We are thinking of taking a train from Paris to Dijon for a day trip (We have previously been to Versailles, Chartres, and Giverny). Can anyone offer advice?

Also, are there other day trips by train you would recommend? Or stay-over-the-night ones? We will be in Paris for a month, and it is our fourth long visit there, so we are very willing to move farther afield while keeping our Paris apartment as a home base.

In February we took a day trip to Lyon from Paris! We booked the tickets ahead of time on the SNCF web site, so it was very affordable.

I wrote about it on this site, so you can find the details if you click on my name.

Dijon, though a nice nice town would be low on my list - after:

Reims & Champagne tours in town and great cathedral

Caen & Bayeux & D-Day beaches - best for an overnight

Mont St Michel - best for overnight (TGV train to Rennes then bus to mount

Loire Valley - train to Tours then inexpensive mini-buses take you to best castles - also good overnight in a sweet town like Amboise

Auvers-sur-Oise and Van Gogh & Impressionists - copies of paintings set up where they were transferred to canvas - and a neat old village

Fontainebleu and the great palace.

Nancy - a very overlooked town filled with amazing architecture

Luxembourg City - now only a few hours via TGV Est just opened - one of most gorgeous cities in Europe - deep gorge running down it.

London - 2.5 hours by Eurostar train

Bruges - a great overnight - 3.5 hours from paris.

Dear Ours Sans Griffe, my situation parallels yours; we stay each Spring & Fall in an apt. in Paris and love to take short side trips. This April we took the TGV from Gare de Lyon to Dijon. The trip is a piece of cake, less than 2 hrs. if memory serves and the Dijon station is only a short walk to the historic center. Dijon has always flown under our radar screen and we had underestimated its beauty, history and charm to the extent that we stayed for a couple of extra days. Try to have your visit coincide with the market times and stop by the tourist office to get a map of the Owl Trail walking tour.

Other side trips have been to Beaune, Lyon, Besançon,Provins,Vezelay, Honfleur, Bayeux, Reims, etc. They are all good and I would not be able to say one is better than the other as they all have their own personality and charm.

Dijon is a beautiful and very walkable city. Don't miss the fine museum that was once the home of the dukes of Burgundy; there is also a lovely public garden not far from the train station.

In addition to the others mentioned here, if you head to Normandy, I'd recommend an overnight in Honfleur.

Yesterday ladies in my group went their separate ways on various day trips that they each enjoyed. Two went to Dijon and took a Segway tour that was just a kick. Two went to Reims and enjoyed tasting and learning about champagne. I went to Brugge and was just enchanted by the beautiful small town with its many waterways and canals.

The gals enjoyed the Loire Valley tour and we look forward to Mont St. Michel tomorrow.

There is a new TGV service (TGV Est) that started up yesterday. You can now get to Strasbourg in under 2 1/2 hours for a taste of Alsace.

Strasbourg is one of Europe's most underrated or neglected towns IMO - i'd rank it near the top of my list.

My vote goes to Strasbourg too, with the new TGV it makes it a very reasonable day trip, and it is a lovely city.

For just a day trip, 45 min. by train, I highly recommend Rouen - 3 cathedrals, a few museums, old town atmosphere, walk along the river, etc., etc. I loved my day spent there.

Jusque curious! What causes you to say Dijon, which would be low down on most suggestion lists,? Again Dijon is a great town but IMO less so than many other easier day trips from Paris.

And to spend an overnight yes i'd go to Burgundy but i'd stay in a romantic smaller wine town like Nuits Saints-Georges where your hotel balcony may well overlook miles of vineyards than Dijon, a nice city that, however, like most French regional towns is dead as doornails at night.

I'd savour the sun setting over vineyards more than sitting in your room in Dijon.

Burgundy in its small wine towns would IMO make a perfect 'romantic' get away from Paris.

If you have any interest in renaissance art, the Chateau of Ecouen is fabulous.
Ecouen (pronounced Ay-kwan)is a 22- minute ride on the SCNF from Paris. You follow the signs from the train station through a forest to the Chateau that is now the National Museum of the Renaissance. Its collection had been in storage at the Cluny Museum since the beginning of World War II. You will see the most gorgeous tapestries, paintings, sculpture, stained glass, Maiolica, and much more.It's easily a 2-hour visit and there is a nice restaurant in the Chateau. Trains run frequently throughout the day. It was a marvelous day trip for us in April.