Paris - One Day Side Trips
 

We are travelling to Paris for a week at the end of September. Would appreciate any suggestions for one-day trips outside Paris. Preferably something that doesn't involve renting a car.

Hi W,

With only a week, I don't think that you would want to take any daytrips.

However:

Versailles,
Chartres,
Auxerre,
Chantilly,
Malmaison

((I))

If you're interested in Impressionist art, Monet's home in Giverny is lovely. Also, the Museum of American Impressionist Art is right next door. It's an easy 90 minute train ride from Gare Lazare to Vernon. Also, another day trip that I haven't yet done but is recommended, is to Reims to visit the chanpagne houses.

Chateau Chenonceau was a great partial day trip. Paris by TGV to St Pierre des corps to Chenonceau then a local train entrance to the village of Chenonceaux the Chateau is just across from the train stop. Very easy trip. Left in the morning, got to the Chateau about 9:00 and left with enough time to eat lunch near the St. Pierre train station and caught a TGV about 2. It was a lovely day out, the birds were singing and the air smelled sweet. Enjoy!

Book marking

Ira had good ideas, I'm trying a trip to Vaux le Vicomte, there is info here about the trains and busses to get there. I also second the rec for Giverny. I'm not sure if Margaret meant that it was a 90 min each way or total. There are fast and slow trains to Vernon, the fast one is 45 min, so just check the schedule when you get a ticket. It is a great trip - I'm going there in 2 weeks!

Monet's garden is lovely & I'd go there even if I only had one week in Paris. Paris is great but it's nice to get out into the countryside.

However, the garden gets very crowded (although perhaps less so by the end of September) so I'd recommend 1) going on a weekday and 2) staying overnight so you can get there first thing in the morning before it gets crowded.

We did two daytrips from Paris this spring, one to Chartres and one to Giverny. Giverny is my favorite thing we did on the trip. Both were easy to do by train.

Danna, I'm booking train tickets for Paris to Chenonceau via St Pierre des corps. I want to print them at home so I can't blend types of tickets (i.e. one leg Prems, one leg regular etc.) If I book the Paris/St Pierre des corps portion here at home (all Prems) can I simply buy the St Pierre des corps/Chenonceaux portion at the SPdC station on our day of travel? Or should I purchase that at the Paris station ahead of time? Thanks.

I recommend you purchase and print your TGV section to and from St. Pierre des Corp, and then purchase the local return tickets to and from Chenonceaux any time you are in a train station in Paris. The local train is a very short trip.

Thanks Danna, that what I was leaning toward. The Schedule for local tickets to and from Chenonceaux looks limited in the mornings, is there a big gap in the schedule after 9:30 AM? Or am I reading something wrong? Thanks again

A real exciting day (and a full day) would be a trip to the Normandy landing beaches. The bus companies offer a dawn pick up at your hotel by small van with return about 8 pm at night or a tour bus trip.

Rouen makes a great day trip!! A little more than one hour by train and so much to see! I had chosen it because of the Joan of Arc history, completely forgetting about Monet's series of the Cathedral! (It really does change in the light every 5 minutes - you'll take tons of pictures!) Both make excellent reasons to go. The highlight of the day, however, was the children's scavenger hunt = you pick up the guide at the tourism center directly across from the Cathedral. Of course, the clues were in French, which made deciphering the trail even more fun! Stops include a 14th century plague cemetery, with rats carved on the walls - delightfully creepy!!)

This is one endeavor for which Rick Steves' guide excels. His descriptions are comprehensive (so you can select one most appealing to you) and his instructions for getting there on your own are detailed and otherwise superb.

My personal top choice would be Giverny. Though, we ultimately determined that a mini-bus tour (despite the extra expense) was well worth the convenience and beating the crowds.

You may want to check out the day trips with the tour companies - Cityrama, Parisvision, etc. Though pricier than going on your own, the convenience, commentary, guided tours in English, are all worth considering.

As for visiting Normandy, Segway offers a tour with train tickets/transport (versus much slower buses), so you leave and return at more reasonable times, but still visit all the same sights.

Thanks for the suggestion of visiting the Loire, I had thought it was too far for a day trip. Grantop, did you work get an answer to your question on the train schedule? What website do you use to get the TGV tickets to St. Pierre des Corps? I agree that Giverny is not be missed especially if you're a garden lover. We were there in late September several years ago and basically had the place to ourselves.

Versailles was a highlight for me.

Just a note that even though it's not that far to Vernon by train, you still have to take a bus to Giverney, and the timetable is kind of limited (at least when I was there in April 2005). I had lots of extra time to kill before I could catch a bus back to Vernon.

Hi Joe - if I remember correctly the busses are scheduled around the train arrival and departures. That may have changed. A cab was cheap, more than the bus but quicker. And you can arrange for them to pick you up again at a specific time.

Hmm ... maybe you are right about that. In any event, I definitely a good amount of time to kill after visiting the home, gardens, American Impressionism museum, walking around, etc. Maybe this was a result of the bus on its own, or the bus b/c of the train, but just keep in mind that you might not be able to go as quickly in Giverny/Vernon as you'd like.

You can walk from Giverny to Vernon in about 45 minutes to an hour: walk to the end of the village past the church, and when you get to the petrol station and the main road, bear slightly right up a slope and keep following the path (it's converted from an old railway line, so you can't go wrong). When you get to Vernon, turn left and aim for the bridge. Once you're over the bridge, the town centre of Vernon, off the main street, has some nice cafés, otherwise keep on up the main street and the station is slightly to the right at the end.