Paris Day Trips: 3 Days Beyond the City
Three days, three day trips, zero city sightseeing (pair this with our Paris itinerary if you want the Louvre and Montmartre too). This plan covers Versailles, Disneyland Paris, and Giverny back to back, the three gateways that work regardless of budget. Have more time, the 4-day version adds Reims on top of exactly this spine.
Book these before you go
- Versailles Palace timed slot (Day 1) - mandatory even with free admission, book directly on chateauversailles.fr .
- Disneyland Paris dated park ticket (Day 2) - book online ahead of the gate price.
- Giverny day tour (Day 3) - a Giverny and Monet’s garden tour handles the seasonal Vernon shuttle for you; check dates on fondation-monet.com first, this day only runs late March-early November.
The three days at a glance
| Day | Day trip | Travel time from Paris | One-way transport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Versailles | 35-40 min | RER C |
| 2 | Disneyland Paris | 35-40 min | RER A |
| 3 | Giverny (seasonal) | 45 min + shuttle | Train to Vernon + Le Petit Train |
Day 1: Versailles
RER C reaches Versailles Château Rive Gauche in 35-40 minutes (check current schedules on iledefrance-mobilites.fr ), then an 8-10 minute walk to the gates. Palace-only entry is EUR21; the Passport, adding the Trianon estate and gardens, is EUR25 low season or EUR35 high season. Every visitor, free-admission or not, needs a timed Palace slot, so book that first. Closed Mondays; if this lands on a Monday, swap Day 1 and Day 3.
Day 2: Disneyland Paris
RER A direct from Châtelet-Les Halles takes 35-40 minutes to Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy. A 1-Park 1-Day ticket booked ahead starts around EUR56-62, versus a much higher gate price on a busy day. Disney Adventure World’s March 2026 relaunch added World of Frozen next to Avengers Campus. Buy the RER ticket separately; the park ticket never includes it.
Day 3: Giverny
Only open late March through early November, so confirm before you book flights around this. Train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon takes about 45 minutes (roughly EUR15), then a seasonal shuttle (EUR5 one-way) or EUR20 taxi covers the last stretch to Monet’s garden. Admission is around EUR13. Go on a weekday morning if you’re travelling April through June, the busiest bloom window.
What replaces Giverny if you’re visiting outside its season?
Fontainebleau is the closest substitute in character, a grand estate with real gardens, open year-round via Transilien R from Gare de Lyon in about 40 minutes. It’s not on this specific three-day list but slots in cleanly if Giverny’s shut, without needing to reshuffle Day 1 or Day 2.
Is three days of day trips worth it if you’re only in Paris for a week?
Yes, if Versailles and Disneyland are both genuine priorities, since neither one works well as a half-day add-on to a city-sightseeing itinerary. Three focused gateway days, then four days in the city itself, splits the trip cleanly without cramming a rushed Versailles morning between the Louvre and dinner.
Keep your Versailles and Giverny tickets on your phone in airplane-safe screenshots, not just email links; signal at both stations is patchy enough to make a live QR code a gamble.