RodrigoFK

Me and my wife are going to be in Paris for 5 days, and meantime we are intending to do a day trip.

Does anyone have a recommendation between Versailles or Mt St Michel ?

Best Regards

janisj

Mont St Michel is not a day trip from Paris -- Well, it <i>can</i> be done but the tours leave Paris at 07:00 AM and take about 15 hours.

And if you are only in the city for 5 days even visiting Versailles (which is basically IN Paris) is a stretch.

nytraveler

With so little time I would not spend a VERY long day trekking to and fro Mt St Michel. (It's a wonderful place but mobbed - elbow to elbow - when the tour buses are in.)

Versailles will also be crowded - but since it;s so close to Paris - only 30 minutes on train - you can easily get there when it opens and have more of a chance to see the palace and gardens.

Kathie

Do entertain the idea that you might want to stay in Paris for your full five days. We were in Paris for 10 days a year ago and couldn't tear ourselves away from Paris for a day trip.

greg

These are very different destinations. Others have framed the question in terms of time commitments. However, what matters is what each means to you. If you visited only one of them, which one would you regret the least? If you cannot articulate the answer, you probably don't know enough about either destination to make a meaningful choice.

Gretchen

EXACTLY what Kathie says. Neither one. Just enjoy Paris.

Sue_xx_yy

I think Greg is correct - if you have a lifelong dream to visit MSM, then do so - but I'd leave my bags at the Paris hotel (maybe even splurge and keep the room) and go to MSM for overnight. It is not a daytrip.

That said, I'd pick Versailles over MSM for the historical background alone. Even at only 30 minutes out of downtown Paris, it is an all-day destination.

PalenQ

Mont St Michel is not a day trip from Paris -- Well, it can be done but the tours leave Paris at 07:00 AM and take about 15 hours.>

Nothing could be more wrong or innacurate:

Day trips to Mont-saint-Michel are easy if long - not nearly the 15 hours janis claims - you can leave Paris around 9:30 on a TGV to Rennes - then take a coordinated bus right to the Mont - getting there around noon-1pm - spend a few hours there and take the bus-TGV combo back and be in Paris by 8 pm - a long day but possible on your own by train without any problem. www.voyages-sncf.com for rail schedules and bookings - discounted tickets booked way in advance will be much cheaper than a walk-up ticket - the bus you pay for at Rennes - no need to pre-book.

for lots of good stuff on French trains check www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Versailles IMO should be considered as a part of Paris itself - just a short RER ride right to the palace gates practically - a half day out of your other 4 days - no reason to have to chose and if you want to visit the most visited site in France outside of Paris it is very possible on your own by train and bus.

PalenQ

It takes exactly 3 h 43 min each way by TGV and bus right to the Mont - spend three hours or so there and you have about 10 hours - yes a long trip still but doable and you see some of the French countryside en route - stay in Paris the whole 5 days and you see nothing of the real France outside of Paris.

Gretchen

you see some of the French countryside en route

Umm, at TGV speed, the French countryside is quite a blur!! LOL
Five days in Paris is also barely a "start" in the City of Light.

kerouac

The two experiences are totally different and probably should not even be compared.

I have actually driven friends and family to Mont Saint Michel for a day trip, and it is really difficult... for the driver! The other people love it, because it is a magnificent excursion.

Versailles on the other hand is super easy since it is a quick RER ride whenever you feel like it. It is less than 30 minutes from Paris.

My own preference goes to Mont Saint Michel since it is totally different from the urban areas like Paris or Versailles. You can book day trips by bus or whatever to go there, but if so, you should plan to be up at the crack of dawn.

janisj

>>not nearly the 15 hours janis claims - << . . .

all of the commercial tours to Mont St Michel operated out of Paris take between 14.5 and 15.5 hours.

But if you want to take a train and spend three more hours sitting on the train than than fighting the mid day crowds at MSM . . . hey, go for it.

PalenQ

But if you want to take a train and spend three more hours sitting on the train than than fighting the mid day crowds at MSM . . . hey, go for it.>

Are you suggesting getting up at 7 am and on a bus and coming back 15 hours later over leaving Paris at about 9am and being back by 7 or 8pm - you should have said 15 hours by bus tour so as to not give the impression that was the only alternative.

