19 Easy Day Trips from Paris by Train

Day Trips from Paris by Train

If you’re visiting Paris for the first time and looking to explore beyond the French capital, you’re in luck. Paris is a hub for transportation with access points to every corner of the country. With such a good transportation system, specifically the train system, you can easily access cities and regions in France from Paris.

If you’re looking to take a day trip from Paris, you have no shortage of options, whether you want to see the French countryside, explore the coast, or dive into a wine region.

There are actually so many Paris day trip options, we’ve personally started to create a running list of destinations we could access by train from Paris if we wake up one Saturday morning and feel like getting out of town.

The remainder of this post will include both day trips from Paris we’ve personally taken (at the beginning of this post) and that running list of destinations we hope to visit during our time in France (at the end of this post).

Additionally, all of the destinations in this post are reachable in under two hours by train from Paris, as we believe that is the most feasible train time to be able to accommodate a day trip from the city.

Giverny, France (Read our Giverny Day Trip Guide)

Whether you love Claude Monet, Impressionism, or gardening, you can’t go wrong with a day trip from Paris to Giverny, France. Giverny is a small commune in Northern France (upper-Normandy) that sits roughly 50 miles (74km) outside of Paris. It is most famous for being the location where Claude Monet chose to spend the last 43 years of his life and to artistically cultivate the gardens that inspired so many of his paintings.

Getting to Monet’s Gardens in Giverny from Paris is easy. The train from Paris to Vernon-Giverny takes approximately 50 minutes, plus a 10-minute bus ride from the Vernon station to Giverny. Book your train tickets here: Paris St Lazare to Vernon—Giverny.

You can also book a guided tour from Paris to Giverny, like this one from GetYourGuide.

Versailles, France (Read our versailles Day Trip Guide)

It’s hard to visit Paris for the first time and not take the day trip out to Versailles. Versailles is a town roughly 9 miles (14km) from Paris and is famously known as the home to the Palace of Versailles. The Palace of Versailles was built by the French kings as a hunting lodge and eventually became the residency of the French royalty and court.

The easiest and most direct way to visit Versailles from Paris is to take the regional Paris line, RER C from the center of Paris. You can purchase tickets for Versailles in the metro station by scrolling through the destinations available in the region.

If you do plan to take the RER C, I would advise that you go ahead and purchase the round trip tickets in Paris, versus waiting to purchase your return ticket in Versailles. The train station in Versailles is small and there are always long lines at the ticket booths of people waiting to purchase their return ticket to Paris.

Be sure to reserve your tickets to the palace and gardens in advance by purchasing them here.

If you don’t feel comfortable navigating the day trip yourself, or you want a more guided experience of Versailles, you can also find a handful of both day trip tours and guided tours of the palace on GetYourGuide.

Chartres, France (Read our chartres Day Trip Guide)

If you’re ideal day trip from Paris looks like skipping the chateaux and wine and discovering a small French town in the countryside, then plan a day trip from Paris to the town of Chartres, France. Chartres is famous for it’s very own Cathédrale Notre-Dame, said to rival Paris’ Notre-Dame, which is illuminated every evening from April to January with a stellar light show.

The town is also full of adorable half-timbered houses and even a little river, making it a charming place to wander around if you feel spent from your time in the city.

The direct train from Paris to Chartres takes roughly an hour, making it the perfect distance for getting out of the city for a day.

Chantilly, France (Read our chantilly Day Trip Guide)

France is a country full of châteaux, and if you find yourself in Paris, you’re not far from a handful of them, including Château de Chantilly. Chantilly, France is a town of roughly 11,000 inhabitants that sits a 20-minute train ride North of Paris. The town is set within a forest of roughly 15,000 acres and is home to Europe’s largest horse stables as well as Château de Chantilly.

Getting to the Château de Chantilly from Paris is straightforward and takes roughly 20-minutes by train from Gare du Nord. Book your train tickets from Paris Gare du Nord to Chantilly—Gouvieux.

Strasbourg, France (Read our strasbourg guide)

Strasbourg is a city located in Eastern France, known as “the Grand Est” region, which is often referred to as the Alsace region of France. The Grand Est region is truly as far east as you can go in France without hitting another country, with Strasbourg itself sits just 2 miles from the German border.

You can easily access Strasbourg by direct train from Paris, making it feasible to do in a day. The train usually takes under two hours, so you would need to leave Paris in the morning and then take a later train back to Paris. Book your train tickets from Paris Gare de l’Est to Strasbourg.

