Starting June 11, 2022 every Saturday evening in summer, the gardens of the Château of Versailles are dressed in thousands of lights, the fountains are dancing, the Sun King’s favorite baroque music is playing and a spectacular fireworks display finishes the evening.  

Since there are only so many Saturdays in summer, now is the time to buy your tickets and plan your visit.  I went last year with my husband and kids and it was magical.  Here is my write-up from last June on this enchanting evening. 

June 2021

For many years I’ve wanted to see the Château of Versailles Night Fountain Shows.  I know the château pretty well as I am a member of Les Amis de Versailles. There is so much to see in the château itself that often after my visit inside I don’t give the gardens the attention they deserve.  

These gardens were so beloved by Louis XIV that he wrote a guide called “How the Gardens of Versailles Shall Be Visited”!  He provided precise instructions about the perfect itinerary through the groves.  The last time I went on my own I did the château and got to see the beautiful Hyacinthe Rigaud exhibit- he was the official portraitist of the nobility. His best-known work, is a 1701 painting of Louis XIV in his coronation costume.  After the château I made a b-line for the Trianon, Petit Trianon and then Marie-Antoinette’s Hamlet.  I did so much walking that I didn’t even stop to take in the gardens, groves and fountains that I was speedily crossing. 

The Château of Versailles has so many ticket offerings that it can sometimes be confusing as to what’s going on the day you want to go and which ticket you should buy.  From May 22th to October 31th 2021, the “Musical Fountains Shows” and the “Musical Gardens” are open.  The musical gardens are every day except Saturday and Sunday but the musical fountain shows (the difference is the fountains are running- spouting and performing) are just the Saturday and Sunday.  Every Saturday night from June 12 to September 18, and on July 14 (Bastille Day, kind of ironic huh?), the gardens of Versailles offers the evening “Night Fountains Shows” with fireworks.  Got all that? Whew!

I noticed there was a deal on Saturday, June 19 for families: 2 adults and 2 kids for 56 euros. I booked that ticket and added it to our rapidly filling up calendar now that we are not confined or curfewed. (this year, 2022, they offer this deal for two dates! Jump on it!)

All last week heading up to our outing at Versailles I was watching the weather forecast. It was a disaster, 100% chance of rain and severe thunder storms.  On Saturday the Paris region was even under “Vigilance Orange” for dangerous storms and they recommended not driving, going out etc.  Seriously? On the one summer Saturday night I reserved!  Well, it did rain and a lot but then miraculously it stopped at about 7pm just in time for the evening program at Versailles!

There is free parking at the Place d’Armes directly in front of the gilded gates.  Super easy. We put on our rain gear and comfortable shoes (you will be walking and standing all night) and entered the gardens.  The fact that it rained earlier in the day actually made the whole experience better than I could have imagined.  The gardens and groves were so lush and green, everywhere you looked was fertile decadence.  When Louis XIV would have his world-famous parties in the garden, he would have large feasts, smoke and thunder machines, open-air balls, plays and fireworks and often all this would last several days.  On evenings of the night fountains the château tries to recreate this with baroque music and smoke machines at certain groves.

There are maps at the entrance giving a good overview of all the different groves and fountains you’ll wait to see. There are two circuits they suggest taking. One is an hour in length (South Side) and the other 1 hour 30 minutes (North Side). We took the longer one and strolled through the groves and past little cherub fountains, statues, intricately sculpted trees and immense pools with jumping and dancing fountains.

When we walked into the Three Fountains Grove it was so beautiful that it actually took my breath away. One of my sons said “Look at your face mom”. The château had set up smoke machines at the entrance of this grove. Walking to each fountain is like a maze, you walking though green leafy corridors, some covered in climbing roses, until… boom you enter into a grove and are hit with the sight of such immense beauty.

It is said that Louis XIV’s favorite grove was the Three Fountains grove and that he even designed it. He was the king so if he said it was his idea, it was his idea. Le Notre completed the grove in 1679. There are no statues in the grove so that your attention would be all concentrated on the water attractions. There were huge conch shells, oyster shells and other rocaille features in the fountains. Rocaille is an artistic or architectural style of decoration characterized by elaborate ornamentation with pebbles and shells, typical of grottos and fountains. It is just incredible.

We completed the circuit and stopped for a moment at the Apollo’s Fountain to turn around and look at the château. It was lit up at this point and the golden color of the lights made it look even more sumptuous.

We headed back towards the château weaving through a few of the groves on the south side that we didn’t see in our circuit. I was told that the best spot to view the fireworks was from the top of the stairs. It’s very true (but you do have to get there early enough to get a spot- it’s a tradeoff) , this way you can take in the whole perspective of the grounds. Standing above the Latona Fountain which was beautifully lit up and looking out towards the Grand Canal was magical.

This was an experience that I would definitely do again.  It is very dependent on the weather and there are no refunds if it rains so Mother Nature does play a role.  No picnics are allowed inside the grounds but I saw plenty of people with snacks and bottles of water.  I hope you get the chance to go!

Here is the link to order tickets if you are able to make it this year:

https://en.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/programmation/the-night-fountains-show_e2569