Provins or Versaille as day trip from Paris with 10 and 12 yr old??

Versaille is a must see for anyone going to Paris. Last time we went out there, it was by a 10 mi. train ride. It's just a nice day trip.

Tania, done both. My kids enjoyed both , but no comparison in experience, Versailles is hot and crowded( the palace) but grounds are lovely and huge.. its a tiring day for most kids. If you take kids you will basically survive pushing them through the palace but enjoy wandering the grounds and spending some time in Marie Antionettes Hamlet( do not miss this if you do take kids) Lines at palace are insane in summer, even with passes etc, Provins is a more of a laid back day, a bit of an antidote to the rush rush and summer crowds in Paris. Sure there are alot of people there too, but its not elbow to elbow like in the palace.The show we saw was great, its an outdoor live show "Eagles of the Rampart" , we didn't get to see the other shows but wish we had the time( we had taken a bus tour so had to meet the bus) . Its a day of wandering the old town, walking the ramparts, eating an leisurely lunch in a cafe.. my son found it more "fun". ( dd was not with me on that trip). I don't think the two daytrips are comaparable they are both great. Versailles is 35-45 minutes from Paris on the RER and 7 euros each return.
Provins I paid 30 euros for a bus that took us there and dropped us off and then came back and picked us up,, included the admission and the eagle show, but don't think the company does the tour anymore

Pat, you're right, it's hard for me to enjoy anyplace when it's that hot - that's why I mentioned it, it affected my enjoyment, but even in cool weather Provins wasn't really anything to write home about for me.

If you do opt for Versailles, go as early in day as possible because the lines will be long, long. Went twice off season and lines were long, once in April they were much longer and I found we were pushed around too much and coming from a New Yorker, that says a lot!

I've been to both and I would choose Versailles. Much more historical, beautiful and impactful. Took my son to Versailles when he was 11 and he loved it. I couldn't get him out of the Palace. We've been back many, many times since then and we both still love everything about it. The grounds are amazing. We've rented bikes there (on the grounds by the Grand Canal) many times and like that way of getting around the best. It's a lot of fun. But they do have a little "train" to move people, and a horse drawn wagon. Your daughters will probably enjoy all there is to see including the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, and especially the hamlet where Marie Antoinette liked to pretend she was a simple farm maiden (they perfumed the sheep for her). There is a restaurant by the Grand Canal as well as a cafe halfway between the Palace and the Grand Canal. There used to be a cafe at the Palace, don't know if it's still there. Or, if you rent bikes you can easily ride into town for food for a picnic on the grounds (or bring with you) or to eat at a cafe. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Museum Pass covers Versailles and you can skip the line? Maybe not the line to enter, but the line to purchase tickets at least. We did not love Provins. We rented an apt in Paris for a month in 2010 so we had a lot of time to go there, but I don't think it's really worthwhile if your time is limited. It was 100+ when we were there and it was miserable. We had some trouble getting there (train tracks were under repair so we had to get off train at some point and got transferred to a bus), and even more trouble getting back to Paris. We could not get a taxi to the train station...it was beyond frustrating after a long hot day walking forever. The TI there was absolutely useless. If you go, Pat's tour suggestion sounds good to me.

Yes the museum pass does cover Versailles, and children are free anyways.. The MP does allow you to skip the long line for tickets, but unfortunately we waited about 45-55 minutes in the security line anyways, but this was in July, and this was also after sleeping in and arriving at 10.30 am, its best to arrive BEFORE it opens in the summer.. Susan, there is no where on this earth I would enjoy in 100 plus weather, this past august we visited Monaco, and it was so hot all I could think about was getting out of the heat, avoiding standing or even walking in the sun, we actually cut our visit short there and took bus back and stopped at Eze sur Mer to spend the rest of the day on the beach.. so I can certainly agree that wandering stone streets and sitting in the open seating for the shows would have been a misery. Thing is at Versailles the palace can be "make you puke" hot too, thousands of bodies and no ac ,, but at least the grounds have lots of shade once you get down by canals.

Ask your girls. Really, they are not too young to have an opinion. But I'll add that Versailles in July is going to be hot and crowded, though if you focus on the grounds rather than the chateau that may not matter as much.

I am not familiar with Provins, but my wife and I did tour Versaille in early June of 2012. Versaille is quite impressive, but,unfortunately, our guide (who was extremely knowledgeable)spent too much of our allotted time on the interior. If you go to Versaille , I would suggest that you plan to spend the bulk of your time touring the beautiful, spacious grounds. Touring the interior is an intensely crowed experience among a throng of people. Reading your posting, my first thought was that I could not possibly imagine having children of your daughters' ages with us. The Medieval experience in Provins strikes me as something that your girls would much prefer.

Tania, one other thing, if you visit Versailles my daughter really enjoyed reading the "Princess Diaries " series, the one on Marie Antionette specifically, its written for 10-12 yr olds and is a fictional diary of Marie Antionette as a young girl ( 13-14) and her perceptions of having to leave her family at a young age and move to Versailles and meet the prince etc.. It makes history personal and interesting to a young girl. I also suggest the 12 yr old may enjoy the Marie Antionette movie featuring Kirsten Dunst, it was actually filmed at Versailles, but has a slightly modern twist( music) but still all the grandeur and costumes of the period.. It may however not be completey suitable for the 10 yr old.. it is rated PG13 for inuendo and some partial nudity( which personally I do not recall) . If 12 yr old is a good reader she may enjoy Marie Antionette by Antonia Frazer, I know I did.

Well Versailles is Versaille,, palace of kings and queens, history in itself, and Provins I think was just an old trading village, so historical in content certainly not anywhere as signicant as Versailles.. but do think most kids will still think seeing the old stone ramparts more of "visiting an old castle" type experience.. I was 50/50 on the issue, but now do agree to be being 60/40 ,, lol problem is I can't be subjective, I have been to both, and so have kids, so would I miss one for the other, deep down, yes, I would miss Provins if it meant my kids not getting a chance to seee Versailles.. its it non something anything else can replace.. see both? ,lol

Thanks so much for all your replies. @Pat, I was hoping you would be able to help. I have read a lot of your posts and replies over the last year, and you have an enormous amount of valuable information to share and it is greatly appreciated! I wish we could do both day trips, but as this being our first visit to Paris, we would rather experience the city itself. We always tell ourselves that if we don't have time for something on this trip, we will just have to come back! It sounds like almost all the replies vote for Versaille. It will most likely be our daytrip, heavy on the gardens and lighter on the crowds inside the palace. Thanks again, we really appreciate all the input and advice.