My sister and I are taking a day trip from London to Paris to see the highlights--Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame. Would it be possible to take a train to Versailles to see the grounds? The palace is closed on the day we're going, but the grounds and building look so beautiful that we wouldn't mind not being able to go inside. We read that the train over takes only 20 min., plus a 10 min. walk to the grounds. It sounds doable. Any opinions?

Depends on how fast you walk, but yes it is possible. There are tours of the grounds, you may want to check to see if they are operating that day.

BTW, the RER C line is the train to Versailles. It has two end points, one goes near the Palace. The other doesn't. Can't remember which is which, but you definately need to keep this in mind before hoping on the first train. I'm sure if you search this board, the answer will be in an old post.

Hi jon,

You want to see the Versailles gardens, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame on a day trip from London? I guess you could do it if you only want to spend a an hour at each sight. The train to Versailles may take 20 minutes or more depending where you leave from. You also have to take into account the "waiting for the next train time." They run every 15 minutes and take 15 minutes from the Javel RER C stop. So that's about an hour travel time to and from the Chateau. The grounds are extensive. You need a minimum of an hour to see even a portion of them.

You also need to account for waiting time to buy Eiffel Tower tickets (could be an hour or more, depending when you go). To get to the top of the ET, walk around and see the view and descend again takes at least an hour.

Louvre - if you buy a museum pass that would allow you to bypass the ticket lines. You could see the major highlights in an hour.

Notre Dame - an hour is fine here.

To recap: Versailles (2 hours), Eiffel Tower (2 hours), Louvre (1 hour), Notre Dame (1 hour) is 6 hours plus travel time among the Paris sights and time to grab something to eat and drink.

My opinion is leave Versailles for another trip and enjoy the 3 things you're planning to see in Paris.

adrienne

Jon,

The RER stop for the Chateau is "Rive Gauche." If you miss it and get off at the next stop just grab a cab for the Chateau.

Keep your RER ticket - you'll need it to exit the turnstile in Versailles.

adrienne

I agree with the first post. Even at that, an hour for the Louvre is being optimitic I think. Instead of trying to see everything a little, enjoy a few places while being more relaxed. Paris [or any destination, for that matter], is best enjoyed while relaxed. There are so many things to take in; the view from Pont Neuf of the Seine, the architecture everywhere, the quaint cafes.... Be sure to stop and look around. Paris is a beautiful city.

If you get on the correct train to Versailles, you can't go past the Rive Gauche station, it's the last one on the line. The trick is to get on the correct train, you want RER C5 to Versailles-Rive Gauche. The train should read "V" or "Vick" on the front.

That said, I think this is way too much to attempt for one day, especially considering the 6 hours travel time to and from London. If you go to the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and end up at Notre Dame, the closest RER would probably be the St. Michel station. We took that to Versailles and it took about 40 minutes, not 20, so it definitely depends on where you're leaving from. Perhaps you would want to consider skipping Versailles and after Notre Dame go to Ste. Chappelle to see the gorgeous stained glass windows there. It's very close to Notre Dame, also on the Isle de la Cite. Just a thought.

Yes, I definitely agree with the above posters. While I know and understand how easy it is to get caught up in trying to "see it all" when visiting an exciting city like Paris, you're justing setting yourself up for disappointment if you try and accomplish such an itinerary. Relax; after all, it'll give you a reason to go back!

Thanks everyone for the very helpful input. We have 9-10 hours in the city and want to get the most out of it, not knowing if we'll ever be back (of course, I hope we do!). We plan to do the Eiffel Tower at the end of the day to avoid lines. Maybe we would do Versailles first thing in the morning to get that part of the trip over and then relax in the city for the rest of the day. We're taking the Eurostar in, which I think comes into Gare du Nord. So what would be the best station to pick up the RER C5 train for the quickest trip to Versailles?

I think the question you need to answer is this: What have you seen in such a short period of time? If sighting it all you want, rent a helicopter and see all of Paris!!

Hi
I have very little memory of the specifics of the Versailles Gardens, except for the overall expanse and expense, and the large Apollo fountain.It has I admit been a number of years, and I'm due for a return visit to Versailles.

On the other hand the sumptuousness of the interior (whether that's your taste or not) are really something to see.
The Gardens are quite quite long and large--to walk for a half hour (or even taking the tram), and retrace your steps for a half hour, will show you rather little.

