7 Best Day Trips from Paris: Versailles, Giverny, Fontainebleau, Provins and More (Trains & Tickets)

The most popular day trips from Paris are Versailles, Monet's garden at Giverny, the Château de Fontainebleau, the medieval town of Provins and Disneyland Paris, all roughly 40 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes away. Versailles, Fontainebleau, Provins and Disneyland are inside the Île-de-France region, so a one-way train or RER ticket costs just €2.50. Further afield, Lille is about 1 hour by TGV, while Mont-Saint-Michel takes around 3.5–4 hours each way and is better done with an overnight stay.

Key takeaways

• Since 2025, Île-de-France has a single fare: any metro, RER or train journey costs €2.50 (airport stations excluded), which covers Versailles, Fontainebleau, Provins and Disneyland Paris.
• In 2026 the Versailles Passport costs non-EEA visitors €35 in high season (April–October) and €25 in low season (November–March); the palace is closed on Mondays.
• The Château de Fontainebleau costs €17 (full price) and is closed on Tuesdays; its 130 hectares of park and gardens are free.
• Monet's garden at Giverny is open until 1 November in 2026 and closes for winter; adult tickets are €13.
• Provins is famous for its medieval town and its roses, not lavender, and there are no Provence lavender fields within day-trip range of Paris.

Where to go on a day trip from Paris? 7 destinations compared

The table below covers the seven most common day trips from Paris. Journey times are approximate, and prices follow each official website's 2026 information (adult full-price tickets).

Destination	Station and route	One-way time	One-way fare	Admission	Closed
Versailles	RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche	About 40 min	€2.50	Passport €35 (high season) / €25 (low season)	Mondays
Giverny (Monet's garden)	Train from Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, then shuttle bus	About 1–1.5 hours	SNCF ticket + €5 shuttle	€13	Early November to late March
Fontainebleau	Transilien Line R from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon, then bus 3401	About 1 hour	€2.50 + bus ticket	€17	Tuesdays
Provins	Transilien Line P from Gare de l'Est to Provins	About 1 hr 20 min	€2.50	Old town free; sights charged separately	Varies by sight
Disneyland Paris	RER A to Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy	About 40 min	€2.50	Varies by date	None
Lille	TGV from Gare du Nord to Lille-Flandres or Lille-Europe	About 1 hour	Varies by date	Art museum €7	Art museum: Tuesdays
Mont-Saint-Michel	TGV from Montparnasse to Rennes, then Keolis bus	About 3.5–4 hours	TGV + bus about €15	Abbey €13 (Oct–Mar) / €16 (Apr–Sep)	1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec

Paris day trip destinations and how to get there

Versailles: how much are tickets and how do you get there?

To reach Versailles, take RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about 40 minutes from central Paris, then walk roughly 10 minutes to the palace. From 2026 the Passport is the only ticket that includes the palace; it covers the palace, the Trianon estate and the gardens, with a timed entry slot.

Ticket	Low season (Nov–Mar)	High season (Apr–Oct)
Passport (non-EEA visitors)	€25	€35
Passport (EEA nationals or residents)	€22	€32

• The palace is closed on Mondays and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December; in high season it opens 9:00–18:30.
• Under-18s go free, as do EEA residents under 26.
• Prices and time slots are on the official Versailles 2026 ticketing page.

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Giverny (Monet's garden): opening season and how to get there

Monet's house and gardens (Fondation Claude Monet) are open from 1 April to 1 November in 2026, daily 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30), with adult tickets at €13; they close for winter. This is where the Impressionist painter lived and painted his Water Lilies series, and the water garden with its Japanese bridge is the main draw.

1. Take a train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Vernon is in Normandy, so the €2.50 flat fare doesn't apply; buy a regular SNCF ticket.
2. Outside the station, take the Vernon–Giverny shuttle bus (€5 one way, €10 return), which only runs during the garden's opening season.
3. Allow 1.5–2 hours for the visit, and book tickets online in advance.

Dates and prices are on the official Monet garden website; 2027 opening dates are subject to the official announcement.

