Best Day Trips from Paris 2026 — Versailles, Mont Saint-Michel and the Loire Valley Near Paris

Best Day Trips from Paris 2026

Paris is encircled by UNESCO World Heritage Sites and royal monuments within easy reach of the RER suburban rail network. Versailles is just 37 minutes from Invalides station on the RER C. Chartres Cathedral is under an hour by Transilien train. France's TGV high-speed network extends the range dramatically: the Loire Valley châteaux are under an hour from Paris Montparnasse, and Mont Saint-Michel is reachable in 3.5 hours by TGV to Rennes then shuttle bus. This guide covers the best day trips from Paris in 2026.

Top Day Trip Destinations from Paris

• Palace of Versailles (25km southwest, 37 minutes by RER C from Invalides to Versailles Château Rive Gauche): the grandest royal palace in Europe with the Hall of Mirrors, the King's State Apartments, and the extraordinary 800-hectare gardens and Grand and Petit Trianons; entry €21.50 (AUD 35) for palace + gardens, or €10 (AUD 16) for gardens only; book online to avoid queues; Giverny (75km northwest, 1.5 hours by SNCF Transilien + bus): Claude Monet's house and the Water Garden that inspired the Nymphéas (Water Lily) series; entry €12 (AUD 19); open April to November; Chartres (90km southwest, 58 minutes by Transilien from Gare Montparnasse): the most complete Gothic cathedral in France (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, UNESCO World Heritage) with extraordinary 12th-century stained glass; free to enter the cathedral nave; Loire Valley Châteaux (250km southwest, 1 hour by TGV to Tours from Montparnasse): Chambord's 440 rooms and double-helix staircase, Chenonceau spanning the Cher River, and Amboise's royal château where Leonardo da Vinci is buried; organised coach tours from Tours or self-drive; Mont Saint-Michel (370km west, 3.5 hours by TGV to Rennes then shuttle bus): the tidal island monastery rising from Normandy's mudflats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site among the world's most visited monuments; entry to abbey €13 (AUD 21); check tide tables for the dramatic high-tide appearance

Day Trip Logistics from Paris

• RER A, B, C, and Transilien suburban trains serve Versailles, Giverny access (Vernon), and Chartres; TGV from Gare Montparnasse serves Tours (Loire Valley) and Rennes (Mont Saint-Michel shuttle connection); Navigo pass covers all RER and Transilien zones within Île-de-France

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