THE AUDIOGUIDE IN THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES The answers to your questions

Transcription

1 THE AUDIOGUIDE IN THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES The answers to your questions Do we have to pay for the audioguide? The audioguide is offered for free to all the visitors of the Palace (groups and individuals) aged 8 and over. Languages available Table of free use and reduced rates French French Français English German Spanish Italian Russian Mandarin Japanese Portuguese Korean Polish Adult Child LSF Chinese The audioguide is available in eleven languages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Korean). Is there an audioguide for children? The palace of Versailles proposes a version dedicated to children with its content adapted to them: the child s version, available in French. This version is available for children aged 8 and upwards. Non French-speaking children can use the standard version of the audioguide which is available in other languages. French Kid Where DO WE obtain and return the audioguide? Return audioguides Obtain audioguide The audioguide is distributed inside the Palace, after going through the entry and bag check. After visiting the Apartments and crossing the Royal Courtyard, the audioguide is returned at the counter by the exit. Entrance A Entrance H: for groups and disabled visitors

2 WHY TAKE THE AUDIOGUIDE? For over 300 years, the Palace of Versailles has undergone many changes, leading to its great diversity and also its complexity. To help visitors to understand the site and to preserve the authentic atmosphere of the different places of the Palace, an audioguide is made available, providing informative and lively commentaries. Enriching the visit experience, it helps to recreate the ambience of the Palace as it was from the 17 th to the 19 th century. How does it work? In the Palace History Gallery, the films screened in some rooms have an audio commentary. The commentary is activated automatically. In the other rooms of the Palace, after you press the room number on the keyboard of the audioguide, the explanations begin. The room s name is displayed on the screen. No.000: Instructions No.200: Introduction The listening comfort and quality allow you not to have to wear headphones. Functions: Reading controls / Selection of comments / Adjustment of the volume Display of the name and number of the audio track sur l écran Stop the audio track Key in the number of the audio track with these buttons Listening zone of the audio commentary Increase the volume Lower the volume Play - Pause For more information

3 Which Palace circuits can I visit with the audioguide? Depending on the rooms that are open on the day of the visit and the ongoing restoration work, the audioguide is provided to visitors for the following circuits: - Palace History Gallery (the visit lasts about 30 minutes) - The Grand Apartments of the King (and the Queen) (including the Hall of Mirrors, the Bull s-eye Antechamber, the bedchamber of the King and the Council Cabinet Room the visit lasts about 1h 15), - The Apartments of the Dauphin and the Dauphine (the visit lasts about 50 minutes), - The Apartments of Mesdames, the daughters of Louis XV (the visit lasts about 1h), - Museum of the History of France (the visit lasts about 1h min). The map of the Palace Is there an audioguide for HEARING-IMPAIRED visitors? The audioguide is also adapted for disabled visitors. Visit in French Sign Language The palace of Versailles provides videoguides in French Sign Language with subtitles, on presentation of a document proving entitlement and payment of a guarantee for the visits to the Grand Apartments and the Hall of Mirrors. For the FSL visits, a number is given to each room. The number is accompanied by the FSL visual. Just click on the screen of the guide to launch the commentary concerned. Hearing-impaired visitors Magnetic loops are available for the visitors with devices. Headphones are also available for hearing-impaired visitors. They are provided on request and on presentation of a document proving entitlement. The audioguide screen indicates for each new number the name of the corresponding room.

4 Is there An audioguide for SIGHT-IMPAIRED and BLIND visitors? Sight-impaired visitors The screen and the keyboard are retro-lit. The numbers pressed appear in large characters on the screen. A tactile and contrasting display installed in the first room of the Palace History Gallery enables blind and sight-impaired visitors to understand the construction of the Palace of Versailles. A specific audioguide enables them to listen to the audio description of the tactile display. They must hit the number indicated on the different modules of the display (44, 45 and 46). Track 43 is the instructions track. An audio headset is also proposed. The same audioguide enables them to access the commentaries of all the visit circuits (except for the commentaries on the films of the Palace History Gallery). Is there An audioguide for the Temporary Exhibitions? All visitors with a ticket for a temporary exhibition can obtain an audioguide. The service is included in the price of the ticket. The visitor does not need to change the audioguide between the permanently opened sections and the temporary exhibitions. For temporary exhibitions, three languages are generally available (French, English and Spanish). The other versions are redirected to the commentaries in English. Ask about your specific language. The audio commentaries for the Grand Apartments are proposed in 11 languages.

5 Is there An audioguide for the gardens? The application for the Gardens of Versailles visit can be downloaded for free on an Iphone, Ipod and Android Smartphone. Visitors are free to stroll around at their own pace. Is there An audioguide for the Palaces of Trianon and the Estate of Marie-Antoinette? The palaces of Trianon and Marie-Antoinette s Estate have no audioguide. Brochures and maps for your visit are available at the different entrances.