efg121

Hi! I am a 20 year old student going to Paris for a week with my school for our spring break in March. Most of our trip is already planned out, but we do have one day to be "on our own" and go exploring for ourselves. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a fun day trip while in Paris? I have been there before and have seen the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, Notre Dame and on this trip will be going to Pont Neuf, a walking tour of Ile de la Cite, the Musee d'Orsay, Jardin des Plantes, the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, and Parc de la Villette.
I am really excited for this trip and would love to spend my free day doing something fun and exciting while in Paris or taking a train to a surrounding area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

bozama

Hi efg121, Have you done the obvious, Versailles, //

This is dead easy to do on your own, and lots to see there. Grounds are huge and the town is small and easy to find you way to Versailles by walking.

Even if you have already done Versailles( which does not preclude you doing it again, I have gone 4 times, I love it) it is worth doing again.

Otherwise a day wandering around Paris on your own may seem like heaven after being with a group all the time, stop here and there, browes shops and book stores, stop for overpriced cafe cremes, have a glass of wine while admiring the view ,, so many things to do..

You could also consider Chantilly, easy also to get to, ( train from Gare Du Nord, 30 minutes then walk ( 20 mins) or wait for bus to take you to town centre which is 5 minutes from Chateau. This is especially appealing if you are a " horse " person as they have an incredible horse musuem and Royal Stables , just google Chantilly Chateau.

StCirq

Definitely Versailles if that interests you and you haven't been before.

Or you could go to the Ile des Impressionistes and have lunch at La Maison Fournaise, where Renoir painted "Luncheon of the Boating Party."

Or Auvers-sur-Oise and pay your respects to Vincent and Theo and check out the amazing holographic exhibit in the chateau there.

Or Chantilly and Senlis.

Or Fontainebleau.

efg121

I just checked the itinerary now and it turns out we are going to Versailles but from what both of you have said it seems like I wouldn't mind visiting it twice! And I'll definitely look into the other places you listed also.. thank you so much!

Apres_Londee

A few other ideas:

Basilique St Dennis
Pere Lachaise cemetary
exploring Belleville-Ménilmontant
Pompidou Centre
la defense
daytrip to Chartres

josephina

If you follow up on StCirq's suggestion of the Ile des Impressionistes and have lunch at La Maison Fournaise, here's a really nifty little website: http://www.restaurant-fournaise.fr/Page_welcome.htm

Vttraveler

If you are going to La Maison Fournaise Susan Vreeland's novel Luncheon of the Boating Party about Renoir and the painting is very interesting background.

Langcraft

For an out of town day trip, you might consider going to Angers for the day. A fast 90 minute ride on the TGV from Gare Montparnasse, Angers offers plenty of things to do for the day. You could visit the Chateau d'Angers and see both the Chateau and the Apocalypse Tapestries, one of the best surviving works of art from the 14th century. Additionally, there are pedestrian only streets for you to wander through