Hassle-free day trips from Paris
 

These <i>Forfaits Loisirs</i> (Leisure Packages) are really cool because they include transportation from your nearest M&eacute;tro station, admission, guidebooks (usually), and no loose ends.

http://www.transilien.com/web/site/a...rfaits-loisirs

Thanks, Robspierre.

The Auvers Chateau has a wonderful impressionist show--500 works of art interspersed with interesting tableaux and other gimickry.

thanks, robes. you are always full of useful information.

Does anyone else have particular recommendation for one of these destinations?

I did the Versailles forfait loisir last May and would absolutely recommend it. As you can see on the site, you get audioguides, preferred admission at all points, etc. The best way to go, imho.

Can you buy these online or in advance? We won't be in Paris until April 6, but we're interested in Versailles.

Going to Versailles is so easy, don't buy ahead. Train leaves often and the station can easily be reached on the Metro. Versailles is lovely! We ate at a little restaurant in Versailles that specializes in crepes (Rick Steves Recommendation). Very good and reasonable.
Also took a day trip to Lisieux to Basilica of St. Therese the Little Flower, for those of you who are Roman Catholic. Lisieux is a lovely little French town.
Also took train to Chartres to see the famed cathedral. That's beautiful, too. Went on Sunday during Mass - ate at a little restaurant near the cathedral.

By the way, I'm quite the pushy one on vacations! Told family we could rest at home - we were there to see, see, see!
We were a party of five - myself (55), hubby(57), 18 yr old son, 26 year old son and his 26 year old girlfriend.We were in Paris for 9 nights during March, 2006. Never got above freezing, but no rain, beautiful weather! Bought a week pass on the Metro (best deal in Paris)&gt; Also bought a museum pass for several days! We did so much - woke early and went until late evenings. Even went into the catacombs!If possible, go to the Louvre on Friday because it is opened late that day.Check museums for late days and plan to go then.Even took a day trip to London on Eurostar (bought tickets early in US and saved a TON). paris is great - everyone was quite friendly and accomodating. We speak French and enjoyed using a language we rarely get to use.

Brockbank--No need to buy ahead. The Versailles forfait loisir can be purchased at any RER station that serves Versailles. I bought my tix at St Michel station and then hopped right on the train. Easy peasy.

Can someone tell me what to say in french if I want to purchase three Forfaits Loisirs for Versailles?

Does this ticket include the RER to Versailles?

Will this ticket let you bypass lines, like the Paris Museum Pass?

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Anna--the ticket agents speak English at the train stations. Yes, the forfait loisir to Versailles does include the roundtrip RER tickets, and yes, you get ahead-of-the-line privileges. It's a great deal because it includes admission to ALL parts of the chateau, AND audioguides. If you price all that separately plus the train ticket, it ends up being a lot more than the cost of the forfait loisir package.

Thanks dejavu,

I remember a thread going on where someone was having trouble purchasing the package at a the St. Michel RER station.

We will be staying on the Ile Saint Louis - is St. Michel the closest RER station that we should take to get to Versailles? Is it on the RER C line?

St. Michel or one of the stops connected to it has the RER c line.

I bought mine at St Michel last year myself. There's a &quot;suburban lines&quot; ticket desk in the station. You might be able to get it at the RER desk by the RER platforms, I don't know, but I bought mine at the &quot;suburban lines&quot; desk. There are signs leading you there. It's not next to the platform; it's elsewhere in the station.

deja vu,

Are the signs leading to it in english and french? I've never been to take station - would you mind telling how to get to the &quot;suburban lines&quot; ticket office when you enter the station?

Honestly, Anna, I don't recall exactly how, it's been a year since I've been in there. But I remember it being well-signed in French and English, and I'm pretty sure &quot;suburban lines&quot; was the phrase. It was a separate ticket desk away from the RER platform, that I remember.

Anyone else able to be more specific than my memory?

Jumping in on this one. Can the Forfaits Loisirs be purchased at the Filles de Calvaires metro station in the Marais? Or do I have to take a train to les Invalides station and purchase it there?

Probably not. They're an SNCF deal, and only sold in stations on lines that company operates - the big <i>gares</i> and RER C (also RER B from Gare du Nord to St-Michel, I think).

I don't remember signs in the metro/RER stations being in English, but perhaps I am just forgetting that.

The link Robespierre gave in the first post should describe what they cover and their price. There is an English section of the Transilien website (which is the train transportation network around Ile de France) where you can read about them. Just go to www.transilien.com, select English, then go to the Passenger Guide, then Tickets.

I suppose a ticket window for the suburban lines might say &quot;banlieues&quot;, but I think it could well be marked Transilien as that is the term on the machines and windows for this general network, and the passenger guide on there says to buy a forfait loisir ticket at the &quot;guichet Transilien&quot; which means the Transilien ticket window.

to an earlier question, not only is there no need to buy them in advance, you cannot.