We will be in Paris from Sept 22 until Sept 30 and are looking for ideas for two or three day trips of about 8 hours each from Paris since, we have alread paid for our hotel in Paris and don't want to stay over night with extra expenses, Thank you.

Chartes, Versailles, Giverny, are all interesting day trips, as are the Loire Valley chateaux. What are you interested in?

Chateau: Vaux le Vicomte

Impressionism: Auvers sur Oise, the show at the Auvers Chateau.

ronZ, I heard a rumor that you had a great summary of Paris Daytrips. True?

You might want to take a look at
www.parisvision.com

They have a zillion different tours out of Paris. I prefer the minivan ones. They have a small number of people. Take a look at them for ideas..
Enjoy..........

We are interested in nice wines and chateauxs on a budget. And the French countryside. Thank you.

I've never been, but you may want to consider Reims, which is close to Paris by train. I enjoyed Versailles and Giverney very much, but those aren't exactly your criteria. You could try a day trip to the Loire I suppose.

Is this your first trip to Paris? If so, I'd really only recommend 1-2 day trips.

Rouen also makes for a nice day trip

You are going to spend a few thousand dollars on your Paris trip. I'm sure spending another $20 on Daytrips France by Earl Steinbicker, ISBN 0-8038-2006-2, will enhance your experience. There are 5 walking tours of Paris and a couple dozen day trips outside of Paris.

The publisher's website is:

http://www.daytripsbooks.com/

We did a day trip to Reims in October. Very nice... the catheral is walking distance from the train station. Our hotel concierge made us reservations at a very nice restaurant. Plus.... there are all the champagne house tours if you're interested in that.

If your 8 hour criterion doesn't include travel time, I might suggest you visit the invasion area in Normandy.

1. 7h12 train to Caen arr 8h57
2. Peace Museum
3. Hire car w/driver at TIC
4. Drive down Sword, Juno, Gold beaches
5. Mulberry Museum
6. Lunch at Port-en-Bessin
7. Omaha Beach
8. Pointe du Hoc
9. American Cemetery
10. Bayeux
11. 19h55 train to Paris arr 21h45

You are in Paris for only 8 days and want 3 day trips? I'd just stay in town and enjoy. My DD and I had 10 days and took a daytrip to Chateau Chenonceau. The Loire has nice vineyards.

On our next 8 day trip we hope to hop to London. The rest of the time we were and will be very happy to be in Paris.

We just went to Chateau Malmaison in April.. took the metro to La Defense, walked thru that huge complex to the bus terminal (just follow the signs), and took bus #258 until the stop for "chateau". The entrance to the estate was about 1/4 block from the bus stop - you then walk down a small street about 5 minutes or so, and enter the gates to the chateau's grounds. It's a nice 'small' chateau, furnished, with artworks and beautiful china. The gardens were lovely and the area behind the mansion were enchanting. I could live there.

We had our 5-zone Carte Orange (since we were also using that to get to CDG later), so that covered the metro or RER to Defense, and also the bus.

http://www.chateau-malmaison.fr/

hmmm. "was" enchanting.

"I'd just stay in town and enjoy."

Why, why, why?

There is a <u>lot</u> more to France than the Quai d'Orsay and the &Icirc;le de <s>Ripoff</s> St-Louis. Get out and see some different kinds of places. If you were visiting the U.S. for nine days, wouldn't you want to see something besides New York City?

I absolutely loved our day trip to Ecouen (pronounced Ay-kwan), a 22- minute ride on the SCNF takes you to a small town where you walk through a forest to a Chateau that is the Museum of Renaissance Art. Here are the most gorgeous tapestries I’ve ever seen, much better than the Cluny, as well as many other wonderful pieces of art. It also has a nice restaurant. The museum is large and, if you enjoy this kind of art, allow several hours to go through it.