arewethereyet

On our last day in Paris, I'm interested in a short (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours) day trip by train. It doesn't have to contain any major site, maybe just a small, quaint little town. Any suggestions?

TransitBuddie

There are so many places in a 1 1/2 hour radius of Paris. Here are some suggestions and how to get there:
- Versailles: The famous château built by Louis XIV. It is extremely grand. The gardens are wonderful and you can rent bikes and ride around the woods and the surrounding areas. It is very accessible by train. It takes about 40 minutes on the RER C, or 12 minutes +10-15 minutes walking on the TER from the Gare Montparnasse. I have directions at http://inside.urbanschool.org/~alew/versailles on how to take the express train from Montparnasse, but I wouldn't recommend taking it unless you are staying near Montparnasse.
- Chartres: The cathedral built in the 12th century is in Chartres (Notre Dame de Chartres). It has one of the original labyrinths for the pilgrems on their way to Saint Jacques de Compostelle (I don't remember the name in English... I went to a French middle school). Take the TER from the Gare Montparnasse (trains run every hour or so), and it takes about an hour.
- Fontainebleau: Famous château and gardens built in the early 19th century by Napolean. It takes about one hour on the train and you will have to take the bus from the station (line AB) to the château.
- Giverny: Monet's gardens. It is interesting to see what Monet was painting, but it's a pain getting there: Take the train from the Gare Saint Lazare to Verdun, then take a taxi, or try the 3 mile walk... I would recommend driving a car there.
- Vaux Le Viconte: Built before Versailles, this was the château that inspired Louis XIV to build the château at Versailles. Take the RER D until Melun (last stop); then take a taxi. It will be hard getting a taxi to get back to the train station, so don't stay too late, or you will miss the last train around 12:00AM.

vivi

Last week I spent one day at Chartes and one day at Versailles. Chartes was much more relaxing for me as Versailles can be a bit like going to Disneyland (but spectacular nonetheless.)

elaine

I haven't been there, but have this information

Provins is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its walled fortifications and underground passageways.
From the train station you find yourself in the Ville Basse, lower town, with churches, canals,and alleys.
From the Hotel Dieu you can visit the souterrains, the underground passages which were used to store grain, wine, gold, and other precious commodities back in the 13th century. They were also hiding places. The tour lasts an hour, hours of admission don’t begin until 2pm. Note that in some places the passages are only 6 feet high and 4 feet wide.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/44f83/17962/

http://www.gayot.com/travel/france/provins.html

www.provins.org

ira

Hi are,

Chateau Malmaison

See http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/...he_Chateau.asp

and

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

JulieVikmanis

We went to Rouen from Paris. About an hour or so train. Easily walkable. Nice bit of Normandy with lots of half timbered houses and plenty of Joan of Arc lore and cathedrals.

Also enjoyed going to Reims, champagne capitol, from Paris.

111op

Not suggesting that you visit these places, necessarily -- but other day trips include the following:

-- Chantilly/Senlis
-- Auvers-sur-Oise (suggested to me by Christina on another thread)

Actually, even the Loire Valley is accessible. Tours is about an hour away by TGV.

I found out that Vaux-le-Vicomete offers candlelit evenings in the summers (check its website for details).

I can't speak based on personal experience, but I've only been to Versailles. Oh, actually I spent a half day in Poissy and St-Germain-en-Laye. In the first I went to see Villa Savoye. St-Germain-en-Laye has a chateau (converted into a museum). It's not a bad town to spend a couple of hours. You'll probably need to take a cab between the two, as I did, but either is accessible by RER. I didn't spend all that much time in SGeL but had lunch there and walked around briefly. If I recall, there's a museum/house related to Debussy, which I skipped.

111op

Well I guess I did go to Chenonceau as well, so I can attest to my comment that it's doable via a day trip. I took the TGV to Tours and joined a local tour group at the Tourist Office. I was back in Paris around 2 in the afternoon, I think. You can easily visit a few chateaux this way in a half day or a full day.

RonZ

I have a daytrip file, just request by e mail. Vaux le Vicomte and Auvers sur Oise have been our favorites. Also see destinations above and put in side trips from Paris.

elaine

see also this current thread

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34636270

PatrickLondon

VerNON (Normandy) for Giverny, not VerDUN (Meuse, practically at the German border!).

TransitBuddie

PatrickLondon, Whoops, I really got that mistaken!! I just remembered that it started with VER, and then after taking a 20th Century history class it messed me up...