Popular Day Trips from the Most Romantic City - Paris, France

Have a few extra days while staying in Paris? Take a vacation from your vacation! Doing a tour of France? Don’t forget to put these stops on your itinerary. Check out these Popular Day Trips from the Most Romantic City – Paris, France.

The capital of France, Paris is a major European city and is known for it’s unique culture, fashion, food, and more! While there is a lifetime you would be able to spend in Paris, don’t let that stop you from exploring around the city as well through day trips. This blog will cover 5 amazing day trips you’ll love: Epernay, Giverny, Palace of Versailles, Normandy, and Mont St. Michel.

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional costs to you. You can read my full disclaimer here.

Book your stay in and around Paris with Hotels.com. Earn 1 FREE night for every 10 nights you stay!

Day Trips from Paris, France

While there a TONS of things to do in Paris, if you are looking for something outside of the hustle and bustle of the city, check out these epic day trips from Paris!

Day Trip #1

Epernay - Moet et Chandon

When in France, drink champagne in none other than the Champagne region itself! What’s more iconic than drinking champagne in Champagne than at Moet et Chandon? They offer 3 different visits on their site ranging from 26 to 47 euros where you can learn about the champagne making process, tour the cellars, and drink some champagne.

Fun Fact! Did you know legally anything called champagne is bottled within 100 miles of the Champagne region. Other places legally have to call it something else, like Cava from Spain, or sparkling wine from California.

How to get to Epernay

By car Epernay is a 2 hour drive. By public transportation starting at Paris’ train station, Gare de l’Est for around $60 roundtrip to Epernay is about an hour and a half trip. From the Epernay train station a short walk will bring you to Avenue de Champagne and Moet et Chandon.

Our next day trip...

Giverny - Monet's Garden

Take a stop at Monet’s House and Garden. If you love flowers, art, or botanical gardens – this place is a must. You need to purchase your tickets online, ahead of time, and the normal fare for tickets are 11.50 euros. You can walk around the property though pathways admiring all the flowers and designs.

There are two parts to Monet’s Garden: a flower garden called Clos Normand and a Japanese inspired water garden. Claude Monet lived in this house for almost half of his life.

How to get to Giverny

If you have your own car, Giverny is only an hour away (with some tolls), but there is also very easy public transportation to take from Paris as well. Trains to Giverny start from Paris’ Saint-Lazare train station taking 40-60 minutes for less than $12 each way to your stop, Vernon – Giverny.

When you arrive to Giverny by train you are still 6km from Monet’s Garden. There are buses that will take you for only $10 round trip.

Don't miss Paris' Top 10 Sites!

Obviously if you are taking day trips from Paris I would assume you are spending some time in Paris as well. Use this Paris Top 10 Sites guide to make sure you don’t forget any of the main sites! Most importantly, don’t forget to visit the Eiffel Tower like I almost did!

Next stop is...

Palace of Versailles

While Palace of Versailles is typically on any Paris bucket list, it’s not so much in the city and will require putting aside at least half a day to go see it, but it’s so worth it! Listed as a World Heritage site once was Louis XIII’s hunting pavilion was then transformed by his son, Louis XIV, to hold the Court and Government in the 17th century. During the French Revolution Louis XVI was forced to go to Paris marking the end of royalty at the Palace.

Versailles is iconic for many reasons including the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Opera, the Gardens, and the many, many rooms filled with art. A timed ticket must be purchased ahead of time. For 18 euros you will have access to the Palace, garden (with the exception of special days), park, and any temporary exhibits. I recommend doing a guided tour for an additional 10 euros because there’s so much to see and it’s better to know what you’re actually looking at.

How to get to the Palace of Versailles

The easiest way to get to Versailles from Paris is by train. The train ride takes about an hour from Paris’ RER Line C (yellow) towards Versailles-Rive Gauche and costs only a few euros. This train will leave you at the closest station in Versailles that is a short walk to your actual destination.

Day Trip #4

Normandy at Omaha Beach

If you’re a history nerd, specifically about WW2, Normandy is a great trip to take from Paris. For those of you that don’t know, Omaha Beach is where allied troops, like the U.S. soldiers, stormed the beaches during the invasion of D-Day.

There are monuments and memorials on the sand of the beaches. Pictured above is the monument Les Braves to honor the courage of the men who sacrificed their lives. Along the terrain are still bunkers that you can walk through that were occupied by the Germans.

Visiting the U.S. Cemetery is also a must. It is absolutely beautiful and a great remembrance of all the lives lost during World War II. There is also the Omaha Beach Museum to learn more about the history that is D-Day.

How to get to Omaha Beach

From Paris, Omaha Beach is a 3 hour drive and includes some tolls. I would really suggest renting a car for this trip because public transportation can get a bit tricky and expensive. But, if you’re going the public transportation route, start at the Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris to Bayeux (which you may have to change trains in Caen) which will cost about 100 euros for a round trip. From the Bayeux station you take Bus Vert number 70 towards the D-Day beaches which is only about 5 euros round trip.

Travel Tip: Although it is a beach, I visited in June and it was very windy and pretty chilly.

Our last Paris day trip!

Mont St. Michel

Unlike every other thing I recommend, I was not able to make it to Mont St. Michel and still regret it. Although it was in the plans, we weren’t able to make it, but I wish I would have been able to! This place looks magical and straight out of a fairy tale. I don’t have any pictures from here since I wasn’t able to go, but do yourself a favor and search for it, it’s amazing – some even compare it to a real life Hogwart’s, if Harry Potter is your thing.

On the border of Normandy and Brittany, France, Mont St Michel was a place of passage and a fortress for the Duchy of Normandy. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

How to get to Mont St. Michel

If you are traveling by car, from Paris to Mont St. Michel is about a 4 hour drive. But, if you are doing your day trips by train you’ll want to start at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris to Rennes for about 2 hours costing around 56 euros. From Rennes there is a coach bus that will take you to Mont St. Michel for about an hour and half one way for 15 euros.

I am sure I have just touched the surface of possible day trips from Paris, but these few are ones that I have personally traveled to! (with the exception of Mont St. Michel unfortunately) Have you been to any of these getaways when in France? What was your favorite? Leave it in the comments below.