The water garden at Giverny. Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Fontainebleau: tickets, transport and the state of the forest

The Château de Fontainebleau costs €17 full price (€15 reduced) and is closed on Tuesdays; it opens 9:30–17:00 from October to March (last entry 16:15) and 9:30–18:00 from April to September. French monarchs lived here from the Middle Ages to Napoleon III, the palace became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and the château describes itself as having around 1,500 rooms.

• Getting there: from Paris Gare de Lyon, take a Transilien Line R train towards Montargis, Montereau or Laroche-Migennes to Fontainebleau-Avon, then bus 3401 towards Les Lilas to the "Château" stop.
• Free entry: the château is free on the first Sunday of each month (except July and August), and for under-18s and long-term EU residents under 26.
• Gardens and forest: the château's park and gardens cover about 130 hectares and are free every day. The surrounding Forest of Fontainebleau is a state forest of more than 20,000 hectares (about 22,000–25,000 ha depending on how the area is counted).
• 2026 forest fire: a major fire in July 2026 burned about 2,000 hectares, mostly around Trois-Pignons. Around 80% of the forest reopened on 22 August, but some trails and car parks remain closed, so check notices from the French forestry office (ONF) before hiking.

Tickets and transport details are on the château's official practical information page.

The horseshoe staircase at Fontainebleau. Photo: Gzen92 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Provins: what to do in the medieval town

Provins is a direct Transilien Line P ride of about 1 hour 20 minutes from Gare de l'Est, for €2.50 each way. About 90 km southeast of Paris, it was a major international fair town of the Counts of Champagne in the Middle Ages and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 as "Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs".

• Tour César: a 12th-century keep with views over the upper town and the surrounding plain.
• Collégiale Saint-Quiriace: a church begun in the 12th century whose dome is the landmark of the upper town.
• Ramparts and upper town: well-preserved walls and stone streets; walking the old town is free, while individual sights and shows charge separately.
• Roses and the medieval festival: Provins is known for the "Provins rose", which turns up in local sweets and souvenirs, and every June it hosts Les Médiévales de Provins (13–14 June in 2026; 2027 dates are subject to announcement by Provins Tourism).

You'll sometimes read that Provins has a June–August lavender season, but that isn't true: Provins doesn't grow lavender. France's famous lavender fields are in Provence in the south, a similar-sounding name hundreds of kilometres away.

The Tour César in Provins. Photo: Tournasol7 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Disneyland Paris: about 40 minutes on RER A

Disneyland Paris is about 40 minutes from central Paris on RER A to the end of the line at Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, for €2.50 each way, and the park entrance is a short walk from the station. The resort lies about 30 km east of Paris, opened in 1992 and is Europe's only Disney resort.

• The resort has two parks: Disneyland Park and the former Walt Disney Studios Park, which was renamed Disney Adventure World on 29 March 2026 when its World of Frozen area opened.
• Tickets are dated and prices vary by day; check the official Disneyland Paris website.

Lille: about 1 hour by TGV

Lille is about 1 hour by TGV from Paris Gare du Nord to Lille-Flandres or Lille-Europe; fares are dynamic and cheaper the earlier you book, and some low-cost OUIGO trains start from €10 (they may use a different Paris station). Close to the Belgian border, the city has a distinctly Flemish feel in both its streets and its food.

• Grand Place and the Vieille Bourse: a 17th-century Flemish Baroque former stock exchange whose courtyard often hosts second-hand book stalls.
• Palais des Beaux-Arts: one of France's largest art collections, with works by Rubens, Goya and others; the permanent collection costs about €7 and opens Monday 14:00–18:00 and Wednesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00, closed Tuesdays.
• Local food: carbonade flamande (beef stewed in beer), waffles (gaufres) and tarte au maroilles (Maroilles cheese tart).

The Vieille Bourse in Lille. Photo: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Mont-Saint-Michel: can you do it as a day trip?

You can visit Mont-Saint-Michel as a day trip from Paris, but at about 3.5–4 hours each way (7–8 hours of travel in total) it is a very long day, and staying nearby for a night is the better option. Set on a tidal island on the border of Normandy and Brittany, the abbey has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 and is cut off by the sea at high tide.

