Paris to vernon
 

What is the least expensive way to get From central Paris to vernon by rail?
What train would I take And how long does it take to get there?
Rail Eur.prices seem high?
thanks,


Mike

Trains go from St-Lazare station in Paris and take from 45 minutes. The standard one-way fare is 10.80 Euros. You cannot reserve seats, so there is no need to book in advance. Once you buy a ticket, it is valid two months, but you must stamp it in the orange machine on the platform before boarding the train. Schedules are on www.bahn.de, and fares and schedules are on www.sncf.com.

Mike:

I am going next week and it seems you have to go early or go late. There are no fast trains between 8:30 and 12 to Vernon, and the returns to Paris are not very either convenient (basically you need to leave before 3 or after 5).

The trip to Vernon-Giverny is fairly easy to freelance.

We left Gare St. Lazare about noon on an express train, and took a taxi from the train stastion to Monet's home and the gardens. We had ample time to explore the estate, enjoy a sidewalk cafe near by, and then sweated out the taxi ride back to the train station because the driver was running late. We got there 30 seconds before the 6 PM train to Paris came roaring in for its 2 minute stop.(approximate time)

I think 4 hours total at Giverny is ample time to explore the house and gardens, but not much else. One problem with an afternoon arrival in September is the large number of people touring the gardens. They arrive by the bus load all afternoon so that at times freedom of movement in the gardens and the house is greatly restricted.

I think this is one trip I would do what I had to do to take the 8:16 train that arrives in Vernon at 9:01.

The train at 6:39 would get you there even earlier, but that is a very early time for most people. It would, however, give you time for a nice breakfast in Vernon, time to look about the village, and then leisurely make your way to Monet's estate.
I am not sure I could be able to make it a that hour of the morning.

That's true, although you can double-check schedules on sncf.com, but there are limited runs to Vernon, you only have about two choices of trains. One goes early, maybe 8-9 so you'd get there by 10 and have the morning for Giverny. The other leaves around noon, as I recall (I took that, as do a lot of folks), so you get to Giverny around 1:30-2 pm. It may have improved, but the bus to Giverny was not coordinated with the rail when I was there and you had to wait about 1/2 hr before one came. I'd recommend a taxi instead. This may have changed, also, but when I went, the return train schedule was rather inconvenient and there were not a lot of trains.

You have to be very careful to note the return rail schedule in Vernon on the board so you don't get stuck out there.

You don't really ever need to buy tickets in advance for those very short train trips in France like this one. I've never bought a ticket ahead for anything but major TGV runs.

We went on the early train, having bought tickets and checked the schedule the day before. Spent the morning in the gardens and the house, with no crowds. The locusts arrived by bus as we were leaving. We left and had lunch at Les Agapanthes, a pleasant walk down the road from Monet's house and offering better food and wine at better prices than the Nympheas place next to the house itself. Then toured the American Museum, which has a great Impressionist collection. Had enough time to catch the bus to Vernon and not sweat missing the train back to Paris. Without the need for split second timing, it was a very pleasant day.

ttt

Lets be a little more precise about express train departures to Vernon from Gare St Lazare.
The 8:16 from Gare St. Lazare arrives in Vernon at 9:01.
The 12:04 arrives at 12:48.
There is a slower train at 11:03, but it takes an hour and 20 minutes to get there, arriving at 12:23.

The next express train after 12:04 leaves at 14:23, arriving in Vernon at
15:08.

The return schedule in the afternoon is as follows for the express trains:
12:52
14:57
18:04
19:15
20:42
all take less than an hour from Vernon to Gare St. Lazare.

There are also some commuter trains in between these times, but the run time is up to 90 minutes.
Of course, if you miss one the express trains, a slower commuter train may be the salvation.

The sechedule is not really that bad.
If I were doing it again, I would leave at 8:16 to try and beat the crowd down there.