A trip with my dog to the Park of Versailles in Paris, France

This March, I took a trip with my dog to Paris. While we were there, we also visited the Park of Versailles Palace, which I will tell you about in this article. Both the palace and the park are part of the UNESCO world heritage.

If you are considering to take a trip to this region with your pup, do check out my other blog post for things to do in Paris with your dog.

THE ROUTE

Although it is not possible to enter the palace itself or the palace gardens with your dog, the park is a perfect spot for a walk. You can enter through the Queen’s gate (Grille de la Reine) or the Matelot’s Gate (Grille de Matelots).

When we visited, there were a few paid parking spots available on the street near the Queen’s gate, but this may not always be the case.

If you can’t find a street spot, there is also this paid parking lot right by the gate. As we didn’t park there, I cannot speak for it, but it seems that you can even reserve a spot online in advance.

After entering through the Queen’s gate, we walked up towards the small residential manor house known as “Petit Trianon”. It isn’t really all that small, but everything is relative since there is a bigger one which is fittingly called “Grand Trianon”.

Unfortunately dogs can’t enter the Petit Trianon area, but you can catch glimpses of some of the sights inside, such as the Temple of Love (Temple d’Amour).

From there, we walked all the up to Saint Anthony’s gate (Porte Sainte Antoine) and then back towards the Queen’s gate. On the way back, we passed by an area with picnic tables which was also designated for ball games. We saw quite a few people letting their dogs run off leash there. This seemed to be tolerated, but your mileage may vary!

HOW LONG IT TAKES AND WHO IT’S FOR

We spent around one hour walking through the park at Versailles, and an extra 30 minutes or so walking up to the front of the palace to catch a quick glimpse through the gates.

The park is absolutely huge though (800 hectares), so you can spend much more time there if you’d like. Originally, Versailles started out as a hunting lodge for the French King Louis XIII. The palace was added later by Louis XIV, during whose reign the palace also became the official place of government.

The park is generally flat and there are paved roads available, so it seemed very suitable for prams or wheelchairs as well.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Honestly, I was not sure if it would be worth it to go to the park of Versailles with my dog. After the visit, I would say this makes for a nice walk with your dog in Paris, but it’s not a “must see” to me. If you are stretched for time or unsure whether the drive and hassle of parking is worth it, don’t feel too bad if you end up skipping this one.