Having visited Versailles on two prior occasions during the off-months, I decided to spend the last day of my recent vacation at Versailles, even though it was a Sunday and likely to be crowded.  Because of the timing of my earlier visits, I had not been able to appreciate the gardens and their fountains.  My first visit many years ago had been on a cold overcast December day, so I spent little time in the gardens.

My Passport ticket was 32 euros and required selection of a time slot for entry into the palace.   It was a relatively late decision so entry times to the palace were all booked before the mid-afternoon.  That was fine with me as I can find the crowds thin out some in the late afternoon, with fewer large groups.  

I selected 4 pm but arrived in late morning spending the rest of the day in the gardens and the more distant Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon, both historic architectural gems.

As others have commented, the gardens are vast.  QR codes on signs near the fountains provide the times for the fountain displays.  I tried to see several of these and ended taking a fairly shambling route through the gardens for most of the day.   

I'd toured the palace before so was generally familiar with the layout of the rooms.  I particularly wanted to get a picture of the Hall of Mirrors without too many people, which was possible by taking it slow through the early rooms and deciding not to do justice to the rooms after the Hall, some of which have some very fine paintings, including a fine Vigee Lebrun portrait of Marie Antoinette and her children.  Although the palace was famously sacked and robbed of its furnishings in the French Revolution, they have by and large done a satisfying job of decorating the rooms.  Taking it more slowly through the palace this time also allowed me to pay more attention to the decorative elements throughout.  The Royal Chapel was being set up for a concert, so it wasn't possible to enter, but views were possible through doors on both floors.

Perhaps I'd been preconditioned by two days at the Louvre, but I did not find either the vast gardens or the palace particularly crowded, especially given that it was a beautiful Sunday (70/21 degrees f/c).  If someone is visiting for the first time and can arrange it for one of the months the fountains are running, I'd highly recommend it.  Later in the summer, there are also some nighttime displays.