day trips from Paris
May 20th, 2006, 03:36 PM
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day trips from Paris
Will have five days in Paris next month; this is fourth trip to Paris, so hubby and I don't need to see the usual sights and would like to take some day trips out of the city. He will be on business two days, so on those days I will shop/go back to Musee D'Orsay and maybe take day trip to Giverny.
First thing we want to do is go out to Roland-Garros. We're a family of tennis players, and have been to Wimbledon, so would love to tour here. We will be arriving in Paris the final day of the French Open, so it's probably not a good idea to go out there that day. Has anyone toured there? What is the easiest Metro way to get there?
My next question is, I've seen the bus tours that combine Versailles and Chartres; is this doable on our own? Also, is it doable to go to Reims on our own -- is it easy to get to Champagne caves from town?
Thanks for any advice,
Pam
First thing we want to do is go out to Roland-Garros. We're a family of tennis players, and have been to Wimbledon, so would love to tour here. We will be arriving in Paris the final day of the French Open, so it's probably not a good idea to go out there that day. Has anyone toured there? What is the easiest Metro way to get there?
My next question is, I've seen the bus tours that combine Versailles and Chartres; is this doable on our own? Also, is it doable to go to Reims on our own -- is it easy to get to Champagne caves from town?
Thanks for any advice,
Pam
May 20th, 2006, 04:39 PM
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Stade Roland-Garros is about 600 meters west of the Porte d'Auteuil Métro station on Ligne 10.
Versailles and Chartres makes for a long day, but is possible by train. The closest rail station to the château is Versailles Rive Gauche on the RER C line, but Chartres is on the SNCF line from Gare Montparnasse in Paris that stops at Versailles Chantiers station.
So the optimum routing might be:
early SNCF train to Chartres from Gare Montparnasse,
visit cathedral and town,
SNCF to Versailles Chantiers (picnic lunch on board),
visit château and gardens,
RER C Versailles Rive Gauche to St-Michel.
Versailles and Chartres makes for a long day, but is possible by train. The closest rail station to the château is Versailles Rive Gauche on the RER C line, but Chartres is on the SNCF line from Gare Montparnasse in Paris that stops at Versailles Chantiers station.
So the optimum routing might be:
early SNCF train to Chartres from Gare Montparnasse,
visit cathedral and town,
SNCF to Versailles Chantiers (picnic lunch on board),
visit château and gardens,
RER C Versailles Rive Gauche to St-Michel.
May 20th, 2006, 04:50 PM
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To get to Stade Roland Garros, take Metro line 10 (direction Boulogne de St-Cloud) to Porte d'Auteuil.
You can do a combined Versailles-Chartres tour on your own. If you visit www.bahn.de, the German national rail site that has timetables for most of Europe, you'll see that you can get from Versailles Rive Gauche to Chartres by RER and SNCF trains in around 1hr20min.
You can do a combined Versailles-Chartres tour on your own. If you visit www.bahn.de, the German national rail site that has timetables for most of Europe, you'll see that you can get from Versailles Rive Gauche to Chartres by RER and SNCF trains in around 1hr20min.
May 20th, 2006, 11:05 PM
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I'd personally not suggest combining Versailles and Chartres. I spent a full day at Versailles, moving pretty quickly, and didn't get to see everything. Between the main palace, the trinons, the fountains, the gardens, etc., there is really a lot to see.
May 21st, 2006, 12:43 AM
#5
Dear Heelfan, I agree with Joetro; versailles will be enough for one day, and the same applies to Chartres, which has a very interesting old town as well as the quite beautiful Cathedral. Both should be easy to reach on the train from Paris - Versailles is on the RER and takes 30 minutes or so from Central Paris; I've not been to Chartres on the train but that should be quite easy too.It would be a shame to spend your time travelling between these places rather than seeing them.
May 21st, 2006, 05:57 AM
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Chartres is less than an hour from Versailles. If you go out to one or the other before they open, you haven't wasted any time traveling. If you take your lunch on the train to get from one to the other, you haven't wasted any time traveling. If you return to Paris after the sights are closed, you haven't wasted any time traveling.
