Best Paris Day Trip
If you’re planning a trip to Paris but you’ve seen all the main sites in the city and you have the feeling of been there, done that, here are some ideas for day trips. The application I use to find train tickets is SNCF (which stands for : Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français). Or, Omio.
Find your tickets here. These are all beautiful small towns located close to Paris, so rent a car or find cheap train tickets and go to these destinations.
1. Reims
Reims is about a 45 minute train ride from Paris. And who doesn’t want to drink champagne in the champagne region of France ? Reims is the capital of the champagne region. There are many champagne cellars (called caves in French, pronounced kah-ve) that you can visit. I toured the G.H. Mumm cellars and even brought home a bottle of champagne and champagne glasses (this is a lot easier for me because I live in Paris, but if you ask, they’ll pack everything safely so you can put it in your checked-baggage to take home).
Reims cathedral is also the place where the majority of the kings of France had their coronation. It is the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims, many cathedrals share this name so when you say Notre Dame to a local, they don’t just think of Notre Dame de Paris. The cathedral you see now was started in the 13th century, although this was the location of the baptism of the first Frankish king, Clovis, in the 5th century. So, what this means is he was baptized in the location where the cathedral now stands.
Reims is also the capital of the champagne region of France. So, while you’re here, don’t forget to drink champagne ! Find your tour here.
2. Rouen
Rouen is about 1.5 hours on the train from Paris. It is the capital of the region of Normandy in France. I have seen a lot of gothic cathedrals in France and so far my favorite is the cathedral in Rouen. Also called the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Rouen (Not just Paris has a Cathedral of Notre Dame. Again, make sure to specify which Notre Dame you are referring to. Notre Dame simply means ‘Our Lady’ in French.).
This is also the town where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. If you notice a building with a black, oddly shaped roof, it’s because this roof was designed to look like the flames that engulfed poor Joan.
Take a guided tour of the historic center here.
3. Chantilly
About an hour on the train from Paris. Go to see the castle, stay for the cheap food and wine. When I first went to Chantilly, I was shocked at how cheap it is to eat out here. It is an expensive place to live, but the food was not, what I call, Paris prices, aka expensive.
Skip the line to the castle when you buy your ticket here.
It was a nice day, so my husband and I did not go in the castle, we just went to the gardens. In French, chantilly means whipped cream. So make sure to eat some desserts here with whipped cream !he best place to go is l’Atelier de la Chantilly. There’s usually a line, so make sure you leave enough time to go here !
4. Chartres
Chartres is about an hour on the train from Paris. There is also a gothic cathedral in this town, also called, you guessed it !, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres. It is famous worldwide. This cathedral is best known for the labyrinth inside. So follow the path of the labyrinth and meditate while you do so. This was the purpose of the labyrinth.
So while you get to explore new towns, you can also familiarize yourself with lots of gothic cathedrals in France. Every evening, there is a light show on this cathedral. So stay, have dinner, wait for it to get dark, and enjoy the show !
5. Etretat
This location is harder to get to than the others. It is about 3 hours on the train from Paris. If you know the story of Lupin, or watched the new TV series called Lupin, you might be familiar with Etretat. Lupin and his family went to Étretat in the episode where it was the son’s birthday.
This is another town in the Normandy region of France, most famous for its rock formation in the sea (not a cathedral like the other locations).
You can always rent a car and make a weekend out of it !
Read more about Paris in my blogs found here.
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