This day trip would be a great option if you’re visiting France over the Holiday season in order to experience Strasbourg’s Christmas market.

Auxerre, France

If exploring beautiful cathedrals is your ideal day, then a day trip from Paris to Auxerre is sure to bring you joy. Auxerre is the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy region of France. Auxerre is bursting with history, with a handful of stunning churches to visit, cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses and a beautiful clock tower in the town’s center.

The city itself is also situated along the river Yonne where you can see reflections of the churches of Auxerre and sit along the water on a warm and sunny day.

The Paris to Auxerre train takes just under two hours, allowing for a full day of exploring Auxerre and grabing a bite to eat before heading back to Paris.

Deauville, France & Trouville, France

Deauville is a ritzy beach resort town, that I imagine is bursting with wealthy beachgoers in the summer. The village is lined with high-end shops and casinos, and we saw more than a few luxury vehicles during our short time there. Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Deauville, but it does have a more traditional beach (with sand versus rocks) that I imagine is very enjoyable in the summer (although probably also very crowded).

You can take a direct train from Paris to Deauville, making it a more accessible location by Parisians and tourists looking to explore Normandy. The train tickets themselves are normally very affordable when compared to other regions in France, again making it a popular destination for getting out of the city.

fontainebleau, France (Read our fontainebleau Day Trip Guide)

Fontainebleau is a town 43 miles (70km) Southeast of Paris with a population of around 15,500 (according to the 2019 census). The destination is most famous for the Château de Fontainebleau as well as the Fontainebleau Forest, one of the largest forests in France.

The best way to visit Château de Fontainebleau from Paris is by train. If you are living in Paris and already have a Navigo pass, you can travel for free as Fontainebleau is within Zone 5. If you are a short-time visitor to Paris, you will need to purchase a ticket for the TER train leaving from Gare de Lyon and headed to Montargis Sens or Montereau.

Rouen, France

Roeun is the capital city of the Normandy region of France, located Northwest of Paris. Rouen is a great day trip from Paris, especially if you’re interested in medieval architecture, half-timber houses or the history of Joan of Arc. It’s in Roeun where, if you love the work of Claude Monet, you can discover the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, a church painted in a series by Monet in various seasons and lighting (which now hang in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris).

To access Rouen from Paris by train, you can take the one-and-a-half hour direct train from Paris St-Lazare station to Rouen Rive Droite station.

Roeun is also a great destination to add to a larger Normandy Road Trip if you’re looking to discover more of the region.

Lille, France

If wandering through cobblestone streets, popping into cute boutiques and passing the time at coffee shops is your version of a good day, then a day trip from Paris to Lille might be the one for you. Lille is a French city situated in the Northeast of France, almost at Belgium’s border. The city is full of students, good food and the second largest art museum in France after the Louvre, meaning you can easily fill up your day with gastronomy and culture.

Lille is a great day trip from Paris due to its frequent, one-hour direct train from Paris, the location of the train station just on the edge of the action and its overall walkability.

Other paris day trip destinations

There are seemingly endless options of destinations to visit as day trips from Paris, and if you’re living in Paris or just visiting the city and looking for something different to explore, below is my running list of other Paris day trips we haven’t had a chance to explore yet but will reference when our next free Saturday pops up.

• Amiens, France: A roughly one-hour direct train from Paris.

• Metz, France: A one-and-a-half hour direct train from Paris.

• Riems, France (Champagne): A 45-minute direct train from Paris.

• Blois, France (Loire Valley): A roughly one-and-a-half hour direct train from Paris.

• Amboise, France (Loire Valley): An under two hour direct train from Paris.

• Tours, France (Loire Valley): A one-hour direct train from Paris.

• Provins, France: A roughly one-hour city train from Paris - take the Line P from Gare de l’Est (covered by Navigo pass).

• Dijon, France (Burgundy): A one-and-a-half hour direct train from Paris.

• Lyon, France: A roughly two-hour direct train from Paris.

• Brussels, Belgium: A roughly one-and-a-half hour direct train from Paris.

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Need help planning the rest of your trip to Paris or discovering all the French capital has to offer?

We have a Complete Guide to Paris which highlights anything and everything you need to know to plan your trip, a 24-hour guide to Paris if you only find yourself in Paris for one day, a roundup of our favorite boutique hotels in Paris, a list of the best coffee shops in Paris and travel guides to other parts of France.

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