Paris day trips in March - advice needed

If you are interested in stately homes and palaces, then Fontainebleau is a nice day trip. Cant beat a combination of interesting history and a lack of crowds. Early March means the gardens wont be particularly appealing. But that's true for any garden around Paris at that time of year.

For an easy day trip, you might consider the Vaux le Vicomte. It's an easy train ride from central Paris. The gardens there are French formal, and as such don't have blooming flowers. So they're still spectacular, even in the off-season.

I went to Chantilly in October. We had a lovely, late-fall day, so we were able to enjoy walking through the gardens and lunching in the hamlet. We also thought the town was charming and had coffee there on our way to the chateau.

If it's a sunny day, Chantilly is beautiful, and there are the stables/horse museum and chateau to explore indoors, as well. There's an equestrian show that's also indoors, but we didn't go to it, so I can't comment on it.

Just had a quick look, and if I'm reading it correctly, it appears that the show isn't offered in March: https://www.chantilly-senlis-tourisme.com/en/the-destination/terre-de-cheval/les-spectacles-equestres/

The castle is charming, and there are multiple lovely views of it from the gardens. The gardens have a formal section, and then there are less tame sections, too. There are statues, ponds, a hamlet, a mini-menagerie, a forest, etc. to explore. You probably know this already, but Versailles was modelled after Chantilly.

In light rain, a visit to Chantilly could still be pleasant. However, on a day with heavier, more constant rain (not uncommon in March), I'd be inclined to skip it. We spent more time outdoors than in while we were there.

We were in Paris last March and enjoyed a day trip to Rouen with a family of 4. While not on your list, I think it's worth considering.

It's a straight shot on the train in about 90 minutes and the town feels like a different world from Paris. It's not close enough to the rest of Normandy to work in the D-Day beaches etc. but Rouen has plenty to entertain on a day trip itself (history including Joan of Arc connections, cool old town to explore, amazing cathedral, connections to Impressionist painters, Gros Horloge (clock tower), etc.).

I agree with the idea of Rouen. Other ideas include Reims and Orléans, both within about an hour train ride from Paris. You said you've been to Champagne, but if one of your stops there wasn't Reims, it's definitely worth a visit.

Thank you all for the great feedback & suggestions! Still on the fence about this March, but I will definitely keep these all in mind whenever I get back to France.

Be sure you check out when things are open. Vaux le Vicomte is closed most of the winter. Giverny is closed in Winter. When we did a late November visit to Rouen, several things we wanted to see were closed 'exceptionally.' I did a day trip with a French friend to Auvers sur Oise this fall and many of the places on our list were closed except for weekends. it was a good visit but we missed a couple of things we expected to see.

Chateaux are good generally for winter. And near Paris Fontainbleau, Malmaison and Chantilly are obvious choices. Even in poor weather they have a lot of indoor things to see.

Thanks for that, Janet. I didn’t realize that the Vaux was closed in the winter. Apologies to the OP.

Booked my trip! Leaning towards Fontainebleau for my day outside Paris this time, mostly for the chance to wander the forest trails. But vaux de vicomte has gone to the top of my list the next time schedules align.

Just be aware that Père Lachaise has a man who might approach you to give directions to Jim Morrison's grave and if you go along with him, he will ask for money for his "time". He's dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase so he looks "legit" but he's not.

Oh Daisy! Thanks for that! I usually have a paper map clutched in my hand, hahaha but good to know there is someone who is trying to be a tour guide!

Maggie, since you are doing Père Lachaise, here is a link to the map of the cemetery from the City of Paris. I'd encourage you to print this out ahead of time. I have it both printed and saved on my iPad mini and phone but find it easier to see in paper format.

https://www.api-site.paris.fr/paris/public/2018%2F9%2FCPLMapEN.pdf

Rick also has a map and an audio guide so make sure you have your earbuds when you head out, lol.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/paris

In my experience neither map is completely accurate, even the official one. There were some graves I could not find - can't remember who...it was either a composer or an artist.

And since I have this bookmarked because I've got the Montmartre cemetery on my "to-do" list for my next visit, hahaha, the City of Paris website also has maps of it and the other cemeteries under it's purview.

https://www.paris.fr/pages/cimetieres-117

https://www.paris.fr/recherche/lieux?q=cimetière&types=cimetieres

Thanks for the great Père Lachaise tips!

Paris Walks has a Père Lachaise tour that they run about once a month. I took it a number of years ago. You might check their schedule to see if they are running it during your visit.
https://www.paris-walks.com

Re: St Germain-en-Laye was a place I visited in 2018 as a day trip from Paris mainly because of its role in WW2. It is a middle to upper middle class suburb of Paris, an eye-opener for me sociologically.