Everything you need to know: The Grand Masked Ball, Versailles

Have you ever wanted to party like they do in the film Marie Antoinette?!

When I was younger I was obsessed with Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette film that came out in 2006. Kirsten Dunst was SUBLIME.

I loved everything about the opulence, elegance and diving into that world of Versailles in the 1700s. I especially loved the fashion and the entire rococo aesthetic.

So naturally, when I found out in my adulthood that there is a yearly ball The Grand Masked Ball in Versailles at Chateau de Versailles…. well, it’s been on my bucket list ever since!

And this year? I FINALLY got tickets!

Welcome to Le Grand Bal Masqué! Aka, the Grand Masked Ball at Versailles!

What is The Grand Masked Ball at Versailles?

Let’s start with the basics.

Le Grand Bal Masqué or The Grand Masked Ball is a masquerade ball held at the Chateau de Versailles every summer – usually around the summer solstice towards the end of June.

And the party is a WILD one. It doesn’t start until 11:30pm and goes until 5:30am!!

I know, a tough one for someone like me who enjoys a night of sleep. But we persevere for the bucket list event!

The event is held at Orangerie at Château de Versailles. The Orangerie is located in the gardens of Versailles under the palace.

And if you make it to the end of the night (we did!), there’s even an after party outside from 5:30am with coffee, croissants and a DJ.

This is important to note as you will NOT be going into the palace properly for the event. If you are interested in attending the indoor event in the Hall of Mirrors, it is actually called  Fêtes Galantes. This is a much more traditional, formal, and elegant affair (and yes, I want to get tickets for next year).

But let’s step back a bit and I’ll tell you all about the experience of Le Grand Bal Masqué night. Including what to wear, how to get tickets, which tickets to buy and more importantly, when to keep an eye out for the ticket sales.

What ticket should I get to the Grand Masked Ball at Versailles?

There is a tiered ticketing system for The Grand Masked Ball. This will range from your simplest ticket, which pretty much just assures entry, through to the Fantastique tickets (the fanciest, and include the most).

Tiers of tickets for the event ⬇️

Entrée Simple

€140.00 – Includes entrance to the ball and that’s it!

VIP Ticket

€250.00 – Includes your entrance as well as access to the VIP area including a buffet but ONLY two glasses of champagne, plus dedicated bathrooms and a seating area.

Fantastique (this is what we got!)

€550.00 – This includes EVERYTHING. Access to tables in the Fantastique area , unlimited champagne and buffet, special car park, and also a dedicated cloakroom, seating area and bathrooms.

Fantastique Ticket at Le Grand Bal Masqué Review:

After reading several reviews on blogs where they said that the wait times for drinks could take forever… the thought of waiting in lines for anything after 11pm did not appeal.

So we opted for the fanciest tickets – Fantastique!

When we got to the event portion of the night, we picked up our Fantastique Bracelets and headed inside. The Fantastique and VIP areas were a bit busy right at the start of the night, but after about a half hour, it was no issue.

Unlimited champagne was a big hit! There were super small glasses of champagne so you kind of kept wanting more and more? If we had VIP tickets – you only get 2 glasses and then have to queue up and pay for more.

But with our Fantastique ticket we had unlimited everything! We could pop to our little area and grab a drink whenever we liked. We barely waited.

Also, it was great because this included unlimited water and soft drinks. And you better believe we had SO much water!

If you are paying for those things out of pocket on the night of? It very quickly adds up.

Drinks on the night were about 15 euro for a small glass of champagne. I think we maybe had maybe close to 10 glasses each through the night (remember, the glasses were smaller than you’d think).

That’s 20 drinks x 15 Euros = 300 euros right there on champagne!

And that’s not even including costing up soft drinks and water.

So therefore, I truly think the Fantastique tickets are worth it if you are wanting to save money on drinks and queues!

Cons to the Fantasique ticket

But I will say – the unlimited food was a huge let down. The food itself was not very good at all and there wasn’t much of it. I was expecting opulent tables of excess but it was pretty sparse. By the end of the night we were sooooo hungry.

And I do think the seating area was a bit boring looking, it was kind of small black stools and tables. Not horrible, but not particularly opulent like I was expecting.

However, those are really my only flaws!

I think we saved big money without needing to buy any drinks on the night or be stuck waiting in queues – which WERE really long!

When to buy tickets to The Grand Masked Ball in Versailles?

The event will take place in June… but tickets will go on sale around November the year before!

I bought my tickets on November 20th, 2024.

Stay tuned to their website and Facebook pages for more details.

