in her book 'An hour from Paris' by Annabel Simms, she writes about a day trip to Senlis. it sounds like a wonderfultown to visit. has anyone on Rick Steves visited this town and would you recommend it as a day trip from Paris? we will be there mid May. thank you
Senlis is certainly worth a daytrip, but offers to my opinion not enough to spend a whole day there. For that you can combine it with a visit to nearby Château de Chantilly. There is a RER train (line D) connection from Paris with a stop at Chantilly-Couvieux, from there you have to take a bus to these places.
Did not visited yet, but if horses are of interest Musée du Cheval just west of the château can be worth visiting too I guess.
We did this:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/moyen-age-visit-to-senlis/
Note that we traveled there on Monday which is the day that small towns in France with a tourist economy are locked up tight as a drum. I picked it because the museum was closed on Tuesday -- big mistake. We really loved the town and it was a great day trip. There is also an excellent restaurant there --or so we were told but since it was Monday it and nearly every other restaurant was closed up tight. We had trouble finding a cup of coffee and a sandwich.
We have done most of the trips in Simms book and with one or two exceptions really enjoyed them. Her directions are often a bit difficult -- but it is really fun to visit places a bit off the tourist track. We also enjoyed Moret sur Loing, Crecy la Chapelle, Conflans St. Honorine and the guiguettes on the Marne and the Seine. You can see all those in the photo journal under day trips from Paris.