Just a short train ride from Paris, the Palace of Versailles is a great destination for a day trip.

Experts recommend visiting in the late afternoon to avoid crowds and starting in the gardens.

Both guided and self-guided tour options are available for exploring the historic site.

Once a humble hunting lodge, the opulent Palace of Versailles is now a magnificent testament to the lavishness of royalty—and a symbol of the inequality that later incited the French Revolution. King Louis XIV (the "Sun King" of France) transformed this rural stretch of Île-de-France into a grand palace in 1682, when he relocated the French government, and yet its role as a royal residence was short-lived. After only two more kings (Louis XV and Louis XVI), the revolution swept the nation, and Versailles ceased to be a permanent palace for the French monarchy, which was done away with altogether in 1792.

Despite centuries of turmoil, the palace is now a well-preserved UNESCO World Heritage site visited by millions each year.…