Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

Your tour begins as you board your motorcoach for a scenic, 2 ½-hour drive along the motorway to Versailles. En route, your guide will recount the history of the region and the palace and gardens.

Upon entering the Palace of Versailles, you'll marvel at its size and grandiose furnishings, gilded décor, and riches. The chateau has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List for 30 years, and is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII's hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it even more impressive.

On your guided tour, you'll visit the king's state apartments, seven suites overlooking a courtyard devoted to royal audiences and court entertainment. You'll see the Hercules Drawing room with its elaborate painted ceiling and the Hall of Mirrors, scene of lavish court receptions. You'll also tour the queen's apartments, four rooms decorated in a variety of styles by several queens, including Marie-Antoinette.

You'll walk across the Versailles Gardens to a restaurant located within Versailles Park, where a lunch awaits. After a sumptuous French meal, you're welcome to explore the lush palace gardens. The great Le Notre laid out the palace gardens between 1661 and 1700, boasting meticulously planted parterres, bronze and lead statues, vases and ornamental ponds sprouting a multitude of superbly sculpted fountains.

Before your return drive back to the pier, you'll have time to shop in the Palace's gift shop for mementos of your visit.