Day trip from Paris

Jenny, what are your interests,, and just so we can understand,, why no Versailles( have you seen it before, or you don't like Chateaus?)

On a nice day I would choose a Fat Tire bike tour to Giverny ,, the gardens will still be pretty , and the ride is easy and flat ,, on a lovely bike path through the countryside. You stop at a market and buy lunch, then have a picnic by the river. Anyone can do this bike ride, young or old, fit or flabby.

I visited Fontainebleau this past summer for first time,, loved it.. not crowded at all so was really able to wander through rooms. Easy to get to, a 35 mintue train ride then 5 minutes on the local bus( that is usually at the train station as you arrive).

Did Versailles in 1973, with 40,000 others. Would love a day outside of Paris that will provide a nice counterpoint to 5 days in Paris. A little country, a little history, alot of ambience...what will intoxicate me so I remember being there 10 years from now?

Giverny is nice but none of us can say whether it will "intoxicate you" since that's subjective. Are you a big, big Monet fan?

You said "a little country" and that would seem to rule out Chartres, which is not country, although you go through some country on the high speed train to get there.

3 chateaux that are a comfortable day trip from Paris, other than Versailles, are: Fontaineblbleau, Chantilly, and Vaux-le-Vicomte. Suggest you Google the websites of these and then try to figure out whether any of those will "intoxicate you."

One thing about Giverney is that it, like Versailles, is very popular--not on the same scale, but in terms of tourists per square foot they are at least comparable.

Rouen makes an interesting taste of Normandy, though it is not exactly countryside.

I still vote for Giverny. Just be sure to walk around the village after visiting Monet's home. You won't find a prettier little town in all of France. Peek into the American Museum and have lunch outside at the Hotel Baudy. Haven't done the bike tour but that sounds like fun too.

It would be some driving but you could see Mont St Michel in a day trip from Paris.
We just got back from a trip to Normandy and Ireland.
We stayed in Bayuex and took a shuttle from the hotel. We had a very enjoyable day wondering around the Abbey.

Jenny, we just got back from Paris and had the same issue. We ended up going to Chartes to see the cathedral and I would highly recommend it. However, it isn't a full day trip by any means. Go on Friday to see the labyrinth--it's something to see. We also went to Versailles and saw the entire place. It was chilly that day and not very crowded at all. We liked Marie's Domaine better and thought, overall, that the palace in Vienna was a better site overall, so if you've seen it, you may want to skip Versailles. We went to Reims and liked that city as well but really, really thought Rouen was fabulous. Our picks would be to get to Chartes and Rouen if you can. Safe travels!

Hi Jenny, My wife and I are also going to Paris next week (Oct 2) and we have planned a half day at Giverny, although I don't think we'll go if it is rainy. We have another half day planned for Versailles and I was even wondering if we could combine the two and do them in one day.
Anyway, maybe we'll cross paths!!
Rick

How about Malmaison? You can walk through the small town from the train station to reach it. It was the home of Josephine Bonaparte. It's very near Paris, an easy train trip and, like Fontainebleau, it's not as heavily touristed. It would not take all day, but that depends on how much time you take wandering around. Also, it goes La Defense, where you could stop on your way back.