We are planning a trip to Paris at the end of April and have a day unplanned. We are considering London or the South of France. Are either of these doable in a day? Any other ideas?

Yes you can do London - if you REALLY want to - buy your tickets ahead of time or it will be very pricey. You won't have alot of time there obviously, I would suggest you stay closer to Paris and save London for a trip of its own.

Giverney would be nice in April or maybe a trip to the Loire Valley. You can take a bus tour that goes to two or three of the chateaus. Most tour books have a section on day trips from Paris to give you some other ideas.

How much time spent in traveling do you consider to be acceptable for a 'day trip'?

I like Chartres, just over an hour by train - world's 'greatest Gothic cathedral' is within eyeshot of the train station and there is a sweet regional, real French town swirling around it

Chartres cathedral of course known for its stunning stained glass.

Thanks for the replies. I just stumbled on these forums and won't travel anywhere without checking with you first. This is great. I would think that 3 hours travel each way would be max. I am hesitant to rent a car. Looking for something via train or plane. I am told short flights are popular in Europe. I'm not sure if that's the way to go or just stay close to Paris. Thank you.

with a plane it could be an hour to the airport, waiting for the plane, de-planeing wait - hour in from the airport, etc.

We have three day trips planned for our Paris trip in April. We are going to Normandy on a D-Day Tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours (www.fattirebiketours.com). They have several tours available. We did the Monet's Garden Bike Tour to Giverny with them last time.

We are also planning on going to Versailles and Amboise to see the chateaux. Acco-Dispo offers great day tours in Tours and Amboise (www.accodispo-tours.com).

Hope this helps with ideas.