Or check back here to my blog post where I’ll have all of the brand new information updated for you. The tickets sell out in hours, so it’s the kind of thing you want to set an alarm for – I did!

You got a ticket! Now… what do you wear to The Grand Masked Ball?

So there’s actually a dress code that you MUST adhere to in order to attend.

You have to come dressed in a quality baroque costume. And in order to enter the Orangerie (where the party is held), your face must be masked on arrival. We’re talking a cute eye masquerade mask by the way – not a surgical one!

We actually took our masks off after a little bit. It says on the website you have to keep them on all night, but it’s really only just for going in. So I probably didn’t need to spend quite so much on mine!

Where can I get my outfit for The Grand Masked Ball?

So a lot of people rent costumes to keep costs down! It is expensive attending this ball, which is why it really feels very bucket list.

Costume Rental Options in Paris ⬇️

There is a list of costume rental places located in Paris on their website here. This is helpful if you don’t want a bulky costume taking up room in your suitcase.

Custom Made Costumes ⬇️

But if you are interested in purchasing your costume… I’d absolutely recommend somewhere like Dress Art Mystery! During my research I found them and immediately reached out to place a custom order.

What I loved about hiring them for this, is that you can have good conversations to make your costume exactly how you like, choosing colours, etc. I went as close to what they had on their website but even my pink was much brighter and more fun!

But it’s not a cheap option. My dress cost me about £910 ($1,250). And then I also purchased the pannier too ($150) which is what bulks the dress out at the sides.

For me? This was an investment as I tend to travel the world in big dresses and I knew I would wear this dress again.

Ready Made Costumes ⬇️

Another great choice which is ready made to ship straight to you rather than a custom design is checking out the brand Enjoué. She has really beautiful rococo sets. I actually bought the Antoinette skirt and corset in blue as well. The price of a full set is around $545, so it’s a great option if you want to buy something authenic without the custom made price tag.

Costume Rental Options in the United Kingdom ⬇️

And if you are looking for rentals in the UK before you go, I’d recommend Masquerade Costume Hire.

This is where we got Joe’s costume for the event and they couldn’t have been better to work with! The total cost for a three week rental was £100. I think that was slightly on the cheaper side due to our costume choice – they had some really lush styles that were a little more expensive, but I thought the blue would look good on Joe. They also have women’s costumes available too!

Oh! And for your masquerade mask? Check out Etsy for a ton of options. I’d also recommend getting a cute fan too. It was SO hot the day of the event and having that helped soooo much.

The Day of The Grand Masked Ball at Versailles

The day has finally arrived!!! I know I talked about the ticket experience, but here’s what it’s like to attend and stay overnight at the Palace of Versailles!

With your ticket to the ball, you are guaranteed entry to the Palace Gardens for the fireworks show on the Saturday night.

You can enter the grounds from 8:30pm. I would probably recommend getting there around 9pm or 9:30pm. We got there a little too early and it was soooo warm out.

If the weather is cooler, this won’t be as much of an issue – go whenever you like!

Tons of people come early and everyone is dressed splendidly in costume, it’s actually so incredible to experience and witness!

We wandered around the gardens snapping photos and soaking it all in. Like I said, I think we got there a little bit too early as you do end up kind of kicking your heels waiting for things to start.

If you’re smart and read this blog post though, you’ll know a few recommendations.

Go a bit later like 9/930pm to avoid the heat.

Take a bag of snacks and drinks! I’d recommend that after taking photos you set up your own little picnic for the fireworks show. The fireworks don’t start until 10:50pm. And the Grand Masked Ball doesn’t start until 11:30pm, so truly, you’ll want drinks and snacks!

There are drinks and (I think) food available at stalls throughout the gardens, but again, the queues were VERY long. We met some friends who bought champagne flutes and they were the very tiny ones that we would get later inside.

So we actually didn’t eat or drink anything for HOURS until getting into the event.

Anyways! The fireworks display is very cool and then you head onto the main event!

A night at Le Grand Bal Masqué… in the Orangerie!

After the fireworks show, you will head down towards the Orangerie. This is where you will pick up your wristband if you have VIP or Fantastique tickets.

We waited in a short queue for our Fantastique wristbands.

Then it was time to go in!!!

Now, I wish I’d soaked up the experience of walking in more… but I was desperate for water at this point. It was so hot out and we were absolutely dehydrated.

You’ll walk down staircases to the main floors passing dancers in costume. Not masquerade, more like monster, the theme of the night was Animal Is The Future. Which I’m going to be honest, I didn’t really get, but you don’t really need to get it to go with the vibe.

