Day Tripping from Paris – Maximize Your Time
Day tripping from Paris – my hints and suggestions for how to be your own travel agent. Day tripping is a wonderful way to broaden your exposure to French culture and history. However, structuring these trips to maximize time and remain budget friendly requires advance planning. And, I’ve got a few hints to help.
Hint 1: As I find accommodations in Paris tend to be more costly than outside of Paris, I plan my day trips to include at least one overnight stay. Thus, I spend fewer nights in the city of light.
Hint 2: I plan day trips at either the beginning or end of my stay. This gives me a continuous block of days in Paris.
Hint 3: Pick up a rental car at the airport. It’s quick, easy and you don’t have to deal with Paris traffic. Having picked up a rental car once at Gare de Lyon gave me a taste for driving in Paris and it was not a memorable experience. Since that time, I take the train to a destination location and rent a car there if I want to explore.
Spend as Little Time in Transit as Possible
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend most of my time on the train or in the car. So, we’ll start in Paris and navigate day tripping from there. You decide which agenda appeals to you!
Where to begin? Make two lists: one headed Paris and one headed Day Trips. Prioritize them, making reasonable selections based on time available. With both lists, arrange places/sites by proximities to one another. (Hint 4: for Paris, look at the last two digits of the postal code of the arrondissement to help you categorize by proximity….or use Google Maps).
Day Tripping From Paris – One Destination Only
Whatever your length of stay, perhaps you only want to take only one excursion outside of Paris. Here are some ideas to consider. Note that I did not say one “day trip” as most of these beautiful places deserve an overnight stay! Spending the night at your destination means you will likely save money on the cost of the hotel.
Chantilly
The town of Chantilly is under an hour by train from Paris or if you go straight from the airport as we did, about a 30 minute drive. The Château is wonderful and so is the town!
Chartres
Chartres is a great day trip from Paris. You may change your mind about spending only one day when you investigate all there is to see. My suggestion is to spend one night so that you have two full days to explore. (Hint 5: if you spend two days exploring, the second day should find you spending the night in Chartres to save money on your hotel)
Giverny
Allow a full day for the gardens and the village of Giverny. By train, you arrive in the small town of Vernon. A little tourist train meets each incoming train from Paris to transports visitors to Giverny. Their tour through Vernon gives you an idea of all there is to explore.
Reims
Reims is just 46 minutes by train from Paris Gare l’Est. If you go just for the Cathedral then this is a one day trip. However, I’d recommend a visit to the champagne house of Veuve Cliquot so plan on this being a two-day trip. Before you go, this fascinating read will fill in all the historical details about the woman behind the champagne. The Veuve Cliquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It (affiliate link)
Meaux
Visit early on a Saturday to enjoy the bustling market. You can easily fill a full day here with the Grand Guerre and Bossuet Museums, the Cathedral, parks and gardens. Don’t forget to enjoy a walk through the old town. Then, return to Paris after a late dinner or spend the night and return to Paris early the next day.
Versailles
Our cycle tour of Versailles allowed for a small taste of the town. We definitely want to return and spend some time exploring. Plus, if you plan to enjoy the musical fountains show at Versailles, then spending the night in the town and returning to Paris the next day is ideal.
Vincennes
You can quickly arrive in Vincennes via Metro Line 1. You have a broad choice of activities. The Bois de Vincennes is a wonderful place to explore. There are walking paths, boats to rent on Lake Daumesnil, a zoo, and Parc Floral with 3000 species of flowers. We spent the day walking through the woods (Bois) to find the “human zoo”. The Jardin Tropical is a curious mix of the remains of various colonial villages and World War I memorials that is fascinating! That’s just the beginning. You can also visit the Château de Vincennes.
Bois de Vincennes – Jardin Tropical
Day Tripping from Paris – Multiple Destinations
Agenda 1- With a car
We followed this route a couple of years ago. Picking up the rental car upon arrival at CDG airport, we headed out. Due to the early arrival of our flight, we were able to enjoy breakfast in Senlis. (Hint 6: My choice for overnight stays would be near or in Chantilly and in Amiens.)
- Senlis – a wonderful walled town to explore. Your next stop, Chantilly, will be easily reached in a mere 15 minutes by car.
- Chantilly – besides the Château there is also a delightful town to explore. Just 15 minutes on to Royaumont Abbey from Chantilly.
- Royaumont Abbey – this former Cistercian Abbey dates from 1228 and served as a hospital in World War I. Allow a half day to explore. It’s about 45 minutes on to Beauvais.
- Beauvais – Beauvais’s Cathedral is definitely worth the visit but as you will discover, there is much to be explored here. We spent a full day enjoying the town.
- Amiens – Amiens can be reached in under an hour from Beauvais. I’d recommend 2 days here, 3 if your time allows. Plan to leave the car here and take the train back to Paris (1 hr 11 min, arrive Gare du Nord).
Agenda 1- Without a car
To visit all of these same destinations without a car could be problematic. For example, taking the bus between Chantilly and the Royaumont Abbey includes about 40 minutes of walking.
However, Chantilly and Amiens can be visited using train transportation. As there are regular buses between Chantilly and Senlis every hour, the 20 minute journey still means that Senlis is also a reasonable option.
- Chantilly – Take the train from Paris Gare du Nord to Chantilly.
- Senlis – Day trip from Chantilly to Senlis via bus. (Hint 7: With the Chantilly Gouvieux train station to your back turn left and walk the narrow pathway to the bus station. Times are listed in the bus shelter.)
- Amiens – Take the train from Chantilly Gouvieux to Amiens.
- Paris – Return via train to Paris Gare du Nord from Amiens.
Agenda 2- via train
Versailles – easily reached from Paris via the train. Take RER C, purchasing your ticket either at the window or ticket machine. Destination “Versailles Château-Rive Gauche”.
Chartres – From the “Versailles Chantier” train station, Chartres is a mere hour journey. You will have a breathtaking view of the Cathedral as you leave the train station to walk into town.
Can I Day Trip to Mont Saint-Michel?
The short answer is, not really. I decided to go with a semi-recommendation. After seeing the question “can I day-trip to Mont St-Michel” on several Facebook pages I follow, I felt like I needed to address this. Do you want to spend 8 + hours of travel time? At best, by car, it is a 4 hour to drive to M-S-M or 4 3/4 hrs by train.
My suggestion would be the following agenda to maximize your sites for the travel time spent:
Rouen is a wonderful town with much to warrant at least a two day stay. It is only 1 hr 22 minutes by train from Gare St-Lazare in Paris. Rent a car here for the drive to Mont-St-Michel, 2 3/4 hrs approximately.
Mont St-Michel is best visited early morning, in my opinion, as there are less crowded. As the return train to Paris from here requires a connection, it may be quicker to return the rental car to Rouen instead and take the train from there. Check train times and connections before finalizing this day trip.
Conclusion
I hope this has helped you get started planning your next trip!
Other day-trip suggested locations are found in these blog posts:
Leave a Reply