a day trip from Paris

www.cityrama.com is the Paris Tour company and they do one day tours to Reims and Champagne and Bruges plus the Loire Valley (and others). The Reims and Champagne tour is very good. We have been on it twice. Bruges (Belgium) is known as Venice of the North and is really pretty.

The Loire Valley with its castles is a favourite tour. We have done it twice with Cityrama but have also done what I call a "self tour" and caught the train at Gare Montparnasse at 7.50am which arrives in Tours at 9am. Just across the square is the Tourist Information and prearranged tours pick you up here. If the Loire Valley interests you, go on to www.ligeris.com. You can do two half day tours and then catch the train back to Paris at about 8pm after having a quick drink and a bite in a nice little bar near the station. Doing it this way actually saves about $Au100 and you get to see more castles and things and have a bit more flexibility. There are several tour companies who operate from there.

Normandy is easy - take the train from Garde du Nord - its about 2 hrs one way - u can purchase your ticket online - get off at Bayeux - u can rent from Hertz here - its about a 5-10 min taxi drive to the Shell/Hertz car rental place - from here maybe 20 min to Normandy - U can drive up the coast - walk the beaches, walk the German defences, visit the US cemetery, visit the Cndn cemetery - see some of the beautiful small villages - u can then catch an evening train back to Paris - also Mont St. Michel is 1,2 hr drive to the SE, although I have not done that (yet).

Personally, I don't recommend Brussels.

Spent a couple of days there several years ago, and the city seemed a bit grey and bland.

I wish I had spent my time in Bruges instead.

Dean, how is Normandy? We are going to be around there on Memorial day (May 28th) and my husband seems to think there will be some ceremony or something. If there isn't, is it still worth visiting?

I would suggest the Loire Valley. We took the train from Paris first thing in the morning to Tours. We met the tour guide from Acco Dispo at the train station. We spent the day seeing some of the best chateaus in the valley. The information used to be in Rick's books - not sure if it still is - www.accodispo-tours.com.

I add my vote for Acco Dispo Tours. We took them and thoroughly enjoyed our tour.

Thanks for all the input so far.
Have already done Loire Valley, spent three days there and loved it. We want to explore somewhere else this time around

If you are willing to travel as far as Brussels for a day trip, many other interesting destinations are within your grasp, including Burgundy (Beaune would be nice), Lyon, and even Avignon.

There's even a book about using Eurail to see Europe through day trips from different base cities, including many from Paris.

Personally, I would prefer to stay closer and spend less time on the train. Rouen is interesting and charming, Giverny is popular, and if you loved the Loire consider some of the chateaux near paris (Fontaineblu, Vaux le Vicomt, Chantilly, and of course Versailles). I'm sure Reims is great too.

It really depends on what you want to do and see!

I would not do Brussels, Stick with Reims...
it is a long journey to brussels and getting around the town is a bit difficult for a
newbie.
Stick to Paris Try some other things like FOuntainbleu, or St Denis Cathedral
My favorite day trip is to Chartres as after you see the church you have this
wonderful town to walk around.