3 good reasons to escape to Versailles

© Les Lumières / Marie-Antoinette par Sofia Coppola / Thomas Garnier

If Paris is well worth a mass, Versailles is absolutely worth the trip! The chicest countryside escape in the Île-de-France region is just 35 minutes from Paris (via the L train from Saint-Lazare or the RER C), yet we sometimes need a little extra motivation to hop on a train. Spoiler alert: with the new exhibition dedicated to Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette at the Palace of Versailles, a princely hotel where you can be thoroughly pampered and a country-style table for lunch, we’re betting you won’t want to leave…

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its cinema release, Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette gets the ultimate cocotte treatment with an exhibition installed inside the Petit Trianon at Versailles. For the first time, sketches, scripts and moodboards are being displayed in the very place that inspired the film, offering a fascinating overview of how it was made. Created through a collaboration between Sofia Coppola and exhibition curators Hélène Delalex and Laurent Salomé, the show recreates iconic scenes from the movie inside the charming building Louis XVI gave to his wife: the wedding, dinners and lavish parties plunge visitors back into the teenage melancholy, girly aesthetic and rock-meets-Rococo atmosphere imagined by the Queen of cinema.

The secrets behind the filming are finally revealed through a truly immersive journey that makes you feel as though you were there: from enormous wigs and extraordinary buffets to the iconic 18th-century-style Manolos worn in the I Want Candy scene, everything is here! A fascinating creative process that helped turn the movie into a cult classic, with a signature aesthetic that has stood the test of time. We’re particularly dreaming of slipping into the princess gowns designed by legendary costume designer Milena Canonero, a four-time winner of the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Also worth noting: the documentary Making Marie-Antoinette, exploring the making of the film through images captured by Eleanor Coppola, the director’s mother, is expected to be released soon. An excerpt is shown during the exhibition, but until we can discover her exclusive footage, there’s only one thing to do after leaving the Petit Trianon: watch Marie-Antoinette again tonight, after an essential visit to the Palace of Versailles and its extraordinary gardens.

20th Anniversary of “Marie-Antoinette” by Sofia Coppola, Petit Trianon, from September 22, 2026 to January 24, 2027. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm to 5:30pm. €10. Tickets must be booked online.*

© Thomas Garnier

It’s impossible to stay closer to the Palace of Versailles than Hôtel Les Lumières, located just 100 metres away. This discreet five-star hotel, a member of Relais & Châteaux, feels like a charming private palace, perfect for a quick getaway in the royal city. Opened in 2024, the hotel occupies two historic pavilions dating back to the Grand Siècle, beautifully reinvented with a blend of heritage and contemporary design. Its 31 rooms and suites have a distinctly château-like feel, with some offering views over the royal estate. At La Table des Lumières, guests can enjoy inventive French cuisine, with menus presented inside antique books. Mackerel flambéed with pistou, pepper-stuffed ravioli, bread-crusted whiting, pear tart with bergamot gel, vanilla soufflé: the dishes play with retro codes while bringing in surprising, contemporary combinations.

But the real highlight comes first thing in the morning. Rather than ordering room service, get dressed for breakfast in the spectacular Galerie des Lumières, overlooking the Château, and take your time enjoying divine French pastries, eggs served with bacon and sausages, fresh fruit, quiches and pancakes. An unforgettable princess treatment, also available to non-hotel guests by reservation. In other words: château living at its finest!

Hôtel Les Lumières, 5 rue Colbert, 78000 Versailles. Rooms from €250 per night.

There’s no need to book a room at the Waldorf Astoria Versailles – Trianon Palace (although that would make the experience even better!) to enjoy a taste of Versailles-style luxury. A true five-star wellness haven, its stunning Guerlain Spa opens its doors to non-hotel guests during the week, Monday to Thursday, from 9am to 4pm. The experience includes access to the 18-metre heated indoor pool, hammam and Technogym fitness room (day pass, €110 per person; lunch + spa, €165). Also available at weekends, the Spa & Tea Time experience (€309 for two) lets you enjoy the facilities and pool, topped off with an afternoon tea that Marie Antoinette herself would surely have approved of, created by pastry chef Eddie Benghanem.

Why not take things one step further and book a treatment? We’re eyeing the Imperial Face Sculpt massage (€200 for 60 minutes), the Secrets of India sound-sensory massage (€190), the Royal Repair facial (€280), or the Orchidée Impériale Ultime face and body treatment (€360 for two hours). For an even more decadent day, the €250 Supreme Escape combines a 60-minute treatment with lunch at La Véranda. The promise? Versailles, but in a bathrobe, with a hammam and a chic afternoon snack thrown in.

Guerlain Spa at Waldorf Astoria Versailles – Trianon Palace, 1 boulevard de la Reine, 78000 Versailles. Reservations required.

Also discover our favourite destinations for an Indian summer getaway and 5 spa escapes less than 2 hours from Paris.