Day trips from Paris by train

[holger]

This is great. Have just bookmarked the thread. Thanks.

[annettecinca]

Ka-ching! We've just hit the jackpot! Wow Jo, this is GREAT info! Lots of karma coming your way!

[MaisonMetz]

Thanks Becky, Sister, Darcy, holger, and Annette!

I'll try to remember to edit the list as time goes on and websites and information change.

Jo

[goldenmama]

;DMaisonmetz--thank you so much! Seeing all of that info was like my birthday and Christmas all rolled up into one. I will happily be devouring all of the information; thanks so much for taking the time to input int.

It occured to me (duh) to check the library for the out-of -print An Hour from Paris book, and --voila- there it was!

[joan1]

Amazing posts Jo,, thanks!

[Roniece]

wow!! I haven't read thru the whole list yet, but I am making my way thru it.. and will definitely print this out for my trip in September!! Merci Beaucoup mon amie!!!

love
RDB

[MaisonMetz]

Goldenmama, Joan & RDB - thank you!

Glad you were able to find a library copy of the Annabel Simms book, Goldenmama. You'll have to let us know which day trips you decide to take and of course how you enjoy them after you get back.

Jo

[lnverte]

My fiancé and I like to get the train from St Lazare to the Normandy Coast. You can get to Deauville in about 2 hours and either stay in Deauville (which we never do because it is too snobby for our liking) or get the regional train from Deauville down to one of the other towns (the furthest one is 45 minutes from Deauville).

Our favourite along the line is Villiers sur Mer but there is a 15 minute walk from the station into the town.

Houlgate is also lovely and the station is much more central.

The SNCF TER website has good information about routes and timetables:

www.ter-sncf.com

LN

[goldenmama]

Thanks for the suggestion, Inverte!

I am still obsessing over this on a daily basis, and though I've narrowed down the choices, I still haven't decided!

[GitteK]

How come I missed this thread ? MAISONMETZ !!! Those lists are FANTASTIC !! I give you an exalt right away.

I am thinking about a combined trip to Barbizon+Fontainebleau. It seems that there is a special Sunday-bus running between Barbizon and Fontainebleau-Avon station ?

But perhaps it is a shorter ride if I take the RER to Gare de Melun and then a taxi to Barbizon ? Also the chateau will probably also be more crowded on weekends

Anyone has any addtional knowledge about Barbizon ? The photos I've found on internet look very pretty, would it be worth to spend a morning there and then go and see the chateau after a nice country lunch ?
www.transilien.com/web/site/accueil/citylien/lieux-remarquables/barbizon

And Rouen - must definitely go to Rouen !!

[MaisonMetz]

Gitte -

So glad the lists are useful.

I think Barbizon would be a good combination with the Château de Fontainebleau, offering a nice contrast. I've not been to Barbizon yet. We combined Fontainebleau with Vaux-le-Vicomte for a long, but fascinating day.

If it were me, I'd probably go to Barbizon via Melun and taxi from there for the reasons you indicate. I suspect it would take less time than going to the Avon-Fontainebleau station and catching a bus, but that's without checking the actual schedules.

Rouen is a great day trip as well. We've been there several times and will go back in the future. There are still things there we've missed doing that we hope to get around to one of these days.

Jo

[Laidback]

MaisonMetz,

I just want you to know that I found your day trips post to be probably the all-time most informative thing I have discovered in internet forums. I know it took a huge amount of effort on your part to put it all together to share with us and I appreciate what you have done. Please continue to make your "meaty" contributions; its not that I don't appreciate oohing and ahhing over everyones pets but what you did is the kind of contribution that will make this forum attractive to Parisophiles.

[GitteK]

Well put, my eloquent friend. Very well put, indeed !

[Darcy]

I visited Barbizon on the same day I went to Vaux le Vicomte and Fontainebleau and as Jo says, it makes a long but wonderful day.

The village of Barbizon is about two blocks long with two or three small museums, some art galleries, restaurants and a couple of chambres d'hote type places to stay. We arrived late in the day so I may have missed something else as well. We strolled down the main street and enjoyed our short visit.

[GitteK]

OK, so it's not like you would spend an entire morning there ? (Not that I know how long a "block" would be, though ?)

[denise]

:)I have also just discovered this thread... Thank you Maisonmez for this thorough list. It must have taken a long time to compile it all.
An exalt from me.
I have bookmarked it....but now how do I look at my bookmarks?
Denise
love from England

[annettecinca]

Denise, go to your profile, and "Bookmarks" is an option to click at the top, right next to "Member's Bio" and "Modify Profile"

[MaisonMetz]

Laidback and Denise -

Merci beaucoup. It's a labor of love. I admit to being an addicted Francophile who gets almost as much pleasure out of planning for trips as being in France. As for Paris, well, it's simply my most favorite city in the world.

Counting the days until October arrives,
Jo

[laurel]

Thanks,Annette, for the link to MaisonMetz's amazing post on this topic. It's going to be invaluable in planning the trip and a source we'll go back to again and again. So ignorant of French geography I didn't realize these places were so close.
Thanks again.

[goldenmama]

:)We ended up visiting Provins on this trip, and it was a great day out. We followed the suggested itinerary from the Simms book, and it took us through areas where there weren't alot of tourists. We never even saw the area where the shows were; just wondered the beautiful, old streets. My whole family enjoyed this side trip!

We also went to Fontainebleu for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also fairly free of toursits.