Day Trip from Paris
 

My wife and I are going to Paris (two weeks from today) We have 2 weeks and two days and are booked in the city for the entire time. I have no intention of renting a car. Other than Versailles and Giverney what other one day trips would you recommend as must see. Just in case we need to get out of the museum rut. Needs to be on the train line.

I definitely recommend a trip to Chartres, a neat town with a wonderful cathedral. Train trip about 1 hour from Gare Montparnasse. Take the Malcolm Miller tour of the catherdral. If you like Van Gogh, then Auvers-sur-Oise is a nice trip from Paris(Gare Saint Lazare).

Rouen. It's accessible by train--same one that goes to Giverny, I think Gare St. Lazare, but ask your hotel concierge. It's got plenty to occupy you for a day--3 beautiful cathedrals, a lovely covered market, half-timbered houses and a good glimpse of Normandy, Joan of Arc history. We did it on our last trip to Paris with advice from this site and were very pleased. Had lunch there and were still back in Paris by about 5:30 or so to do dinner in Paris. <BR><BR>Blois in the Loire is accessible by train for a day trip with its castle. So is Orleans and Reims, though when I was picking between Rouen and Reims, I decided on the former because the latter was a bit trickier for getting to champagne houses once you get to town by train. Oh, and Chantilly is another possibility--castle and stables. Big horse site.

Mike, I'm also in the midst of planning Paris day trips. In addition to the destinations mentioned by previous posters, I have heard that Epernay and Fountainbleau make good day trips as well. <BR><BR>I don't plan to purchase train tickets until I'm in Paris. However, for planning purposes I've been using the sncf website to determine train schedules, prices, etc. (I did the same for our last trip to France and found that it really simplified things to have some of this info figured out in advance.) www.sncf.com/indexe.html <BR><BR>Bon Voyage!

I would definitely recommend Fontainebleau. Train from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon. Bus from station to chateau.<BR><BR>I've read that you can also taxi from there to Vaux-le-Vicomte, but the best way to get to Vaux is train from Gare de Lyon to Melun and taxi to the chateau. (Make arrangements for taxi to come back for you)<BR><BR>Paris Vision also runs a full-day trip to both: see www.parisvision.com; also www.cityrama.com for other excursions.

I second all of these. We had a Problem at Chantilly. We couldn't find a ride from the train station to the castle, so decided to walk. The girl at the tourist office said it was just a little ways. It was a long ways. We decided to take a shortcut back through the race track and found it longer. Wont try that again. Beautiful place tho- if you like to walk. Skip

My favorite daytrip was Rouen - 3 cathedrals, walk along the river, half-timbered houses, etc. If you e-mail me directly I'll be glad to send you that part of my diary. I had visited Versailles years ago for a half day tour and was not impressed; however, this time I went for the day and loved it. Very leisurely and so much to see. Also visited Chantilly and Chartres. A must, in my opinion for Chartres is Malcolm Miller's tour.

My vote is for Vaux le Vicomte near Melun. Trains run there from Gare de Lyon. Take a taxi to the chateaux.<BR>Fontainebleau could be done on the same excursion.. The two towns are abut 15 minutes apart by train.<BR><BR>Vaux is a masterpiece of the integration of landscaping by le Notre, engineering by Louis le Vau, and interior art work of the highest order by Charle le Brun. These are the same 3 men who were commanded to build Versailles. Vaux is an artistical triumph of artistic accomplishment, landscaping and style of the period; Versailles always impressed me as an excess of wealth that was almost in bad taste because of the heavy hand of Louis whose intent was to impress with wealth rather than achieve artistic balance.<BR>Others may argue with that, but see them both and draw your own conclusions.<BR>

Angers is on the TGV line, so it can be done in a day. The castle has a fine collection of tapestries of the Apocalypse. I don't think that you can do Vaux-le-Vicomte full justice and go to Fontainebleau in the same day.

Hi Mike, Our favorite day trip was to Chartres with lunch at le Buisson Ardent, 10 rue au Lait (02-37-34-04-66), which we found in Frommer. It was a great day. Have fun.<BR><BR>

Don't overlook Auvers-sur-Oise, an easy RER ride from Paris and a delightful town which, besides all the Van Gogh lore, has a ch&acirc;teau exhibit about the lives of the Impressionists that was among the most interesting I've seen.

Thanks you all for the great suggestions. We leave in 9 days and 16 hours -- but who is counting. After waiting a lifetime for a trip like this we are really looking forward to our 16 days in Paris.<BR><BR>Mike

I second the idea of day trips to Epernay for the heart of the champagne district. Lots of tastings and beautiful country and of course Chartes is a must. Also might consider St. Denis to visit the cathedral. I believe it is about 45 min outside of Paris. I'm in the process of planning another trip to France in May of 2003 where we will begin our journey in the champagne district. Have a wonderful time. Shar

There are a lot of good suggestions on this thread.<BR><BR>Just a word on St. Denis: It is on the way to Charles DeGaulle Airport and is a perfect day out on the day you leave, assuming you have a flight later in the day. The only "hitch" would be finding somewhere to leave your bags while you tour the church. Then, get a taxi from St. Denis.

As I am interested in this topic, I would like to inquire as to the rating of Reims as a worthwile destination as a Day Trip from Paris.

I have a file on notes I've collected on Paris day trips. Drop me an e mail and I'll send it along.

We took a trip to Bayeux and saw the<BR>Tapestry and the Invasion Beaches and<BR>were back for late dinner?

topping