The Six Essential Day Trips From Paris – From Chateaux To Champagne

There's a world of magnificent French history, art, and culture just beyond the city gates. Allowing time for one or two day trips during your next visit to Paris will enrich your experience and give you a better perspective of the beauty, majesty, and history that is found in the rest of France. All of these day tours include transportation and get you back in Paris by the end of the day.

The Essential Day Trips From Paris

1. Experience History at the D-Day Beaches

The trajectory of World War II changed irrevocably on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. For that's when the Allied forces landed there. Today, a trip through the pastoral countryside of the region to the D-Day beaches is a powerful experience. Discover how to visit Omaha, Juno, and Gold beaches, as well as the inspiring war memorials and museums, on a day trip from Paris.

2. Versailles + Monet's Gardens In One Day

This very popular excursion from Paris combines two essential French experiences in one glorious day. During the course of a full-day, skip-the-line luxury tour with a private guide, you marvel at the house and gardens of Claude Monet at Giverny (about an hour from Paris) before setting off for a memorable adventure at the royal estate of Versailles.

3. Visit Versailles The Royal Way

If there is one essential day trip from Paris it's this one — visiting magnificent Versailles and its gardens. Take the opportunity to experience the royal history of France at the most opulent palace ever built. It's absolutely huge — the palace alone is 520,000 square feet. Versailles is very popular, and very busy.

The only way to avoid the long lines is by signing up for one of these Versailles slip-the-line tours. Your private guide leads you past the lineups and directly to the best of the Chateau de Versailles — the Royal Quarters, the Hall of Mirrors, and the amazing French gardens. In addition to learning a lot on a fascinating tour, the extra benefit of these tours is walking right past the long line of tourists. Here are the the two most popular day trips to Versailles —

4. Spend a Day in the Champagne Region

With its world-class vineyards, rolling hills, fascinating history, and prestigious champagne houses, a visit to this magical region makes for a fantastic day trip — we can't imagine being in Paris without taking a trip to the Champagne Region.

On this VIP, small-group tour you are picked up at your Paris address in a comfortable Mercedes Eurovan for the ride to Champagne country. Here you discover how champagne is created and learn about Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs; Grands Crus and Premiers Crus — sampling each of these varieties at famous champagne estates such as Moët & Chandon, Taittinger, or Veuve Clicquot .

The day includes tours of the region while, in the vineyards, you learn how to distinguish the three different Champagne grapes. At a family-run estate you enjoy a classic French lunch, paired with a Champagne tasting. Before you are returned to central Paris, your expert guide also conducts a champagne Masterclass. It's a day you're not going to forget any time soon!

5. Walk in Claude Monet's Gardens at Giverny

Claude Monet's contribution to Impressionism is unparalleled. He was called The Master by his fellow artists and is one of the only Impressionist painters to find success and recognition during his lifetime.

To visit his house, his garden, and his lily pad pond is to step back in time. There's something truly special about visiting his estate in nearby Giverny, to stroll through the splendid gardens, and walk across the famous Japanese bridge. Monet created the perfect palette for himself with his grand pink house, the lush gardens, and the pond where lily pads flourish. It's an easy and relaxing day trip to visit his artistic estate on a small-group day trip from Paris, and there are daily tours during the flower season — from April to October.

6. See The Magnificent Chateaux of the Loire Valley

Versailles isn't the only place near Paris with a chateau. In fact, there's a whole valley of them within driving distance of Paris, in the historic Loire Valley. It's very easy to book a day trip that will take you to the most majestic Renaissance castles in France.

The most popular day tour to the Loire takes in the spectacular Château de Chambord and Château de Chenonceau, spanning the Cher River. PLUS the day includes a guided tasting of the best wines of the valley. Transportation from central Paris and an expert guide.

More Day Excursions From Paris

Day Tours From Paris – Explore More

We've shown you a few of the of the essential day trips from Paris, but if you want to really experience France, you have to go a little deeper. There's so much more to explore — World War I battlefields, a day trip to London, French Wine Country, amazing Mont Saint-Michel. La France, c'est magnifique !

6 Summertime Day Trips From Paris

The long days of summer afford the perfect opportunity to go deeper into France to places like Mont St-Michel, beautiful Bruges in Belgium's Flemish region, or the lovely French port city of Honfleur. We have suggestions that take you into the French countryside and back to Paris in the same day. Heck, you could even choose a day trip to London!

VIP Visit to Vaux-le-Vicomte

This spectacular chateau near Paris was the inspiration for Versailles and is famous in its own right for its art, architecture, and gardens. We visited Vaux-le-Vicomte for this leisurely visit and a champagne-fueled picnic lunch. A private driver met us at our apartment in a luxurious Jaguar and drove the hour out to the chateaux.

At the grand estate we were walked past the ticket line and into the garden where we were given the keys to a motorized (golf) cart to drive around the extensive gardens. there was a picnic basket in the back of the cart, filled with champagne, glasses, macarons and a picnic blanket. After a day of exploring the chateau and gardens — and a champagne picnic — our driver met us right at the entrance and drove us home, at the end of a perfect day.

Day Trips Are Easy to Plan

There are many amazing destinations can be reached on a day trip from Paris — the Palace of Versailles; or Giverny, the home of Claude Monet's inspirational gardens; there's the Loire Valley, with a corridor of magnificent castles as a reminder of the wealth and splendor of France's Renaissance; and then there's the beaches of Normandy, where Allied forces landed and began the liberation of France and the end of World War II.

With so many destinations and tours to choose it's pretty easy to find a day trip that piques your interest. The thing we like most about these organized activities is that we don't have to rent a car, negotiate the Metro or trains, plan out routes, etc. All of these selected tours pick us up directly at our Paris address and return us back safely at the end of the day. Another bonus is that all entrance fees and, in many cases a classic French lunch, is included in the cost.