hi everyone, <BR> <BR>we are thinking of going to versaille early one morning and then trying to make our way to chartres in time for the 2:45pm tour. <BR> <BR>is this doable and if so can you take the train from versailles to chartres or do we have to backtrack to paris and then proceed from there? what route?

Sandy, <BR>Sounds doable to me. Paris to Versailles is about half and hour. You could spend the morning there, then go to Chartres, which is about an hour away. I assume the tour you refer to is Malcome Mlller's presentation, which is generally twice a day. If so, definitely worthwhile and easy enough to manage. Each of his presentations focus of one facet of the Cathedral, so there really isn't much moving around. You can check the train schedules, routes, fares, and www.sncf.fr. Just select the English version (UK flag) and you'll be fine. You can go directly from Paris to Versailles to Chartres back to Paris. No need for backtracking since they're be in the same direction.

it may be doable but is a very bad idea. these two places are two of the most magical places on earth. why race through them? savor them.

you just have to go to the correct train station in Versailles, the SNCF train from Versailles to Chartres leaves from a diff. station that the RER arrives (I believe it's Versailles Chantier, whereas Rive Gauche is for the palace). I also think you need about a full day at Versailles so see a lot, but as the main thing to see in Chartres is just the cathedral, I myself don't think you need that much time there.

Hi: <BR> <BR>Spend a whole day at Versailles. Pay the money, take the tours. Get a horse drawn carriage tour of the grounds. Go on a Sunday so you can see the fountains working. Chartres is a whole different day trip. Versailles is a once in a lifetime experience. You'll regret it if you rush it.

hi everyone, <BR> <BR>thanks again to all who responded, this site has been great! <BR> <BR>christina, thanks for mentioning the rail connections. i could not for the life of me, find this information anywhere on the net. i knew about the versailles rer station, but couldn't seem to find any info about how to connect from versailles to chartres. <BR> <BR>xxx, i wish we could spend 2 full days on day trips, but we just can't. our iten is so full already. out of our group of 5, three of us have been to versailles already so we should be able to do this in 5 or 6 hours. 2 of the group have never been to paris, so this was kind of a compromise to getting some day trips in for those of us that have been before. <BR> <BR>also, i knew that the chartres trip would not need a whole day from what i heard from others. so we are going to try to get to versailles really early and then try to leave about 1:30pm to go to chartres and make it for the afternoon tour. <BR> <BR>thanks to all! <BR> <BR>sandy c <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>also, <BR> <BR>