I could very contentedly spend weeks vacationing in Paris without ever feeling compelled to leave. Many visitors though wonder about the surrounding country side and there are some fascinating destinations just an hour or so from the center of Paris.
Here is my list, sanitized from long, boring, and expensive tour bus rides which offer little but the reward of fatigue and the advantage of hours of transportation boredom.
Auvers-sur-Oise
For instruction on how to reach Auvers-sur-Oise by train
Chantilly
For instruction on how to reach Chantilly by train
Chartres
http://sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral.htm
http://www.mymaze.de/chartres_technisch_e.htm
http://www.chartres-tourisme.com/
For information about visits with the renown guide Malcolm Miller:
Château de Pierrefonds
Château de Vincennes
Located at the end of Métro line 1
Fontainebleau
Take SNCF train from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon in the direction of Montargis Sens and disembark at Gare de Fontainebleau Avon
Fare 9.40€
En route time 1+02
http://www.transilien.com
From Gare de Fontainebleau-Avon, take Aérial bus line A to Château
Fare: 1.40€
Buses every 15 mintues.
Entrance fee: 8€
Students: 6€
Free entry the first Sunday of each month
Entrance plus one hour guided tour (in French only): 11€
Giverny
Open daily except Mondays from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm from April 1st to October 31st
Provins
Low Season
Open from January 2nd to March 21st and from November 3rd to December 31th:
Weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Weekends & public holidays from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
High Season
From March 22nd to November 2nd :
Daily from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m..
General closure December 25th and January 1st
Vaux-le-Vicomte
Open from March 15th to November 9th from 10.00 am to 06.00 pm, last admission at 5.30 pm
RER D to Melun
Shuttle or taxi from Melun
Entrance: from 14€
Versailles
RER C: direction Versailles-Rive-Gauche-château
Gare Montparnasse: SNCF train serving Versailles-Chantiers
Gare Saint-Lazare: SNCF train direction Versailles-rive-droite
And for children:
Parc Asterix
Disneyland Paris
From Paris, take the RER A4 to Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy. RER station is at the Disney gates.
Fare – 6.55€, children 4-10 50% fare, children under 4 free
updated 17 May 2010
