10 Best Day Trips from Paris With Kids

You can spend a month in Paris and still not see everything. In fact, I got back from a sixth trip with my kids and we still had plenty to see and do, and wished we had stayed longer. While there’s plenty to do in the city itself, Paris can be an amazing base for numerous day trips you should put them on your Paris itinerary.

There are jaunts to Monet’s lily gardens up in romantic Giverny. You can plan excursions to the Chateaux-topped undulations of the UNESCO Loire Valley. On top of all that, there are also day trips from Paris by train that open up other alluring French cities and the countryside, but with the kids not every trip would be the same.

This guide runs through 10 Paris day trips with kids. They’re the crème-de-la-crème of outings from the French capital because they offer insights into amazing French culture, regional cuisine, enthralling European history, and a whole load more. There’s so much to do all over France that you can spend years and not see it all (trust me, we live in France now!).

1. Loire Valley

A regular topper of lists of the best day trips from Paris, the Loire Valley day trip with kids rarely fails to capture the imagination. It’s not hectic for the kids and while I was initially worried, my kids absolutely adored the experience.

What’s more, it’s only two hours or so in the car from the heart of the capital, which means you can trade the bustling Champs-Élysées for open fields and rivers before breakfast.

The majority of travelers will choose to do a ready-made day tour of the Loire, although when traveling with kids self-driving offers a little extra freedom to stray off the beaten track and not rush or wait around.

With the kids I recommend three castles the most: Chateau de Chambord, the elegant Chateau de Chenonceau, and the vibrant Château de Cheverny. There’s just a lot to do with little ones. From boat tours, a maze, through a little animal farm, and there’s even a playground.

2. Giverny

Calling all art lovers: Giverny is your chance to step foot in the erstwhile home of the infamous Claude Monet. Languishing on the banks of the Seine River about 45 miles to the northwest of the city, it’s a charming, flower-strewn village that oozes classic French character and arguably the most hallowed place in the history of Impressionism.

The main draw is the beautiful Maison & Jardins de Claude Monet. That’s the actual spot where the painter once resided, and the grounds still contain the romantic lily ponds made famous in Monet’s paintings. If your kids are anything like mine, they will be amazed by the gardens full of flowers.

This one is one of the few day trips from Paris by train that are possible. You can simply hop on the SNCF service to Le Havre, get out at Vernon, and then catch a taxi (around 20 EUR) the rest of the way. Of course, there are also loads of private tours in the offing – some taking all day, some just half a day.

When to Visit Giverny?

While the summer months are typically heaving with visitors, the early Spring and Autumn months can be much quieter – and no less beautiful. Depending on the time of your visit, you’ll be able to see different flowers blooming in the garden. 

The water-lilies, inspiration for Monet’s Nymphéas series, still bloom well into October (they begin in July). In April you’ll be able to see a beautiful Wisteria hanging off bridges.

3. Palace of Versailles

Versailles is the palace to end all palaces. Seriously, the sheer opulence and scale here are immense. In total, the grounds extend over a whopping 2,100 acres, encompassing vast wings of 17^th/18^th-century architecture that will have you wowing with exasperation at every turn. It’s all the brainchild of the revered Sun King, Louis XIV.

He made the palace the center of French power during his reign and showcased utter extravagance – think a menagerie that included an African elephant and a Hall of Mirrors laced with precious glass and elaborate Baroque murals.

While there are no elephants anymore, the kids won’t be disappointed regardless. The castle is obviously huge and you can rent a bike and boat to discover the monuments in the gardens. Versailles also has its own Angelina cafe – while I don’t think it’s the best hot chocolate in Paris, it’s an iconic chain and it can bribe the kids when they get tired of walking.

Versailles is up there with the best day trips from Paris because it’s super-easy to plan but I do recommend dedicating an entire day to see it. You can choose to do an organized tour in just a few hours.

If you want to go by yourself it’s easy by train. Just take RER line C and SNCF trains from the Gare Montparnasse station link straight to Versailles town, only a short walk from the entrance to the UNESCO site. Just remember to get skip the line tickets, especially during summer and Christmas time.

4. Center Parcs Village Nature

One of the local trips to take from Paris is a visit to Center Parcs. For those unaware, Center Parcs are family glamping resorts all over Europe. Village Nature is only 25 minutes from central Paris and can be visited on a day pass.

Why visit? It has an amazing indoor and partially outdoor waterpark you can spend the day at. It’s also very close to Disneyland so you can combine these two.

5. Disneyland Paris

Things to do in Paris for the little ones (or for travelers with the little ones in tow) rarely get as exciting as Disneyland. Since opening its doors in 1992, it’s drawn millions of visitors with the promise of magical adventures across two separate theme parks and oodles of enchanting attractions.

