For most people, Paris is such a dream destination that the idea of leaving town sounds anticlimactic.
However, even lifelong Parisiens know the value of occasionally getting out of the city. This week, we'll be looking at four daytrips—or even two-day trips—that you can take from the City of Light.
Today's destination: Versailles.
By far the most famous and popular daytrip from Paris is Versailles. It’s quite easy to get there, as there are dozens of trains per day.
The most efficient way is to take the RER line C, which picks up from tourist-central metro stations including Invalides and Musee d’Orsay. Just look on the map for a letter C inside a big circle.
The RER is sort of like New York’s Metro North or Long Island Railroad, as it serves Paris suburbs and is not considered part of the metro.
There are multiple stops with the name Versailles in them, and the one you want is Chateau Versailles. Roundtrip tickets cost about 8 EUR per person, and give yourself quite a bit of time to buy them, as US credit cards don’t work in booths at Parisian transit stations (unless you've upgraded to a card with a chip) and you’ll either need to pay cash or wait in line at a help desk. There are also regular trains from the Montparnasse and Ste-Lazare gates in Paris.
Once you get to Versailles, you might be overwhelmed by how much there is to do. During the high tourist season and on weekends or bank holidays you can count on a very long line at the palace, so if you plan ahead you can buy a ticket from Versailles’ official tourist website. (There’s also a package that includes RER tickets, if you know far enough ahead which day you’ll be traveling and can either speak French or understand wonky translations well enough to navigate the site.)
If the line is long and you didn’t plan ahead, you can visit the beautiful gardens for free while you wait for the crowds to die down. If you have plenty of time and the weather’s nice, bringing a picnic lunch and hanging out is a great way to enjoy Versailles without having to push people just to enter yet another insanely elaborate room.
One thing to keep in mind: although Versailles is the most famous former French royal palace, it’s not quite what you expect from a palace. The buildings’ interiors and exteriors are still gorgeous, but most of the original furnishings and decorations are gone. The chateau is mostly a history of France with a focus on government and the monarchy. It’s worth investing in an audio guide, since the crowds make it hard to see and read all of the explanatory signs.
If you want to make a fuller day of your visit to Versailles, there’s other cool and much less hectic stuff to visit nearby. The Temple of Love (a replica of a famous sculpture from the Louvre that’s in the middle of a nice park), the Royal Stables (where cute and also hardcore horses who ‘perform’ in government ceremonies are housed and trained), and the actual town of Versailles are all worth visiting. Bonus: you won’t get elbowed every five minutes by a tour group posing for a group photo.
SEE ALSO: 100 Trips You Must Take In Your Lifetime