Best day trips from Paris by train

Paris has enough for a week, but some of the best things in the Île-de-France and beyond lie just outside the city: the palace of the Sun King, two other royal châteaux in large forests, the garden Monet painted for thirty years and the cellars of Champagne. The short answer: Versailles is the classic and the easiest, Reims the best city trip, Giverny the most beautiful in spring and early summer, and Fontainebleau and Chantilly the calm alternatives with far fewer visitors. All of them work by train.

Day trips from Paris at a glance

Times are typical connections from the Paris station named in the table and include the last bus or shuttle where needed. They change with the timetable, so check the day before.

Versailles: the palace of the Sun King

How to get there: the RER C runs from stations on the left bank, such as Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Musée d'Orsay and Invalides, to Versailles Château Rive Gauche in about 40 minutes; make sure your train goes to that branch. Transilien trains from Saint-Lazare (to Versailles Rive Droite) and from Montparnasse (to Versailles Chantiers) are good alternatives. From each station it is a walk of 10 to 20 minutes to the palace. A normal metro ticket does not cover Versailles; buy a ticket for the whole trip.

What to see: the palace, with the Hall of Mirrors and the State Apartments of the King and Queen; the gardens laid out by André Le Nôtre, with fountains, the Grand Canal and long avenues; and, at the far end of the park, the Trianon palaces and the Queen's Hamlet, the village Marie-Antoinette had built. The park is huge: bikes, a little train and rowing boats help.

How long: a full day. The palace takes two to three hours, the gardens and the Trianon at least as long again.

Best for: first-time visitors to Paris, history, gardens. Book a timed ticket for the palace on the official website or get Versailles tickets^* on Tiqets – without one, the queue at the entrance can take longer than the visit. Check the weekly closing day and the dates of the musical fountain shows on the official site before you choose the day.

Giverny: Monet's house and garden

How to get there: regional trains on the line to Rouen run from Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny in about 45 minutes to an hour. In front of the station, a shuttle bus timed to the trains takes you to Giverny in about 20 minutes; you can also walk or cycle the roughly 5 km along the Seine.

What to see: the pink house of Claude Monet, where he lived from 1883 until his death, with its yellow dining room and his collection of Japanese prints; the flower garden, the Clos Normand; and, across the road through a tunnel, the water garden with the Japanese bridge and the water lilies he painted again and again. The village has a few more museums and the church where Monet is buried.

How long: a full day, with a relaxed lunch in the village.

Best for: art lovers, gardeners, a slower day. The house and gardens open in spring and close in autumn, so this trip is not possible in winter; check the season on the official website of the Fondation Claude Monet. In May and June the gardens are at their best and also at their busiest – come early.

Reims and the Champagne cellars

How to get there: TGV trains run from Gare de l'Est to Reims station in about 45 minutes. The station is a few minutes' walk from the centre; the cathedral is about 15 minutes on foot.

What to see: the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, where French kings were crowned for centuries, with its smiling angel on the façade and windows by Marc Chagall; the Palace of Tau next door with the cathedral treasury; and the Basilica of Saint-Remi. Under the city lie kilometres of chalk cellars of the great Champagne houses; many of them offer guided tours with a tasting, mostly by reservation. Together with the hillsides and the houses of Épernay, the cellars are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

How long: a full day: the cathedral in the morning, one cellar tour after lunch.

Best for: wine, Gothic architecture, an easy high-speed trip. If you want to see the vineyards and smaller producers in the villages, a tour helps, as public transport between the villages is thin; Champagne tours from Paris and Reims^* can be compared on Viator.

Fontainebleau: a palace in the forest

How to get there: the Transilien R runs from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon in about 40 minutes; a local bus takes you from the station to the palace in about 15 minutes.

What to see: the Château de Fontainebleau was a royal residence for some 800 years, from the medieval kings to Napoleon III. Inside, the Gallery of Francis I, the ballroom, Napoleon's throne room and the room where he signed his abdication; outside, the horseshoe staircase in the Cour des Adieux and large gardens with a carp pond. Around the town lies the Forest of Fontainebleau, famous for its sandstone boulders and walking trails.

How long: a full day with a walk in the forest; the palace alone takes about three hours.

Best for: anyone who found Versailles too crowded, Napoleon, walkers and climbers.

Chantilly: a château, stables and cream

How to get there: regional trains run from Gare du Nord to Chantilly-Gouvieux in about 25 minutes. From the station, it is a walk of about half an hour past the racecourse, or a short ride by local bus.

What to see: the Château de Chantilly on its lake, with the Musée Condé, a large collection of old master paintings and a library of historic manuscripts; the Great Stables, an 18th-century palace built for horses, with a horse museum and equestrian shows; and a park by Le Nôtre. Crème Chantilly, whipped cream with sugar, is said to come from here.

How long: half a day, or a full day with the park and a show.

Best for: horses, painting, a short trip with a late start.

Mont-Saint-Michel: possible, but long

Mont-Saint-Michel is the trip many visitors dream of, and also the one most often underestimated. By public transport you take a TGV from Montparnasse to Rennes, then a coach to the Mont, which the official tourist office gives as about 1 hour 10 minutes; from the coach stop, a free shuttle takes you across the bridge. That adds up to around three and a half hours each way, and coaches run only a few times a day. A guided tour by coach from Paris spares you the connections but still means about four hours on the road each way. If you can, stay a night in Normandy or Brittany and see the Mont in the evening, when the day visitors have left. Tours can be compared on Viator.

Train or guided tour?

For Versailles, Chantilly, Fontainebleau and Reims, the train is simple and you don't need a tour. For Giverny, the train and shuttle work well; a tour mainly saves the timing of the shuttle. A tour makes the most sense for Champagne villages beyond Reims and for Mont-Saint-Michel. Tickets for the TGV to Reims and Rennes are cheapest when booked early; you can compare train connections^* on Omio. If you prefer to explore on your own with commentary, WeGoTrip has audio guides for Paris^* and Versailles.

How many day trips fit into a Paris trip?

With three days, stay in Paris: the Louvre, the islands, Montmartre and the left bank fill them. From four days, one trip fits – usually Versailles. With five days or more, add Reims, Giverny or Fontainebleau. Our article how many days in Paris explains the split, and our 5-day Paris plan already has a full day in Versailles.

Two practical tips: many French museums and palaces close on one weekday, often Monday or Tuesday, and the first Sunday of the month can be very busy at sites with free entry. Check the official page of each site before you plan the day.

How YesTrip helps you plan

YesTrip has a ready-made plan for Paris, including a five-day version with a full day in Versailles. With one tap you copy it into the app, swap Versailles for Reims or Giverny and add your hotel. The app shows the weather for your travel days – useful for a garden trip like Giverny – and with the offline package you have the map of the palace park without a connection. YesTrip is free.

Paris trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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