Well for lack of a better title I put up the roads of Versailles to mean how to get around in the city by bus or car above ground! Yes Versailles the city of the palace/museum has an excellent transportation system and great roads/streets. Let me share some of it with you today.
Versailles has an excellent transport system and have written before on its main train stations in fact the city has five! Rive Gauche, Chantiers, Rive droite, Porchefontaine, and Montreuil. The first three I say you can walk to the palace/museum. Therefore, I will concentrate this time on the bus network and roads. Versailles is 40 km from Roissy CDG airport (dept Val d’Oise 95) and 25 km from Orly airport (dept Val de Marne 94).
From Roissy CDG airport there you take the train RER B until Saint-Michel- Notre-Dame, connect here with the train RER C until terminus at Versailles-Rive Gauche. You can also take the airport bus Air France to Porte Maillot, and take a taxi to Versailles. You can connect with the Gare Montparnasse, and later regular train to Versailles-Chantiers. Or from Gare Saint Lazare take the regular train to Versailles Rive Droite.
By car is a breeze believe me don’t read the scary books! Take the expressway from Roissy CDG airport ,autoroute A1 direction Paris, get on the boulevard périphérique Ouest (west), follow direction Rouen A13, and take the A13 direction Rouen/ Versailles, until exit or sortie n°5 Versailles Centre/Château. Follow this road avenue des Etats-Unis, which continues into avenue de Saint-Cloud, all the way to the palace/museum.
From Orly airport, take the Train RER B until Massy Palaiseau, change there to take the train RER C direction Versailles-Rive Gauche. With the Air France bus take them to Gare des Invalides ,and there take the train RER C to terminus at Versailles-Rive Gauche. You can also arrive at Gare Montparnasse and take the regular train SNCF until Versailles-Chantiers. Or from Gare Saint-Lazare take the regular train to Versailles-Rive Droit.
By car go out Orly and take the A106 direction Paris than shortly get on the outside beltway on the A86 exit or sortie Versailles Château. Follow this road avenue des Etats-Unis, which continues into avenue de Saint-Cloud, all the way to the palace/museum .
All train stations in Versailles, you can walk to the palace/museum or take in high season the bus TRI of Phebus that connects all train stations in Versailles with the palace/museum ,trianons etc.
There is the RATP bus n° 171 coming from the metro station pont de Sèvres line 9 until in front of the palace/museum on Avenue de Paris terminus.
The city bus info center is at the Espace Clients Phébus Open Mondays to Fridays from 9h to 13h and 14h30 to 17h30. Office location at 12 av. du Général de Gaulle. Right across the train station rive gauche near the Hôtel de Ville.
Agence Navigo Phébus, open Mondays to Fridays from 9h to 18h. Saturdays from 11h to 18h. Office located at 18 av. de l’Europe. Almost at the corner of ave de Saint Cloud near the Monoprix store.
There are several other kiosks ,shops that can sell the tickets but the above are the official ones and both close to the palace/museum. The main city bus terminal is at Place Lyautey ,across from the RER C train station rive gauche (left bank).
Cost of ticket + is 1,90 euros and for the pack of 10 is 14,90 euros. Coming from Paris the price in train is 3,65 euros. The bus lines Phebus were recently change from letters to numbers, the official webpage still is Phebus here: https://www.phebus.tm.fr/se-deplacer/toutes-les-fiches-horaires/horaires/main/Search/
My old line is now the no 3 passing by rive gauche (ave du Général de Gaulle) and rive droite (Ave du Maréchal Foch) very close to the palace/museum. In winter months there is line 14 easy taken in Ave de l’Europe or Place du marché Notre Dame (market).
The city of Versailles has a page showing all transports possibilities here: https://www.versailles.fr/ma-ville/se-deplacer/transports-en-commun/
For car parking in Versailles, I never had problems finding off street parking, even visiting the city, but still it is easier if coming for a day per se to use the city public parkings. The closest to the palace/museum are right in front of the palace/museum in place d’Armes as well as at end of avenue de Sceaux (passing ave du Général de Gaulle and near the rive gauche train RER C station, the train stations at Chantiers and rive Droite and the place du marché Notre-Dame (I advise small cars here because the ramps are tight). Other parkings are Parking Europe (right across the gove building prefecture) Parking Saint-Cloud (at corner with ave de l’europe),Parking Saint-Louis (by the Cathedral) and Parking Reine-Richaud (by the hospital apts complex behind the train station rive droite) on Blvd de la Reine. The city has about 20 000 places for parking on street and more than 3000 places with two above ground parkings such as Sceaux ,and Place d’Armes, and 4 underground parkings. You need to enter your license plate into the ticket machine or horodateur or on the application smartphone and can ask for a receipt. The city agents will be able to verify the payment via a portable gadget. If infraction on parking like time expire you will have FPS= Forfait Post Stationnement that is establish by the control agent. The fine is 33 € in Versailles but it can be reduce to 17 € if the payment is done in the next 5 days of the fine or FPS.
For my friends in camping cars, the best is at Parking de Sceaux if only for a day. However, if overnight you need to go to the camping de Versailles Huttopia at 31, Rue Berthelot,contact tél +33 (0) 1 39 51 23 61. Follow from palace/museum the ave de Paris and turn right after passing the Hôtel de Ville on Rue des Etats Généraux continue same road changes name to Rue des Chantiers, then turn left on Rue Yves Le Coz, and then right on Rue Berthelot!
There are many companies that cover Versailles in public transports such as RATP, SNCF (you know these from Paris), and other coming from other town such as Véolia, Savac, and Keolis. The city ,also has parking for bikes or vélos such as near 830 spots with nearly 600 spots on the road itself, 80 spaces are reserve at the train stations Rive Droite, Rive Gauche ,and Montreuil, and 80 spots in consignment at the train station Chantiers.
To find place you can magnify this map of Versailles: https://www.versailles.fr/ma-ville/se-deplacer/plan-de-la-ville/
Some additional webpages to help you move in Versailles are
Tourist office of Versailles how to come here and more
Tourist office of Versailles on public transports modes
Hope it helps those coming or taking the bus and or car to Versailles; it is a very plausible city to drive on and only the areas around the palace/museum can be considered traffic prone. The bus well as I always said above ground you see more so take it, it goes everywhere even to around the Orangerie on the Route de Saint-Cyr D10 or the Porte Saint Antoine (hameau trianons) on rue de Versailles D186! Enjoy the royal city of Versailles: my kind of town!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
