Parcs Naturel Regional

Of the parks we have visited, our favorite is the Parc naturel regional du Perche. You can get a train from Paris to Bretoncelles and Conde sur Huisne but from then on you would need a car; there is no public transportation in the area and the park covers a lot of territory. The area is quiet and lovely and well worth a visit.

Would biking be a possibility for you? A voie verte on an old train line runs from Conde sur Huisne to Alencon through pretty countryside. The whole trail is level. though you'd have an uphill ride to the park HQ near (not in) Noce. Also the interesting towns are on hills--Remalard, Mortagne au Perche, Belleme, and La Perriere.

We've visited five or six of these parks, always by car. The park HQs are usually way out in the country and the parks cover a lot of territory, not all of which you'd need or want to see.

If you are into biking, you can bike from Notre Dame cathedral in Paris to Mont Saint-Michel on the Veloscenie. It runs along the Perche's voie verte. A bit west of the Perche you could jog off the Veloscenie and visit the Chateau de Carrouges in the PNR Normandie-Maine. It's a wonderful brick chateau with its original moat.

There are over 50 Parcs Naturel Regional spread around France but visited a few of them like the Vexin region north-west of Paris and south-west of it, the one of La Haute Vallée de Chevreuse. Hard to speak about a favorit, but these two are to my opinion anyway worth to visit.

La Roch-Guyon, Ambleville, Omerville, Guiry-en-Vexin and Vétheuil are beside the countryside lovely places to visit. Giverny is just outside the park. Worth to recommend is Domain de Villarceaux, stunningly beautiful park and as far as I know still with free entrance. The château itself seems closed for the moment, no idea permanent or just for the winter period. There are no trains, so bus is will be the mode of public transport. Maybe train to Vernon and from there the bus further into the park.

La Celle-les-Bordes, Dampierre-en-Yvelines, Abbeye des Vaux de Cernay, Abbeye de Port-Royal des Champs and not to forget Château de Breteuil are worthwhile to visit in La Haute Vallée de Chevreuse. You can take the RER from Paris to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse and from there the bus into the park.

There is the Baladobus for taking walkers to places in both parks and think interesting: https://www.parc-naturel-chevreuse.fr/se-deplacer-acces/baladobus-saison-2022 and for the Vexin region you can contact the TI in Cergy-Pontoise Porte du Vexin. https://www.ot-cergypontoise.fr/en/welcome-homepage/

Thanks very much for such detailed and useful information! I had not thought about bicycling and will look into it; glad to know that there are some places where a bus will take people further into the park.