Just steps away from Versailles Palace is Versailles Tourist Office, where you’ll meet for your horse and carriage ride. After a quick briefing, step into your private carriage and relax as your expert driver takes you through the city. Choose a 30-minute tour of the St-Louis district or Notre-Dame district, or opt for the combined 1-hour tour to explore both neighborhoods.
St-Louis Tour (30 minutes):
Once the game reserve of King Louis XIII, the area of St-Louis was urbanized in the late 1600s and is now known as one of Versailles’ most interesting historical districts. First, admire Versailles Cathedral (Cath□drale St-Louis de Versailles), a national monument of France and the seat of the Bishop of Versailles. Then, see the Potager du Roi, a vegetable and fruit garden that was once used by the court of Louis XIV and is now listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France.
Continue to the Court of Scents (Cour des Senteurs), an emblematic place in the history of French perfumes ever since the 18th century, when perfume was an expensive commodity and thus a sign of wealth and extravagance.
Enjoy an impressive front view of Versailles Palace at Place d'Armes, with its Petite Ecurie monument, before returning to the tourist office.
Notre-Dame Tour (30 minutes):
Versailles’ oldest district, Notre-Dame was built around the Church of Notre-Dame (Eglise Notre-Dame de Versailles) and beautified by King Louis XIV in the 1600s.
See the Grande Ecurie monument in Place d’Armes, facing Versailles Palace, and trot around historical Place Hoche. Admire the Church of Notre-Dame, a parish that once included Versailles Palace and thus registered the baptisms, marriages and burials of the French royal family.
Explore Place du March□, where the city market is held on Sundays, and see where the March□ aux Fleurs is held several days a week. View Versailles’ former administrative center and current city hall, Htel de Ville, before heading back to the tourist office.