As I have mentioned before, I would write the top 5 best side trips from Paris. Some of these attractions don’t require a whole day, but it’s safe to say that half a day would be gone before you return to Paris.
Planning Tips
These attractions are probably better than some of the top 10 attractions I’ve listed before. For instance, Château de Versailles is easily probably the 3rd or 4th best attraction in all of France. Considering that it’s not very far from Paris, if you are short on time, you might want to forgo seeing some of the attractions in Paris instead.
1. Château de Versailles
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| Garden in Château de Versailles |
Next to those, it is quite possibly either the Mont St Michel or the Château de Versailles. Mont St Michel is a beautiful island with an abbey that was constructed during the Middle Ages that still survives today.
Château de Versailles became the seat of government of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Louis XIV wanted to build a grand building that would dazzle all the kings from other parts of Europe and Château de Versailles certainly wouldn’t fail to impress any visitors.
Currently, the site is declared as part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Visit the Château and the garden. Another personal recommendation from me is to visit the Marie Antoinette’s Farm Estate.
2. Château de Fontainebleau
Château de Fontainebleau isn’t as famous as Château de Versailles, but strangely, it seems that the name seems to be duplicated in more parts of the world than Versailles. Just Google Fontainebleau, and you might be directed to a city in USA instead.
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| Château de Fontainebleau |
In any case, the courtyard is spectacular and one of the benefits from being less popular is that it’s a lot less crowded. Be sure to check out the palace for the amazing library inside and wander through the gardens.
3. Château de Chantilly
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| Château de Chantilly |
Château de Chantilly is very pretty, perhaps the prettiest of all châteaux around Paris. It is surrounded by a small body of water and a range of forestry.
4. Château de Pierrefonds
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| Château de Pierrefonds |
Château de Pierrefonds, near Compiègne, is extremely refined. It is not the largest or the prettiest, but everything there is of high taste, from the statues to the wallpapers and to every single detail.
5. Cathedralé Notre-Dame de Chartres
One of the most important cathedrals in France, it has the widest nave in all of France. There’s a labyrinth inside, which is interestingly of the same size as the Rose window. If the wall holding the Rose window is to fall inside, the Rose window would land exactly on the labyrinth.
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| Cathedralé Notre-Dame de Chartres |
This cathedral is also known to house the tunic of Mary and that is the reason why every Catholic devoted to Mary used to visit Chartres for pilgrimage.
These are the top five places to visit as a side trip from Paris. You can very easily be back in Paris at the end of the day.
Final Words
There are other places to visit not far away from Paris. For instance, you may want to visit the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the home of artists Barbizon, the medieval city of Laon, the Compiègne city, the small but pretty city Senlis, or theme parks Euro Disney and Parc Asterix. Or if you don’t mind to travel a bit further, you can actually reach some of the châteaux in the Loire valley!
This is one of the reasons why Paris is one of the best places to visit. Even if you want to try something else, there are many more places that you can reach, whether by car or by train.
I hope this post is useful and I wish you a pleasant trip when you’re traveling in Europe! There will be many more posts detailing all sorts of destinations in and out of France!