Yvelines was created from the western part of the former department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application (a decree specifying how a law should be enforced) from 26 February 1965. It inherited Seine-et-Oise's official number of 78 since it took up the largest portion of its territory. In addition to this, it inherited Seine-et-Oise's prefecture, Versailles.

It gained the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble from the adjacent department of Essonne in 1969.

The departmental capital, Versailles, which grew up around Louis XIV's château, was also the French capital for more than a century under the Ancien Régime and again between 1871 and 1879 during the early years of the Third Republic. Since then the château has continued to welcome the French Parliament when it is called upon to sit in a congressional sitting (with both houses sitting together) in order to enact constitutional changes or to listen to a formal declaration by the President.

Palaces and châteaux include:

• Palace of Versailles
• Château de Breteuil
• Château du Haut-Buc
• Château de Dampierre
• Château de Maisons
• Château de Rambouillet
• Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
• Château of Thoiry
• Château de Vaux-sur-Seine
• Château de Mauvières
• Château du Pont
• Château de Villette
• Château de Millemont

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