Paris-Versailles

Paris-Versailles, nicknamed La Grande Classique, is a 16.2 km point-to-point road race linking two of France's most recognizable landmarks: the Eiffel Tower and the Château de Versailles. First run in 1976 and organized since 1991 by the Association Paris-Versailles, the race starts at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on the Quai Jacques Chirac and finishes on the Avenue de Paris facing the palace gates, crossing Issy-les-Moulineaux, Meudon, Chaville, Vélizy-Villacoublay, and Viroflay along the way. Around the 6 km mark the course enters the Meudon forest and climbs the Côte des Gardes, a roughly 2.2 km ascent averaging 7% grade with pitches near 9% — the race's defining test, contributing to about 180 meters of total elevation gain before a rolling run-in to Versailles. It is held on the last Sunday of September, and the 47th edition in 2026 counted more than 23,000 finishers. Entries are capped at 25,000 and registration is handled entirely online through the organizer's website; the 2026 bibs were claimed within days of registration opening, so runners who want a place should be ready on opening day. Alongside an elite field, Paris-Versailles draws a huge cross-section of recreational runners and remains one of the largest and most prestigious mass-participation road races in the Île-de-France region outside the Paris Marathon itself.