Of course you should do what you want, but how about this?

With one day In Paris, I would, reluctantly, skip the Louvre. See the major highlights in an hour? Only if no one else is in there, and if you literally print. I mean, if you've always dreamed of seeing the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo, then go do a quick peek, but other than that, I wouldn't consider that running peek the best use of my time. In that case, you gain an hour for Versailles.

I'd say, go to Versailles for half the day (this is assuming the weather is decent, otherwise go with plan B), come back go to see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. You've now seen three very important places, and done them some justice as well. By the way, if you pick the right night, the Louvre stays open into the evening; perhaps you could take a later Eurostar back.

I think the hardest thing about planning travel is making choices. Good luck with yours.

that should have been
"literally, sprint"

and "sumptuousness...is"

We wife and I just did a day trip to Paris from London via the Eurostar. The complete report is under Trip Report to London & Paris.

I was just in Paris last week - and we managed to see the sights you are interested in , but we had 4 days! Even if you only see the gardens at Versailles, they cover miles of territory. Regarding the RER stop - I really don't think it matters which stop you take. We took the "farther" one, and the walk was an easy 10 minutes.

My feeling is "less is more", basically.

Have fun.

2 hrs for the Eiffel Tower but 1 hr for the Louvre???? If you love going up in tall buildings to see the skyline and rooftops, that makes sense, but
I wouldn't spend my time on a one day trip waiting to go up in
the Eiffel Tower, so putting that at the end of the day sounds good as you
can decide if it's that important.

some RER directions to Versailles: take RER B (blue line) from Gare du Nord to the St Michel/Notre Dame stop. Transfer to the yellow RER C5 line which goes to Versailles. If I recall, the name of the train is on the overhead electronic sign, not the line number (but I might be remembering wrong) -- there is a list of trains with their "names" and destinations on the wall near the quai, the ones to Versailles begin with a V, as Susan said--VICK is one name to Rive Gauche (VERO is another perhaps, just check). Any station on that line is fine to get on.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34423518

Here's a link to tada's trip report.

For what it's worth, Versailles wasn't a highlight of my trip to Paris the last time I went, and I had nearly 2 weeks there. So my own vote would be to skip it, if you only have a single day.

Things I enjoyed much more that are actually *in* Paris (and mostly very near Notre Dame): seeing the beautiful stained glass at St-Chappelle, the D'Orsay Museum (building and art), wandering around the Isle St. Louis eating Berthillon ice cream, lunch at any of the many wonderful cafes, and so on....

You can get a great view of the city from the roof of Samaritaine and skip the lines at the Tour Eiffel. And the Tower will also be *in* your view!

http://www.atkielski.com/inlink.php?...RoofSmall.html

Frankly, I think it's idiotic to try to include Versailles on a day trip to Paris.
The best way to enjoy Paris, whether it's for a day or month is to become a part of it. To run from one site to another is not the way to see Paris!
Sure, take in the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and some of the other top sites....but also, walk along the Seine, stop at an outdoor cafe, take a ride on the Seine. That's the way to have a real Paris experience.

What about doing one of those city bus tours, so you could *see ALL the sites* in a couple hours? This wouldn't be my choice but given your 10 hour max. might be a practical approach.

Then you could "relax" in a sidewalk cafe or one of the gorgeous city parks. These are my two favorite Parisian things to do anyway.

I never took a day trip to Versailles and I had 1 week in Paris! See the Eiffle Tower but don't go up it, same with the Lourve and Notre Dame, don't go in. This could buy you time for the "smaller" sites as mentioned like St. Chapelle, D'Orsay, etc. None of this would be my preference, but trying to work with your schedule.

Are you sure you can't stay at least one overnight?

Thank you all for your comments. It does seem impractical to race over to Versailles with such a limited amount of time, and wandering the streets of Paris in a relaxed fashion seems like a wonderful thing to do. I appreciate everyone's help in trying to give tips to make it happen. We'll see what we decide to do. Thanks again and happy travels!

Hi Jon,

Just one more bit of advice. The gardens at Versaille are meant to be strolled through at leisure, preferably with a picnic basket.

I wouldn't suggest making it your first stop in the morning, when you would feel pressured to return to the city.