Versailles Population and Area (Yvelines)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Versailles (Yvelines)
Versailles: Population and Area
With 85,750 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Versailles is the 56th most populous town in France in 2026 and the most populous in the Yvelines department, out of 259 communes. It covers 26 km² (5,085th largest area in France, 6th largest in the department), with a population density of 3,275 inhabitants per km², or 30 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 255th in France for density.
Versailles is located in the Yvelines department (78), in the Île-de-France region, where it ranks 13th by population out of 1,266 communes. It is the most populous town in the Yvelines department, which is home to 1,508,510 people over 2,284 km².
See the full ranking of communes in the Yvelines department and the regional ranking: largest city in Île-de-France.
Towns of similar size in the Yvelines department: Sartrouville (pop. 53,154), Saint-Germain-en-Laye (pop. 47,628), Mantes-la-Jolie (pop. 43,683).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 78646. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Versailles, a city created by the royal court
Capital of the Yvelines department and its most populous town, Versailles is one of the few large French cities born of a royal decision. Just a village in the early 17th century, it grew when Louis XIV made the château, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, the seat of power and of the court, from 1682 onward.
A city of government offices and residences
Laid out on a regular plan around the grand avenues that converge on the château, Versailles has kept from its royal past a spacious urban layout, historic neighborhoods such as Notre-Dame and Saint-Louis, and an administrative role: prefecture, court of appeal, bishopric, university. Its population has changed little for several decades, as the city is largely built up and surrounded by state forests. It is one of the most visited large cities in France, with the château welcoming several million visitors every year.