Day Trips from Paris

How old are the children? What are their interests? I suggest that you purchase a few guide books. I utilize; Frommers, D&K, Steves.

Our son is 9 years old. We have taken him to London and Canada several times so he loves sightseeing. I bought Rick Steves Paris book 2010 and love it!! I was looking for advice from others who have previously gone on day trips from Paris with their children to get some ideas on where we may go? Thank you!!!

We are going in 3 weeks with kids (boy 13,girl 8). I am not sure if you are tied to day-trips only, but our itinerary includes castles and the tank museum in Loire Valley and Normandy to see the WWII sights/bunkers etc...I know my son was very interested in "army stuff" even at 9!! Have fun!

We already have a day trip to Versailles...but would love to do another day trip to the Loire Valley and see more castles. Which castles are you seeing and are you using a tour company? Thank you so much! We are so excited to be going and the trip is not until October!!!

I definitely recommend the guide "Let's Go: Paris" for ideas, very useful. The chateau at Fontainebleau would be fascinating, the scene of Napoleon's farewell to the Guard. If he knows of that and is interested, all the better.

The tank museum in Saumur is definitely a must-see.

Thanks everyone...really appreciate the info:-)!!!!!!!!

Another day trip that my son loved is Vaux le Vicomte. It's in Rick's Paris guide. It's an amazing chateau with beautiful gardens, stables, a moat, a tower you can climb w/amazing views, canal, and a really good cafe. The movie "Man in the Iron Mask" with Leonardo di Caprio was filmed there.

Last summer we took our 13, 11 and 9 year old boys to France. Normandy/WWII sites - absolutely the highlight. You feel so great to be an American there - it's very moving no matter the age of the person. Our kids are still talking. The train runs from Gare du Nord to Caen. You can get a driver ahead of time. Or train all the way to Bayeux. I think Battlebus tours run from there.

There is so much to do in Paris - five days for us wasn't enough. Take the kids to the Tuilleries and ride the huge Ferris Wheel, Bateau Mouche, picnic in front of Eiffel Tower.

Happy travels!

From above post: "Or train all the way to Bayeux. I think Battlebus tours run from there."

Train to Bayeux and doing a Battlebus tour the same day isn't possible; here's why (from the Battlebus website): To book with us, you must be staying within 50 minutes drive time of Bayeux. Because of the 8.30am start time of our tours, we do not take bookings from people staying further than this. Therefore places like Honfleur, Deauville and Rouen and are all too far away.