Day-Trips outside Paris
 

Can anyone suggest their favorite daytrips out of Paris. We'll be visiting there in late Sept-Oct. We are thinking of Mont-St-Michel, but that might be too long a day trip. What are peoples top ideas?<BR>Thank you. <BR>Gerry

At that time of year:<BR>Versailles<BR>Chartres<BR>Fontainebleau

You might throw Vaux le Vicomte into the mix. There is a "canned" tour by Paris Vision that goes to both Vaux le Vicomte and Fontainebleau on the same day. A bit mutch in one day for some, but certainly a day of interest.<BR>If this is your first trip to Paris, Versailles is certainly a major attraction.<BR>

I really recommend a day trip to Rouen. I did that last year in May. If you're interested I can send you my trip report for that day if you e-mail me directly. There are 3 wonderful cathedrals, museums, and just walking around the city and by the river. From everything I've read, a trip to Mont St Michel really requires an overnight. I also visited Versailles and Chartres which were very nice but more confined to the castle/cathedral. For a town/city I highly recommend Rouen.

What about Lyon or somewhere outside of <BR>France such as Brussels or Brugges.

I suggest a trip to Caen to see the war museum and from there the invasion beaches. If you are American, the American Cemetery that can be part of the beach tour is very moving. Try to get to Caen as early in the day as possible. There is lots to see just at the museum.<BR><BR>We also enjoyed visiting Monet house and gardens at Giverny on this last trip.

Another vote for Chartres. We thoroughly enjoyed the cathedral and Malcolm Miller's tour. We also had lunch at a lovely place across the street. It is even enjoyable when the weather is bad (as it was when we were there).

Chartres.

I just returned a few days ago. I recommend Monet's home in Giverny and a day trip to Brugges (Belgium). I took both trips with Cityrama.

Favorites:<BR>Chantilly<BR>Fontainebleau<BR>Givern y (I don't know what the gardens will be like during your time, though)<BR>Rouen<BR>Auxerre<BR>Moret-sur-Loing<BR>Lyon<BR>St-Germain-en-Laye (just outside town on the RER)<BR>St-Denis (this is also very close on the RER but I did spend most of a day there, although it's not a long trip which can be nice)<BR>Auvers-sur-Oise<BR>Honfleur (had a car, though, it's not easy to get to otherwise)<BR>Montfort l'Amaury (Maurice Ravel's home, wouldn't appeal to most folks)<BR><BR>Second tier:<BR>Chartres<BR>Versailles<BR><BR>I didn't do Blois as a day trip, but you could, and I would then put that on my top list.

Hello Gerry,<BR>Am assuming you will not have a car while in the "City of Lights" and this your first trip to Paris? If so, sign up with CityRama Tours, take the city tour first to accustomize yourself w/the city. We did this first, very helpful.<BR>I would recommend a tour to Fountainbleau, Napoleon's famous hunting lodge; Vaux (msp?) de Vicomte, a smaller replica of Versailles, then to Honfluer/Rouen. Maybe see the beaches of Normandy? We did all of the above. These tours also include a lunch at a city along the way.<BR>The busses are air conditioned, have toilet facilities on board. We found the tour guides very friendly and helpful. There are headphones to us for every different nationality.<BR>There are various tours you could sign up for to take in for one day's time. Check out this website for more info., if you are interested.<BR>http://www.cityrama.com/index.htm<BR>Regards, Francie (Bon Nuit)