jsgreen

We have 30 days in Paris and are looking at day trips.

So far we have locked in:
London for 3 nights.
Giverny/Monet's Garden (I hope to paint a bit)
Chantilly (the girlfriend is stereotypically into horses and castles)
Reims (for Veuve Clicquot)

Is Mont St. Michel worthwhile on a day trip or would it be best to stay overnight?

We are thinking about Bruges mostly because we're both huge Belgian beer aficionados - is there anywhere that might be bettter and closer (maybe Brussels?). Waffles and chocolates are also a strong consideration.

Any suggestions for day bicycle trips? We both ride about 10 miles a day on Seattle hills so we're in pretty decent shape.

Thanks!

tod

jsgreen - This may help: click on 'Other Publications' and you will find "A World Away From Mickey Mouse" - nice day trip. http://www.annabelsimms.com/
When I have left the heart of Paris for the day, I don't want to spend half of it intransit - an hour out of Paris, maybe less is good for me.

JulieVikmanis

Depending upon when you go, Giverny is likely to be very crowded If you're thinking to set up an easel there, I'm guessing you need to purchase some kind of permission, etc. --if it's even possible. For sure check ahead.

If it's summer or even late spring, early fall, you'll also run into big time crowds in Brugge which is a pretty long train ride from Paris (check on Raileurope) I don't, however, recommend Brussels as an alternative. We returned recently (on a day trip from Paris which was quite costly on the Thalys trains) and had to agree with the many negative posts you find here about that city.

You might search this site using "Day trips from Paris" and see if you can't pop up some of the very interesting suggestions which have been made in the past. Auvers sur Oise, is the town associated with Van Gogh for your painting interests and Conflans near it is a cute little town on the Seine with barges and river traffic (search on the names of the towns for further info) There are lots of others.

opaldog

A few years ago I purchased a book, "An Hour From Paris" by Annabel Simms. It is a small book with 20 destinations that are an hour from Paris by either train, bus, or car. On our last trip we went to Chantilly by RER. We also enjoy horseracing and went on a day that Chantilly was racing. We only stayed for 2 races and luck was with us. We quit while we were ahead and walked around the town of Chantilly and the chateau. We didn't go inside, but the main purpose of our trip had been the track.

France galop has a web site that has a calendar of all tracks in France and race dates. In October we plan to take a trip to Maisons Lafitte for a race and to take in the chateau in that town. That will take us on the RER A in the direction of La Defense, which I also found an interesting stop on another trip.

We did a day trip to Brussels in 2003 on a family trip. We left early in the morning from Gare du Nord and 90 minutes later we were in Brussels. We did a whirlwind wallking tour and went to the museum of comics (the name escapes me at the moment). It was in an old art nouveau building and had a very nice restaurant where we had lunch.

barbmc

We are taking a day trip from Paris to Brugge in July. It is about 2.5 hours from Paris but we still want to do it. I just bought my tickets on the Thalys site and they were reasonable...I got the "smoove" ABS tickets...only €120 total for the two of us round trip. You have to buy the tickets early or you miss the reasonable rates. We will see how it goes.

barbmc

Forgot to add...the Fat Tire Bike tours in Paris are great.

Royal

We are spending 8 days in Paris in September and plan on a day trip to Chartres. Had been considering Bruges as I saw the film, In Bruges, and loved the look of the town but fear it is too far for a day trip.

We haven't visited Chartres and as it is around 1hr from Paris with frequent trains daily we thought it would be a good choice.

tod

Chartre is well worth the trip but to get the most out of it, stay a night in a hotel. We chose The Ibis - a stroll up a slight hill away from the cathedral. After that we wondered down the hill through narrow lanes, over old bridges, along a river with ancient washouses and back to the hotel.
If you bring along a small pair of binocs you will see more detail in the fabulous glass windows - and in many of the other churches in paris, like St.Chapelle, Notre Dame etc.

tod

Sorry, Chartres!

bratsandbeer

Mont St. Michel It is definitely worth an overnight on Mont St Michel.

We stayed in a B&B at MSM. La Jacoterie We did have a rental car so it made it quite easy to get around. We also visited the beaches of Normandy.
http://www.bedbreak.com/lajacotiere/default.htm

StCirq

Do a search here for day trips Paris and you'll get dozens and dozens of suggestions.

Cathinjoetown

There's Fontainebleau chateau and the forest which are very easy access from Paris--about 30-35 miles. Barbizon, the village associated with the Barbizon school of painting, is quite near. I thought the chateau was interesting; I've not spent any time in Barbizon.

zoecat

Do pick up the book mentioned by opaldog, "An Hour From Paris" by Annabel Simms. It is absolutely fantastic for day trips. Highly, highly recommended.

nancicita

jsgreen, do you like wine? If so, have you thought about doing a wine/champagne tasting day trip? (Reims)

Royal

Thanks tod will think about an overnight if we can work it in to our itinerary.

Good idea about the binocs - hadn't thought of that.

Christina

I really do recommend Brussels as a day trip from Paris, instead of Bruges, by contrast to the above negative comment. I really liked Brussels, and if your main interest really is beer, it makes the most sense. Brussels is easier to get to, just take the train direct, and they have interesting museums and the metro system makes a day trip very very easy.

I went for a day trip and really enjoyed it. They have one of the best music museums in Europe (probably the world), which was the highlight of my trip, but all you need to do is take the metro to Grand Place and you can spend all day around there. There are several museums, as well as cafes, chocolate shops, etc. YOu can venture farther afield if you want (I did go to the area known for Art Nouveau architecture, also, as that's a special interest of mine). There is both a chocolate museum and brewerss museum at the Grand Place, as well as the city of Brussels museum. The music museum is a bit elsewhere, but I walked between the two.

It isn't particularly expensive for a day trip IMO, but that's relative. It is no more expensive than Bruges and often less (you go thru Brussels to get to Bruges). YOu can get a 2nd class special fare for only about 40-50 euro one way.

Langcraft

Angers makes a great day trip from Paris. Only 90 mins from Paris-Gare Montparnasse via the TGV, Angers has a medieval fortress which contains the Apocalypse Tapestries, one of the premier works of art of the Middle Ages. The Chateau d'Angers is a convenient 10 minute walk from Gare St. Laud.

There is a pedestrian only zone along Place Ste. Croix which allows for unencumbered walking...

Sally30

Here is another recommendation for the Annabel Simms book.

StCirq

And another recommendation for Brussels. Among (many) other things, I think it has the best food in Europe.

Guenmai

Belgium has great food and beer. I've never had a bad meal there over several decades. Happy Travels!