There are heart-thumping coasters like the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the RC Racer. There are sprawling shopping malls in the Disney Village and the Val d’Europe. There’s even a fully-fledged golf course!

Sat just 20 miles to the west of the Eiffel Tower, the home of Mickey Mouse should be an easy escape from the heart of the capital. That’s especially true considering RER A regional trains link straight down to Chessy Station that’s right outside the entrance to the resort. Of course, you can also drive it yourself, or hop on one of the regular Magic Shuttles that run from both Orly and Charles de Gaulle Airport. And you can choose from a variety of entrances, from 1-day tickets to multi-day passes.

6. The Normandy beaches

There are so many Paris day trips that offer to whisk you away from the buzzing capital to the salt-washed coast of the Normandy region. It sits right on the northern tip of France and is famed mainly for holding some of the most haunting battlefields of WWII. Yes, this is the land of the D-Day beaches. You can visit several in a single day, along with a host of related museums and memorials.

Most excursions will start early and then head through to the Calvados capital of Caen. It’s home to a striking exhibition on 20^th-century conflicts and a monument to the fallen.

Pushing on, you can visit the infamous Pointe du Hoc, where Nazi gun batteries still pepper the headland. Other highlights include the American Cemetery and the sands of Omaha Beach. Altogether, it’s a trip that usually lasts 12-14 hours.

7. Parc Asterix

Another convenient option and significantly more affordable than Disneyland is Parc Asterix. France is known for theme parks, and this one is undeniably one of the most iconic ones, as it’s based on the famous European comic books Asterix and Obelix.

Since the crowds storm Disney, the lines at this park are also shorter and you can easily ride many things in a day. Parc Asterix is super easy to get to, as they even have a special bus from central Paris. There are attractions for everyone in the park, including crazy upside-down roller coasters and small rides without any height limit, so even toddlers will get plenty in.

8. Mont Saint Michel

Mont Saint Michel is one of the most striking landmarks in the whole of northern France. Set on a tidal island in the English Channel, a stone’s throw from both the Normandy and Brittany coastlines, it hosts a grand and imposing medieval abbey that spikes the cloudy skies like something out of a fantasy novel. The history of the site goes all the way back to the 400s AD. That’s when a shrine on the island is thought to have been established by a wandering Irish hermit.

These days, there are huge fortification walls and cannon-dotted bulwarks ringing the rock, along with a soaring steeple, arched cloisters, and cobbled streets laced with medieval structures. It’s an amazing place to get lost and learn about the rich religious history of the Mont, the Norman conquests, and the hard-fought sieges of the Hundred Years’ War.

Because it’s among the most popular day trips from Paris, there are plenty of offerings for planned outings up to Mont Saint Michel. They will last all day – it takes a few hours to even get to the site. Most will also include pitstops at iconic beaches on the Normandy coast.

9. Luxembourg City

Another tempting day trip from Paris by train is a fly-in visit to the well-to-do capital of Luxembourg. An important town that’s filled with EU institutions and banking headquarters, it offers an intriguing mix of the old and the new.

It’s the sort of place where you can discover chic cafes riddled with business folk right next to UNESCO-tagged churches. In fact, the whole old center is a prestigious World Heritage Site that’s known for its military urban planning and – get ready for this! – hot chocolate cafés. Yum.

Tempted? I bet you are. Super-quick TGV trains link the French and Luxembourgish capitals these days. They’ll whizz you right across the breadth of the Ardennes through the beautiful countryside in the morning, taking just over two hours from start to finish. Expect to pay in the region of $50 for a return ticket. Booking early is key if you want to keep costs low.

10. Bruges

Bruges is beautiful. There are no two ways about it. Hailed as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in all of Europe, it revolves around the main square (the Grote Markt) that’s been in action since the 10^th century.

Around that are Gothic steeples and beautiful belfries, along with drifting canals that weave by churches and ivy-strewn mansions of the Flemish style. But Bruges is also no museum piece. It’s a bustling, lived-in city that has Belgian chip shops, beer houses, and waffle stands. All in all, it’s a fine day out from Paris.

Of course, you’ll need to hitch a ride on one of the quick Thalys or TGV trains to get over to Bruges from France. The first leg is a hop from the Gare du Nord to Brussels.

Then, change trains to a regional Belgian service that lasts around an hour. Thanks to efficient railway links, it’s possible to do the whole A to B in as little as 2.5 hours total.

Which of these day trips from Paris do you plan on doing next? Comment and let us know!