Tips on How to Rent a Golf Cart at Versailles

Renting a golf cart was absolutely a highlight of our summer 2024 visit to Versailles. The gardens and park are ENORMOUS! Check out our Tips on How to Rent a Golf Cart at Versailles. Renting a golf cart allows you to see far more of Versailles beyond just the palace. It’s an absolute MUST DO if you are going to Versailles and renting a golf cart is NOT advertised. We think this is an insider MUST DO tip to make your trip extra special!

Did you know the UNESCO-listed Versailles estate covers about 800 hectares, or nearly 2,000 acres?

Traveling and touring can be exhausting. Renting a golf cart is a big time saver and will save your legs from becoming exhausted. Beyond the actual palace, Versailles actually contains a giant park, gardens and additional palaces. Truly, it was all worth seeing!

Check out our tips on How to Rent a Golf Cart at Versailles. Here’s everything you need to know that worked for our family!

Where to pick up your golf cart

There are two rental points. We rented from the gardens directly next to the palace.

The South Terrace (Water Parterre), in the gardens right next to the palace. This is the easiest choice if you’re coming straight from your palace tour.
Little Venice, near the Grand Canal and the bike rental point, between the gardens and the park.

Here’s a photo of what the golf cart rental stands look like outside of the palace. This long line was what we saw upon our return. We explored for about 2 hours.

Exiting the Palace

Tip: Once you leave the palace to enter the gardens, you can NOT re-enter the palace. Palace exit is final. Please be aware when you exit the palace for the grounds, you will not return to the inside of the main palace.

We were comfortable leaving the palace as it crowds were building. Plus, we were excited to move onto exploring the incredible gardens! I think we honestly spent more time touring the entire grounds, gardens, and additional buildings than we did actually touring in the main Palace of Versailles!

This is the long line we saw when we RETURNED our golf cart. Luckily, only waited in a short line since we had a 9 am Versailles ticket and in general were ahead of lines all day with our early arrival to the Palace.

Tips on How to Rent a Golf Cart at Versailles

These are the logistics on how to rent a golf cart at Versailles. Being in a foreign country makes everything feel overwhelming so this should explain the easy steps to rent a golf car to help you maximize your special day at Versailles. Our visit truly was extraordinary! We loved it!

Arrive EARLY to Rent a Golf Cart. There are only a limited number of golf carts. Lines build as the day goes on so if you’ve signed up for a early morning ticket, you’ll want to tour the interior of the palace then head out to the Golf Cart Rental area and get in line for a cart. When they run out of carts, you wait for someone to return a cart. Everything is first come, first serve.
Bring your physical driver’s license. The driver must leave the original license as a deposit, so don’t forget it at your hotel.
Pay for the first hour. You can keep the cart longer and simply pay for the extra time when you return it.
Follow the route. Each cart has GPS and a built-in audio guide in 8 languages, including English, that shares stories as you drive. Carts must stay on the permitted paths, and the GPS actually will stop a cart that wanders off route.
Return the cart to the same rental point and pick up your driver’s license.

Is a golf cart worth it at Versailles?

YES!!!!!!! I absolutely recommend renting a golf cart. There is SO much more to see at Versailles beyond the palace. I truly didn’t realize the size of the Versailles gardens and park until planning our adventure and learning about the option to rent a golf cart.

Definitely use our Tips on How to Rent a Golf Cart at Versailles to maximize your experience!

Renting a golf cart allows you to explore all of the gardens plus Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet, the Grand Trianon, and the Petite Trianon – which are all quite a distance from the Main Palace of Versailles if you are walking. Instead of an exhausting walk for miles, you’ll be able to zip around the grounds and appreciate the beauty of the gardens!

Renting a golf cart is not expensive given the huge value add. It’s absolutely worth it since it adds so much ease to your travels and lets you see far more of Versailles.

For four people, it’s roughly €10.50 each for the first hour, a great value for how much more of the estate you can see.

Favorite Stops to See at Versailles

It’s all amazing. Spectacular gardens and magnificent palaces. You can park the golf cart and get out and explore little nooks and beautiful mini gardens everywhere! A few must do’s:

The Grand Canal
The Apollo Fountain
Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet
The Grand Trianon
The Petit Trianon

We hit all the main sights and then took various little turns here and there to explore more!

I was beyond fascinated by Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet. A petite village with a collection of fabulous homes that looked like something out of fairy tale.

Tip: In July and August, The Estate of Trianon opens extra early at 10 am to help with crowds. So we were able to tour these areas prior to 12 noon. Normally, during the rest of the year, The Estate of Trianon opens at 12 noon.The Estate of Trianon is part of the passport ticket for Versailles which enables you to tour everything.

Here’s the mini palace of Marie Antoinette – the Petite Trianon. It’s literally designed to be like a mini Versailles. All of this was so fascinating to my family!

More Tips for Exploring Versailles with the Golf Cart

Plan for at least 2 hours. There’s so much to see! Photo stops add up fast and you’ll want to explore inside the various other homes. You can even rent boats!
Avoid Crowds. Tour the palace starting at 9 AM, then pick up your golf cart ASAP when you are done so you can stay ahead of crowds. Check out our tips on 7 Easy Ways to Avoid Crowds at Versailles
Pack water and snacks. You are allowed to picnic in the gardens. You just can’t eat inside the palace.
Bring sunscreen Paris can be hot and sunny in summer! However, we had a chilly August day so you see us in jackets and pants!
Driver age rules The driver must be 24 or older, so your high school or college-age kids can ride along but can’t drive.

Versailles Golf cart rental at a glance

All details below come from the official Versailles small electric vehicles page.

What to know	Details
Price	€42 per cart for the first hour
Extra time	€10.50 for each additional 15 minutes
Minimum rental	1 hour
Passengers	Up to 4 people, or 5 if including children
Driver age	At least 24 years old
Deposit	The driver’s original driver’s license (left with the rental desk)
Payment	Card or cash
Hours	Daily, 10 AM to 5 PM; last departure 4 PM
Annual closure	January 1 to February 15
Reservations	Not for individuals; it’s first come, first served

After we returned our golf cart, we hung out in gardens near the main palace. We then bought Hot chocolate – it was a chilly August day! We were still able to hang out in another “courtyard” area of the Palace even though we had exited the official palace when we entered the gardens.

The grounds and area are ENORMOUS so once you leave the interior of the palace there is still lots to explore!

Visiting Versailles was the highlight of our weekend in Paris!