Versailles and Chartes on same day?

Versailles and Chartres could technically be done on the same day, but I will warn your that Versailles IS fatiguing! You walk, walk, walk, and your mind is blown! Chartres is a marvelous town. It depends on what you'd like to do and see there. Of course you'll see the cathedral, but there is also a wonderful Beaux-Arts museum (behind the cathedral) and it's fun to walk to streets of the town. There's some great parks as well.

I'm planning to visit both sites on the same day in September. I would rather have one long day outside of Paris than two half-days plus extra travel time. Here's what I've learned so far: When it comes to travelling by train, there are two rail stations in the town of Versailles. The closest station to the entrance of Versailles grounds is Versailles-Rive-Gauche. However, depending on where you are staying in Paris, it may be more convenient to take a train to Versailles-Chantiers and then walk 15 minutes or so (or possibly taking a taxi) to the Versailles grounds entrance versus getting on the train that goes to Versailles-Rive-Gauche. (Something that I think a future RS book should consider mentioning.) Later that day when you're ready to go to Chartres, you will need to get to the Versailles-Chantiers station, as you cannot get a direct train from Versailles to Chartres from the Versailles-Rive-Gauche station. When you leave Chartres, to get back to Paris, the direct train will end at the Pairs-Montparnasse station. I hope this helps. Here's a very helpful website for planning Versailles, Chartres and other trips via mass-transit: http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ratp/recherche-avancee

He is right. The Versailles-Chantiers station is a bit of a jaunt from the chateau itself. The city of Versailles is nothing splendid, but Chartres will give you that.

Versailles is a very nice town, but that's not why people go there. There are actually 3 rail stations in Versailles, but the third one is the least convenient of the three. The Chantiers Station is only about a 5 minute walk further than Rive-Gauche. Figure about 15-20 minutes total to walk to the chateau. Visiting both is doable, if you have the right expectations. I have done it, though not my first time to either. Coordinate your schedule with the trains to/from Chartres since trains between Paris and Versailles run about every 20 minutes. Versailles takes at least 4-6 hours to see the chateau, the formal gardens and out to the Trianons. You can rent bikes, golf carts or take a tram around the gardens. Even so, expect a lot of walking that day. The cathedral at Chartres and town can be seen in under 2 hours.

With only a week, I can see why you want to fit this into one trip. So get as informed as possible. What's the earliest train out and the last one home. Figure how long it will take to get from Versailles back to the train station and what train you want to catch to go to Chartres. Bike it or tram it around the palace grounds - they are huge. The RS guide book gives lots of good hints about Versailles and then you can decide what is most important for you to see.