We are going to visit Maintenon, Rambouillet, Castle of St. Jean de Beauregard, Château de Breteuil, Vallee de Chevreuse, Courson Castle, Domaine de Courances, Fontainebleau, and Vaux le Vicomte. All South of Paris of course. What would be a good central spot for these to base ourselves with an easy train there from CDG and rental cars as well? Thank you!
Same question for north of Paris to visit Chantilly, Compiegne, Pierrefonds, Giverny, and Chateau de Bizy. Thanks again.
Dourdan could work for the southern sights. It is a charming small town but...no rental cars there, and few restaurants.
Rambouillet has a branch of Avis and has more restaurants, but it is quite a bit further from Fontainebleau / Courances / Vaux le Vicomte. But in general, for rental cars in that area, you might want to pick it up at Orly airport.
For the northern sights, I'd pick Auvers-sur-Oise or L'Isle-Adam (have you been before? They're both interesting). By the way, I'd much rather visit La Roche Guyon than Bizy.
Hello Balso,
Many thanks for your reply. Very helpful info. I planned self-driving trips to Loire, Dordogne, and Provence but planning this trip has been a bit of a challenge for some reason. I do not want to drive in Paris if possible and have avoided that so far.
We like chateaus that are restored and furnished, well kept gardens, and beautiful villages. We do not have an interest in medieval castle ruins.
I will look at Dourdan and Rambouillet as a base for the south of Paris region. Are there any other chateaus that are restored and furnished, well kept gardens, and beautiful villages in the south of Paris region that come to mind? Thank you.
Regarding the area north of Paris, I will check out Auvers-sur-Oise or L'Isle-Adam as we have not been to those before. Are there any other chateaus that are restored and furnished, well kept gardens, and beautiful villages in the north of Paris region that come to mind? Thank you again.
Best,
Joe
You are welcome!
In the southern Paris region, Chamarande is a beautiful garden, often with cool exhibitions in the various buildings - but you cannot visit the castle/manor as far as I know. It is close to Dourdan.
Near Fontainebleau, the village of Barbizon and the town of Moret-sur-Loing are also worth a stop. Especially Barbizon, where even a mere 1.5 hours would be enjoyable.
I believe Malesherbes castle is no longer open for visits, but keep an eye out, I remember it being quite interesting (impressive dovecote comes to mind) even though I saw it 20+ years ago.
In the north, Auvers sur Oise is famous for the Van Gogh connection. It, and nearby l'Isle-Adam, inspired many artists in the late 19th c.
I mentioned La Roche Guyon earlier for a great castle (partly excavated in the cliff face!) and beautiful small garden too. A bit to the east of that, Royaumont Abbey and Ecouen Castle are both worth a visit, and definitely try to visit Senlis if you can! Further north, the village of Gerberoy could also be of interest for something different.
Hello again Balso,
Many thanks for your great suggestions. How crazy would it be to pick up our rental car at CDG upon arrival and driving to Dourdan? Would we be better off to take local trains from CDG to Orly and pick the car up there? I've driven all over Loire, Dordogne, and Provence but never in the Paris area. Your thoughts please.
Also, where would be a good base for our North of Paris sight visits. Thanks again!
Best,
Joe
A few years back I stayed near Saint-Leu-d'Esserent just north-west of Chantilly and is wel connected with the places mentioned north of Paris. But would rather prefer Chantilly as a base. The whole setting of La Roche-Guyon is nice, but the château is a bit empty and to my opinion not really worth for a look inside. Nevertheless the panoramic view of the Seine from the donjon is really nice. Think La Roche-Guyon lies in the Vexin region with lovely places like Ambleville, Quiry-en-Vexin, Genainville and admission free Domaine of Villarceaux.
Saint Remy les Chevreuse is well connected with RER-B with CDG and for Orly you need to take the Orlyval metro from Antony.
Chateau de Breteuil is absolutely worth to visit. Not it's beauty but it's history that makes it outstanding. Followed the French guided tour, but afraid there are no English tours, as far as I know not at the time of my visit. Nevertheless I wouldn't miss it and it helps doing some homework about Marie-Antoinette and the French Revolution, puss in Boots, writer Marcel Proust and so on... https://www.breteuil.fr/fr/
Driving from CDG to Dourdan involves crossing the entire Paris area. It can be a stressful drive on weekdays, but if you arrive on a Saturday or a Sunday morning, it is doable (about 75 min in light traffic).
However, a more comfortable option that just came to mind is renting a car in Massy: there are several rental car locations right outside the RER and TGV station there. It is a direct ride from CDG airport (~1 hr.), and a 40 min drive to Dourdan.
Great idea thank you. Is there a train station north of Paris that would be a direct ride from Massey where we could pick up a rental car for our northern exploration. Thank you.
I would definitely keep the same rental car for both sides of your exploration. Once you've overcome jet lag, driving around the Paris area either west or east is not too daunting if you avoid 7-10 AM and 4-7 PM weekdays, and you will save a lot of time vs returning a car, taking the train, and renting a second car.
You can return the original rental car at CDG airport at the end of your trip.
Hello again Balso,
Thank you very much again for all of your help. I was having a really hard time trying to put this trip together but you made everything fall into place. Best wishes to you.
Best regards,
Joe
Good afternoon Balso,
New question on new topic. We are thinking of making a day trip into Paris to visit Luxemburg Gardens. What is your opinion on these gardens? Would it be worth a day trip? Other sites to visit in the same area walkable? Already done the Louvre etc. etc. on previous trip.
If we decide to do the day trip, which direction would be best in terms of public transport...trains...etc. From the north/Chantilly, from the south/Dourdan, or from our airport hotel at CDG? We could easily spend an extra night at our CDG airport hotel and do it from there if that would be best for public transport.
Many thanks for your opinion.
Best,
Joe
gocardsjoeh,
Regarding your last query to Balso, I can't help you with how to get to Luxembourg Gardens from your location outside of Paris, but if you go into Paris for the day to visit them, you will not be too far from the Cluny Museum, an absolutely wonderful one! It will complete your day. And if it isn't too far for you to walk, we had lunch at Breizh Cafe on rue de l'Odeon. It is a small chain, but with excellent crepes, reasonable prices, and when we were there in June, filled with locals on their lunch hour.
Bonne journee!
Hi Judy,
Thank you so much.
Joe
A day in Paris is never a bad idea and I really like the Luxembourg garden area. You could combine it with Cluny, Panthéon, Jardin des Plantes.
For transit directions, I recommend the app Citymapper.
I would say the trip is easier from Dourdan since you can take the RER C train all the way to St Michel (for Latin Quarter/Luxembourg) or Gare d'Austerlitz (for Jardin des Plantes), a one-seat ride. However, there is frequent engineering work on that line so you'll need to check the status when you're there.
From Chantilly, the train ride to Gare du Nord is very quick (much quicker than the RER C from Dourdan) but you have to take the metro afterwards, and the train ticket is more expensive.
gocard, the Luxembourg Gardens are very much worth it, they’re my favorite place on the planet. I visit Paris every year and always go to the LG first thing.
Beautiful, relaxing, and enchanting.
Thank you.
