Please help me to plan a day trip outside of Paris. I've already checked out their web sites however I still can't decide. Also can anyone recommend a small, quaint and quiet town/city near Paris for a day trip? Thank you in advance and appreciate all the great info on Lyon before.

Giverny, Auvers sur Oise and Fontainebleau are others to consider. Chartres is a good choice. I went to the Chateau at Chantilly and it was OK, but that was at the end of a trip to the Loire, so I was a bit chateau'ed out by then.

Mike

If this is your first trip to Paris, I wouldn't consider Chantilly at the top of a list of day trips. Chartres, definitely.

Now, did you mean Auvers-sur-Oise or Vaux-le-Vicomte? Either makes a good day trip, as does Giverny if it's flower-blooming season.

oops, That will be Vaux-le-Vicomte. Is Auvers-sur-oise worth a visit? It seemed very touristic on their web site. Thank you for your input.

Any of these would be fine, I think you just need to pick out what appeals to you best. I much preferred Auvers-sur-Oise to Vaux-le-Vicomte, which I wouldn't recommend because it's too much trouble/expense to get to and it isn't a town. You only see one chateau.

I don't know why you'd think Auvers more touristy than the others, it is probably less as fewer people know about it.

One of our favourite of ten days in Paris this last September was the day trip out of Paris. We rented a car and started early in the morning to Vaux Le Vicomte and then on to Fountainbleu. Having arrived early at Vaux Le Vicomte afforded us the place to ourselves. And the late arrival at Fountainbleau the same. Driving is Paris is fun and the country is even more enjoyable. Only two words of advice. One; book your car ahead of time or you pay through the nose and secondly, do not arrive in Paris after dark to find your rental return. Street signs are hard to find. Train to Fountainbleu is also an option. However, I would not attempt to take train and taxi to Vaux Le Vicomte as I have heard some horror stories on that day trip. Enjoy Europe!

All of your choices really are "can't lose" picks! I give a nod to Chartres, it's an easy train trip, you could join one of Mr. Miller's tours at the Cathedral, and there is quite a bit to the town as far as shops and cafes. We spend a fully day there, and I would consider going again.

Auvers-sur-Oie touristic? I certainly wasn't left with that impression, and we were there in July at the height of tourist season. There were a handful of people - mostly French - hiking up the hill to see Vincent and Theo's graves, and a few people wandering around town looking at the various landmarks Van Gogh painted, like the church. The exhibit at the château is fascinating, and there are no souvenir shops or anything that I can remember that would qualify the place as "touristic." I think it's a great day trip.

Thank you all...Chartres and Auvers-sur-oise will be the winners based on your much appreciated comments!

I'm arriving late, but I think the two destinations you've chosen are wonderful. I've enjoyed Chartres --town, cathedral, Mr. Miller, and the museum of stained glass--a super day. Auvers is on my pilgrimage list so to speak; please come back and tell us about your impressions. J.

I would say that Vaux-le-Vicomte and Auvers-sur-Oise have been our favorite day trips. I have a file to send out on these and others.

Moondance Chartes and Auvers sur Oise are exellent choices but do not be put off by some of the comments on the logistics of getting to Vau-Le-Vicomte.
Taxis are outside the train station the cost round trip is under 40 euros. When we were ready to leave we asked the cashier in the gift shop to call
a taxi. I found going to Vaux-le-Vicomte less of a hassle then waiting for the bus at the station to get to Fountainbleu. I would not let 40 euros keep me from visiting Vaux-le-Vicomte it was my favourite day trip.
Europeway my hats off to you for discribing Paris driving as fun . I like driving the countryside but Paris is scary and I drive everyday in a large city.

Just returned, saw both Chartres nad Chantilly, MUCH preferred Chartres

Chartres is easy to access. It's quaint. the walk along the river down the old city is charming. The are several interesting medieval wood-framed house. And most importantly : the cathedral! Not, IMO, the building in itself, but the wood-carved pannels in th choir, and of course the stainted glasses, which in my opinion, are truly amazing (but i'm strongly biaised in favor of stainted glasses) I would definitely recommand Chartres for a daytrip of from Paris : convenient, interesting, and a totally different atmosphere. once again, have a walk along the little river down the hill.

Chantilly : it's a nice place. But rather a province "bourgeois" feeling than an historical town, IMO. The park is pleasant, so are the walks in the nearby forest. The castle is nice, and there's a museum in it with some interesting, but not top-level items. There's also a horse museum, if you happen to be interested in them. All in all, a pleasant place to go to during the week-end when you're living in Paris. But it wouldn't be my first recommandation for a foreign tourist. There's a wondeful yearly fireworks festival at the end of June there, by the way, but I doubt it matters to you (I neverhteless mentionned it, because I'm biased towards fireworks)

-Vaux-le-Vicomte : easy. Either you're really interested in XVII? century-style castles, then it's amazing. Either you're aren't then there's no much point in going there.

Now, you didn't mention it, but since europeway did, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon. Fontainebleau. The town isn't really interesting in itself. But, in my opinion the castle is extremely interesting (according to me more so than versailles, but then i'm biased against Louis XIV era architectural style). It's particularily interesting in the sense that it was build during the middle-ages and used as a royal residence until the XIX? century. There's essentially nothing left from the middle-age (apart from a tower you'l barely see), but from the renaissance on, there's a lot to see. Each period has left its footmark. You'll see a lot of different things from renaissance-style decorated halls to Napoleon-style furnished rooms. It's this diversity which makes me think that it's extremely interesting to visit. I'm not sure why it's so rarely mentionned here.
There's also a large park around the castle and a forest nearby.

Now, just in order to confuse you a little more, i'm going to mention Provins. It's a medieval town with restored walls, a castle, various medieval buildings, and in case you like this kind of thing, there's a huge maze of subterranean galleries under the town. A little part of these can be visited. During the summer, there are medieval attractions (bird shows, tournaments) which can be pleasant for kids. The old part of the town (where the medieval monuments are concentrated) is certainly quaint, IMO. It's a little longer away from Paris, though.