The train and waiting bus are a snap and IME much MUCH more comfy than some crowded bus - yes it's 15 hours by bus (if you say I don't know) but train is just 3:34 minutes each way right to the Mount, inlcuding bus from Rennes or Dol-Bretagne where some TGVs end up and bus from there also.

And if you book discounted tickets I'd wager the train-bus is cheaper by a lot than the bus tour too. and if you want to leave Paris say at 10 am you will not arrive on the Mount until after the dread midday crowds have thinned - well the crowds IME of being there several times is that from 10 am on the place is full of tourists - what time does the bus get there - crack of dawn? Have you ever been to Mont-Saint-Michel?

janisj

>>Are you suggesting getting up at 7 am and on a bus and coming back 15 hours later over leaving Paris at about 9am and being back by 7 or 8pm -<<

NO -- I am not suggesting <u>either</u> one is a good idea. IMO spending 15 hours mostly sitting on a coach or 13 hours mostly sitting on trains and shuttle buses to get a short time in the Mont (during the most crowded time of day there) doesn't make sense on a <u>5 day</u> stay in Paris

AlessandraZoe

My advice?

With your five days, add Versailles onto you current Paris list of sites you want to see. There are no firm reservations or train arrangements you have to make. If you don't have time or inclination for it once you are there, then so what?

Life will go on.

And if you DO go, it does not need to require an entire day.

With five days in Paris, a trip to Mont-St-Michel might take a bit more commitment than you would like.

Yes, I have done the train to Rennes!

Mont-St-Michel was a dream destination of mine since I was a child. I have no clue why. Seeing it was more important to me than getting the top of the Eiffel Tower.

But once I finally made my first trip to Paris in 1998, I would NEVER have considered leaving for MSM. Heck, I didn't even want to spend the time getting to the top of the tower. There is WAY too much to do and see in Paris.

So again, while I did happily get to see Mont St Michel later on, I still would never suggest that anyone go there unless they had two weeks in Paris.

Heck, I never recommend Giverny, which I adore, unless one has a full 7 days or more.

PalenQ

13 hours mostly sitting on trains and shuttle buses>

janis READ what I wrote - train+bus combo takes 3 h 34 minutes each way - that is 7 hours total on trains NOT 13 hours - where do you get your ridiculous 13 hours from? And why exaggerate so much just to justify your initial misinformation?

Bedar

With only 5 days in Paris, I'd head to Versailles. I found MSM somewhat disappointing. Better to look at it on a poster in French class than to be there.

prmbrown

I agree with most of the posters above that Paris is so completely romantic and there's so much to see that I would plan to stay there the five days. I also assume this your first visit there. Plus, if you are flying in from the US, there will be jet lag to contend with on the front end. An option is to put Versailles as a last day option if you feel you need a change from Paris.

The Mont St Michel trip invests too much precious time on the train as many have already said. Save that for another trip.

Here is thread by another Fodorite with a good list of things to do in Paris.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-new-ideas.cfm

janisj

>>janis READ what I wrote - train+bus combo takes 3 h 34 minutes each way - that is 7 hours total on trains NOT 13 hours - where do you get your ridiculous 13 hours from?<<

OK - since you are on the paint again -- read what I wrote. I did not say one would be on a train for 13 hours (just like I didn't say one wouldn't be on a coach for 15 hours)

13 hours total -- 7+ hours of it sitting on trains and shuttle buses. When you add the time getting to the train and back from the station -- close to 8 hours. Qualifies as 'most' in my math, as in more than half . . .

But it is the OP's decision -- do THEY think 13 or 15 hours is 'worth' taking away from their time in Paris. Now that we've beat this poor old dead horse -- it is their decision

PalenQ

IMO spending 15 hours mostly sitting on a coach or 13 hours mostly sitting on trains and shuttle buses to get a short time in the Mont>

this is what you wrote janis - now if 7 is most of 13 or 15 then you are right but be careful what you post or folks will get a complety wrong understanding of what that day trip entails - 7 hours actually on trains and buses plus what they want at the Mont.

and part of the experience is to get to experience one of the world's fastest trains - TGVs going up to about 190 mph here and seeing the French countryside - they could even take a few hour look at Rennes - Brittany's nice capital city as the train station is close to the center. Dinner in Rennes peut'etre?

anyway I think it is out duty to give out the ACCURATE info and let the person decide if they want to do it not say something is just a bad idea.

I know you think you have to spend at least a week in Paris or it is not worth it - well there are nice things outside of Paris too!