Passing the performers, then all the way down at the end of the grand hall you’ll find the VIP and Fantastique areas.

We beelined there and got the biggest waters possible and then sat for awhile downing all of our liquids.

Clearly, we are not party people at heart. Because at 11:45pm at night, we really had to rally ourselves to gear up to make it until sunrise.

There is a big dance floor and throughout the night are performances (maybe every hour?) that take place on stage. These are a fun experience though we ended up missing quite a few of them because we would be wandering the gardens.

Because yes, you can wander the Orangerie gardens while there!!!! This was SUCH A cool experience, we had champagne and laid down on the grass outside looking up at the stars and the palace.

It feels magical experience it all!

You made it til dawn!! After party in the Ballroom Grove, Versailles

Holy hell I don’t know how we made it until dawn… but we did!

If you make it until the end of the night (5:30!!!), you’ll be shepherded to the Ballroom Grove. The grove was designed as an amphitheatre of greenery and it certainly is!

Expect a gorgeous sunrise, DJ, coffee and croissants (if you move fast anyways, we missed out on croissants).

We only stayed here for about 20 minutes before we had to call it a night… a morning?

By the time we left, it was 6:15am!

Now I would HIGHLY recommend staying in Versailles for The Grand Masked Ball. Walking 10 minutes to your hotel is a much nicer feeling than trying to fight to get an Uber back into the centre of Paris.

Hotels: Where to stay in Versailles?

There are so many great hotel options within a walking distance of the Palace. Make sure to book well in advance to get the room you want!

We stayed at two different hotels during our time in Versailles, one expensive and one more budget.

Hôtel Les Lumières – Relais & Châteaux

This is your fancy hotel option in Versailles. After spending a week in a cramped room in Paris, I made the executive choice to book one night in a very bougie, spacious hotel room.

And we absolutely LOVED it here. Our room was stunning. The food was amazing. And the staff were so incredibly nice.

We actually went to get coffee from their restaurant here two days after checking out (the coffee was just soooo good here, we had to go back).

We said how we’d stayed in the hotel on the Friday night (this was Monday morning) and had such a great experience and loved the coffee, so we came back again. And they wouldn’t let us pay! They just said it was on them and they were so glad we loved our stay!

So yes, we will 100% be back for a visit here!

Hôtel Le Versailles

Ok, this was our more budget option hotel! My thinking was that we wouldn’t really be spending the night anywhere Saturday as we’d be overnight at the ball. And I didn’t want to spend much on a hotel room that we wouldn’t be in.

So we booked the more affordable Hôtel Le Versailles for Saturday (the night of the ball) and Sunday. And honestly? This was actually a really nice hotel too! Not quite as opulent or modern as Hôtel Les Lumières – but it was still really good and the staff were friendly!

I loved how in the morning when we got back to the hotel at 6:30am, at reception she was like, OK so you are not going to want housekeeping this morning in your room – what’s your room number? And I thought that was really sweet, so we were able to sleep a bit without being disturbed.

Top Tips ahead of Le Grand Bal Masqué

Tickets: Be on the lookout for tickets in early November – set alarms and mark your calendar once you know the date.

Costume: Organise your costume sooner rather than later. Especially if you are having one made! Or want to reserve the best costumes from rental hires.

Hotel: Book your hotel ASAP. It is much easier to walk 10 minutes back to your hotel rather than fight for an Uber back into the centre of Paris.

Timing: Doors open at 11:30 p.m. The event runs until dawn. Show up early to mix in the gardens before the main event and remember to pack a snack and some drinks like I mentioned above for while you enjoy the gardens!

How to make it until dawn?: Boring advice, but try not to drink too much! I think because we paced ourselves / stopped, we felt that it wasn’t hard to stay up until the end of the night.

LASTLY! Don’t get this confused with Fêtes Galantes, which is a more traditional, formal, and elegant affair in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles during the month of May. The Grand Masked Ball is more of a party, or as others have called it, a rave!

Final Thoughts on Le Grand Bal Masqué

It really is more than a party. This is a bucket list experience for those who love grand elaborate costumes, dressing up and leaving our realm of modern reality for an evening.

It’s a theatrical immersion of a baroque-meets-rave fairytale complete with fireworks and majesty.

You leave with amazing photos, some sore dancing feet and with a swell of a memory: I was there.

I had so much fun immersing myself into this experience! And I’m still shocked that we made it until the end of the night – and easily! It’s why I’m 10000% going to be trying to get tickets again for next year!

So… will I see you there?!

Kelly xoxo