shade, and it seemed impossible to cross the distance to get to whatever points of interest might be waiting a quarter mile in the sun-scorched distance. The fountains were cool and we did get to see them turn on briefly, though we missed whatever musical fountain show we were supposed to catch. We could not figure out where or when it was happening. We wasted half an hour waiting in line for golf carts before giving up and buying tickets for the train instead, to take us to the Trianon side. It was so hot, all we did was take the train and then start leaving. The train was surprisingly shitty, just a rickety train-shaped conveyance that went around the grounds, making stops at a few noteworthy places. We hopped off at Petit Trianon and walked out, taking a long, pleasant path lined with trees. It was cooler and less crowded on this side of Versailles, and if I were ever to come back, I would spend my time checking out the areas away from the palace. I remember enjoying the Queen's Hamlet on my first visit, and I noticed a lot of family's on bicycles enjoying all the charmingly landscaped open spaces. Versailles is well worth a visit at some point in your life, though I'd recommend against going in summer with small, irritable children. I don't need to see the palace again, but I wouldn't mind another go at the grounds.

I walked into the Musée d'Orsay knowing my art knowledge is quite pedestrian, and I still loved it…read morealmost immediately. The building alone is worth the visit: a former train station with that grand, vaulted Beaux-Arts drama that makes the whole museum feel both practical and theatrical. You can still sense the movement of the old Gare d'Orsay in the central hall, except now the platforms have been replaced by sculpture, light, and people quietly realizing they are somewhere special. Part of what makes the museum so memorable is that it gives you beauty without making you feel swallowed by the scale of the place. The Louvre is obviously magnificent, but the Musée d'Orsay is more digestible, more focused, and easier to enjoy in a single visit without feeling like you need a recovery meal afterward. It has a calmer rhythm, and that made it much easier for me to actually look around instead of simply trying to survive the museum. Upstairs, the perspective over the center of the museum is stunning. Looking down into the long main nave, with the sculptures below and the old station architecture stretching out beneath you, is one of those views that stays in your memory even if you cannot name every artist you saw that day. I also have this vague but lasting reflection of looking through the giant clock toward the Seine, with Paris appearing behind the glass in a way that felt almost too perfectly composed to be real. The collection is extraordinary, especially if you are drawn to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist work, even casually. Seeing artists like Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Cézanne in a building this distinctive gives the whole visit a sense of coherence. The art is the reason people come, but the setting gives it a deeper charge, because every gallery feels connected to the history and personality of the building itself. Another thing I appreciated was the crowd. It felt interesting and cultured without being stiff. There was a nice energy in the rooms, as if people were genuinely enjoying themselves rather than checking off a tourist obligation. The museum is elegant without being cold, famous without being overwhelming, and serious without being hard to love. For anyone visiting Paris, I would put the Musée d'Orsay very high on the list. It is a beautiful alternative if you want something smaller and more navigable than the Louvre, but still full of major art, architecture, and atmosphere. Even as someone who often connects more with museum buildings than the finer points of art history, I found this place completely memorable and would highly recommend it.

I've been to Musée d'Orsay twice over the years and have left both times feeling awed by what I saw…read moreand rueful of all I'd so obviously missed. You can't even speed run the place in two or three hours, and you probably need days or a lifetime to appreciate it in full. My more recent visit was earlier this month, with my husband and kids and other sundry family members, who spread out and explored the museum on their own. The d'Orsay opens at 9:30 in the morning and we booked tickets in advance for 10:00 entry. Getting in was quick and easy, and the crowd was pretty reasonable for the first hour or so, which we spent on the fifth floor. By the time we got to the special exhibit on the ground level, around noon, every room was thronged. We didn't make it to the second floor at all. The museum is a global treasure, a beautiful place with a staggering collection of French art, including the world's largest trove of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings. The d'Orsay was once the Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. It would be worth visiting for the architecture and use of space and light alone. The art, of course, is genuinely amazing. If you have even a passing familiarity with paintings as a genre, you will walk around the d'Orsay going, "Oh, THAT's here?" I saw multiple paintings I'd encountered in jigsaw puzzles, or on the covers of Debussy piano books. Manet, Cezánne, Gauguin, Degas; a whole room of Van Gogh, including one of his most recognizable self-portraits and his "Bedroom in Arles" (a very enjoyable 2,000-piece puzzle). Monet everywhere--I guess the d'Orsay owns 86 of his paintings. I loved the mini-exhibit of five paintings of the Rouen Cathedral, and even my six-year-old appreciated, if purely for subject matter, "The Saint-Lazare Station." Our kids, it turns out, do not yet appreciate art, and were in ragged form for much of our visit. Our three-year-old demanded to be carried at all times and kept insisting he didn't like "these pictures." (He also objected to his first nude, "The Bathers" by Renoir: "Why aren't they wearing any clothes, even? They can wear pants. They can cover themselves.") We had to take a breather in the underground cafe, with water and snacks, and this gave us enough steam to make it back out to the main floor. We managed to zip through a few of the many rooms lining the main corridor on our way up to the Renoir exhibit at the front of the museum. This part of our visit could not have been more cursory, and yet we stumbled upon Courbet's self-portrait, "The Desperate Man"--a cool painting I'd never seen before--and Millet's "The Angelus," a painting I'd learned about at the d'Orsay many years earlier. The Renoir exhibit (Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity, apparently just ended) was spectacular, an expansive collection of iconic paintings displayed for maximum impact. It was also jam packed and slightly unpleasant to navigate with two children on the verge of meltdown. I'd love to go back to Paris and explore the d'Orsay at my leisure. I'm sure it'd also be worthwhile to go with a guide, and perhaps two older, well-behaved children who might get something out of the experience. In the meantime, I'm grateful I've been able to see the place at all. It's a marvelous museum, one of the greatest in the world.