1. Take a TGV from Paris Gare Montparnasse to Rennes, about 1 hour 25 minutes to 2 hours.
2. From the bus station next to Rennes station, take the Keolis Armor bus to Mont-Saint-Michel, about 1 hour 15 minutes and about €15 for adults; there are only a few departures a day, so plan around the timetable.
3. From the mainland bus stop, take the free shuttle (about 12 minutes) or walk across the causeway in about 40 minutes.

Abbey tickets cost €16 from April to September 2026 and €13 from October 2026 to March 2027; it opens 9:30–18:00 from September to April and 9:00–19:00 from May to August, with last entry 1 hour before closing (see the official abbey website).

Mont-Saint-Michel at sunrise. Photo: Lynx1211 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Which ticket do you need for Paris day trips? Using the €2.50 flat fare

Since 1 January 2025, Île-de-France no longer charges by distance: every metro, RER and Transilien train journey costs €2.50, so tickets to Versailles, Fontainebleau, Provins and Disneyland Paris cost the same as a metro ride in the city. To buy one:

1. Get a Navigo Easy card from a station ticket machine or counter, or download the Île-de-France Mobilités app to store tickets on your phone.
2. Buy a "Métro-Train-RER" ticket at €2.50 per journey; buses and trams need a separate "Bus-Tram" ticket.
3. Validate when you enter, and buy another ticket for the return trip.

Note that Charles de Gaulle and Orly airport stations are excluded from the €2.50 fare, and Giverny (Vernon), Lille and Mont-Saint-Michel are outside Île-de-France, so you need regular SNCF tickets for them. See the RATP guide to the new fares.

How to handle luggage on a day trip from Paris

Day trips are best done hands-free: queuing at Versailles or Fontainebleau with a large suitcase is awkward, RER and suburban stations have plenty of stairs, and boarding a rush-hour train with a case is hard work. On TGVs (for example to Lille or Mont-Saint-Michel), SNCF allows each passenger up to 2 large bags of no more than 70 × 90 × 50 cm plus 1 small hand bag, with fines from €50 per bag that breaks the rules. The real problem is check-out day: if you're changing hotels, moving to a Disneyland hotel or heading to the airport after your trip, your luggage becomes a burden.

LuggAgent can collect your bags from your hotel or apartment in Paris and deliver them the same day to another hotel in Paris, to Disneyland Paris, or to Charles de Gaulle or Orly airport, so you can still take your day trip after checking out. See Paris luggage delivery and Europe cross-city luggage delivery for coverage and details.

If you've just landed, you can hand your bags to us at Charles de Gaulle Airport and have them delivered to your hotel in the city while you start sightseeing empty-handed:

If you're moving from the city to a Disneyland hotel after a few nights, leave your bags at the front desk in the morning and we'll take them to your Disney hotel while you head out for the day:

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FAQ

Are there lavender fields in Provins?

No, Provins doesn't grow lavender. It is known for its medieval town, its roses and its medieval festival every June, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. France's famous lavender fields are in Provence in the south, where they usually bloom from mid-June to early August.

Can you see the Provence lavender fields on a day trip from Paris?

Not realistically. The main lavender areas, such as the Valensole plateau and Sault, are about 2.5–3 hours from Paris by TGV to Avignon or Aix-en-Provence, plus another 1–2 hours by car. To see the lavender, plan at least 2 nights in Provence.

Can you do Mont-Saint-Michel as a day trip from Paris?

Yes, but it's rushed. The TGV to Rennes takes about 1.5–2 hours and the bus about 1 hour 15 minutes, so each way is about 3.5–4 hours, leaving only 3–4 hours on the island. To see the sunset, the abbey lit up at night or the tides, stay a night on the mainland.

Can you visit Monet's garden in winter?

No, Monet's garden at Giverny is closed in winter. In 2026 it is open from 1 April to 1 November, daily 10:00–18:00, with adult tickets at €13. The Vernon–Giverny shuttle also runs only during the opening season, so in winter consider Versailles or Fontainebleau, which open all year (check their closing days).

Cover photo: Paolo Costa Baldi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0