Versailles and Giverny in One Day: The Perfect Day Trip from Paris
These are the two day trips visitors ask about most, and the question almost always comes out the same way: "we only have one free day, Versailles or Giverny?" The good news is that you don't really have to pick. Planned properly, one day holds both without feeling like a race.
Why these two sites pair so well
It starts with geography. Versailles sits about 20 km southwest of Paris; Giverny is roughly 75 km northwest, right on the Normandy border. Both are on the same side of the city, so you never double back through the centre, you simply carry on up the Seine valley. The drive from the palace to Monet's village takes about an hour to an hour and fifteen.
The second reason is less practical and more about how the day feels. The two visits have nothing in common, which is exactly what keeps them from cancelling each other out. The morning is the Sun King at full volume: the Hall of Mirrors, the State Apartments, Le Nôtre's endless perspectives. The afternoon is the opposite, a village house with green shutters, narrow gravel paths, a lily pond and the Japanese bridge Claude Monet painted for decades. You go from state ceremony to a painter's back garden, and nobody spends the afternoon feeling they've already seen it all.
What the day actually looks like
Morning: Versailles. Leave your hotel around 8am and reach the palace shortly after opening, before the coach groups arrive. Two to three hours covers the State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors and a first walk through the gardens. If you also want the Grand Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet, that's a full day on its own, in which case, save Giverny for another date.
Midday: the drive and lunch. The road to Giverny follows the Seine valley. This is the moment to eat, in Vernon or a Normandy village along the way, rather than losing an hour to a crowded, overpriced table right outside the palace gates.
Afternoon: Giverny. Allow around two hours for Monet's house, the Clos Normand and the water garden at an unhurried pace. Late afternoon is often the best slot: the light on the pond is better and the tour coaches have already left.
Back in Paris by early evening. About 9 hours door-to-door in total.
What to book in advance
- Your Versailles ticket, timed-entry. In high season, that's the difference between walking in at your slot and queueing outside.
- Your Giverny ticket (Claude Monet's house and gardens), also online.
- The transport, if you genuinely want to do both, it's the piece that holds the whole day together.
Entrance tickets aren't included in a private day trip: the price covers transport, driver, tolls and parking.
The catches worth knowing
- Versailles is closed on Mondays. Giverny opens daily during its season.
- Giverny closes for winter, roughly November to March. During those months the day gets rebuilt around another site, Versailles with Vaux-le-Vicomte or Chantilly, for instance.
- There's a lot of walking. The Versailles estate is vast and Giverny's gardens are covered entirely on foot: the day easily adds up to several kilometres, so comfortable shoes genuinely matter.
- May to July is the best window for Giverny, that's when the water lilies are in bloom.
Why this day trip doesn't work well by train
By public transport the combination is technically possible and practically exhausting: RER C to Versailles Château, Rive Gauche, back into Paris, across town to Saint-Lazare, train to Vernon, shuttle bus to Giverny, then the whole thing in reverse that evening, with the last train time hanging over your entire afternoon. You'd spend more of the day watching connections than looking at a garden.
With a private driver, the logistics disappear: door-to-door, your things stay in the car, and no train to chase. That said, doing both in a single day is intense. At Glide we often prefer to split them: Giverny as a private day trip, and Versailles as a simple round-trip, each in a quiet Tesla Model Y at a fixed price.
If you're arriving in Paris for a few days, the Kings & Gardens package bundles your airport transfer, the Versailles round-trip and the Giverny day trip into a single booking.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really see Versailles and Giverny in one day?
Yes, provided you start early and focus on the essentials at Versailles (State Apartments, Hall of Mirrors, gardens). Allow about 9 hours in total from Paris, travel included.
Should you start with Versailles or Giverny?
Versailles in the morning is the usual order: the palace opens early and stays busy longer, while Giverny empties out nicely late in the day. The order can be flipped depending on the season and how crowded things are.
Are entrance tickets included in the day trip?
No. The price covers transport, driver, tolls and parking; Versailles and Giverny tickets are booked separately, ideally online and ahead of time.
Can this day trip be done in winter?
Not with Giverny, whose house and gardens close from roughly November to March. During those months we swap Giverny for another site that stays open year-round.