Being here makes me feel so happy. I love everything about this experience... The Château, the…read moregardens, the sculptures... and people watching, of course. While here, I'm hearing multiple languages and seeing people from around the world loving all of it too. Art is a universal language. Feeling inspired to be present in the moment and to enjoy the garden and the glorious views. We gave ourselves four hours to linger and to take in all of it. Never be rushed when you come here... It's worth spending extra time taking it all in. So beautiful! And having champagne and treats in the café is a bonus!

Came here on a recent trip to Paris. I had been to the Rodin museum in Philadelphia and enjoyed…read morethat so of course I wanted to come to this one! Very cool museum with lots to look at. Of course, Rodin's Gates of Hell is here so it was worth it just to see that!

Lorenzo was a great tour guide. He knows his history and presented a great story and vision of the…read moretime! It was a great way to learn about the details of Versailles, the gardens, the petit Trianon, and the Hamlet. I feel like I had a personal history lesson.

Monty was excellent, knowledgeable about Notre Dame, its history, the fire, and restoration. He…read morewas alo willing to share his knowledge about Paris, kings, the city and more We would be ecstatic to book with him again.

This will blow you out of the water! Every other art show on tour housing comparison to wonder…read morecollection that is at the Atelier des Lumieres. There was a double feature when I went of Picasso and Rousseau. I was in awe the entire time. The Picasso show was about 40 mins and the Rousseau was 20 minutes. I felt immersed in the art of the Rousseau collection, but I saw the story in the life of Picasso during his collection. This is a must when in Paris

I can't remember how I found out about this "exhibit"…read more When I originally saw the ad it was about Klimt being the main show. That would have been so cool. It ended the week before my arrival. But it was still a great show. Purchase your ticket online and pick a date and time. Originally thought the exhibit was in an old warehouse, but it's the main floor of a residential building. Two stories of open space. The images are projected on the floor and all the walls choreographed to music. The first was Van Gogh's Starry Night with other of his works mixed. Japanese Images of a Floating World was next installation. The works have movement and floats through the vast space. There are no seats. Be careful walking around, as people just sit in the middle of the floor to watch. You can hang out and watch it a second time. Highly recommend seeing this.

A hidden gem! This is my favorite museum in Paris…read moreWell laid out and curated. And it's free! A definite must see.

Loved our visit to the Petit Palais. Free entry, gorgeous architecture, and two full floors of…read moresculptures, paintings, and artifacts that are beautifully displayed. The building--designed by Charles Girault for the 1900 Universal Exhibition--is a masterpiece in itself. The collection spans from antiquity to the early 20th century and is surprisingly extensive. If you're nearby, don't miss it.

Absolutely one of the best experiences ever. It is a must to get the Audio Guide Tour - so…read moreinformative on th History of Paris and The Catacombes. We unfortunately had 105 degree weather in Paris and literally this tour was a "cool" experience for the history and the temperature - literally. Also the little gift shop after is a must - I smile every morning using my spoon and have a pair of gloves that I will be wearing as well. This and Jim Morrison's Grave was my two favorite things.

The major thing we wanted to do in Paris was visit the catacombs, an underground ossuary containing…read morethe bones of more than six million people. The catacombs are part of Paris' abandoned mine and quarry network, and bones were moved to the catacombs because the cemeteries were running out of space. The first bones were transferred from the Cimetière des Saints-Innocents after the cemetery was closed in 1780 due to overuse. The catacombs are an extremely popular attraction, and purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended as a limited number of people are admitted each hour, and with good reason -- the experience would be extremely unpleasant if overly crowded. However, you can only purchase tickets one week in advance, and the catacombs are not open on Mondays. The two full days we were in Paris were Sunday and Monday, so I had to ensure that we were able to get tickets for Sunday April 7. Fortunately I was successful! Tickets were €29 each, although per the website, they are now €31. Unfortunately, the catacombs are not accessible for people in wheelchairs or who have mobility issues -- the 1.5km long route has 243 stairs -- 131 to descend and 112 to ascend. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and if you want to see bones and skulls (no full skeletons, though), the Paris catacombs won't disappoint! [Yelp collections: Europe 2024; Paris, France; Beware of stairs!]