All posts tagged: giverny

a view of the eiffel tower from a paris apartment

The First Trip: A Four Day Paris Itinerary

Bienvenue à Paris!(!!!). This is your four-day Paris itinerary, de luxe. Paris is one of the world’s best destinations. It is also one of its busiest, and while definitely not one of its biggest, it can be the most overwhelming. Like, it’s Paris!! How can you possibly decide what to see and what not to see? If you want to just skip to the recs for our four-day Paris itinerary, go here: Day 1: Arrival + Louvre + crepes + more Day 2: Batobus + Eiffel Tower + Le Perchoir + more Day 3: Versailles (or Giverny) + BigLove + more Day 4: Vanves + Montmartre + more And let’s make reservations at: Breizh (not necessarily except for peak times), Septime (100% necessary), BigLove (do it) and Boite aux Lettres (probably not necessary mais pourquoi pas?) The first time I came to Paris, I came for three days, the second time for two days (both because I was living in London, not because I owned a private jet and could travel hither-thither as I liked.) …

beautiful villages near paris

The Most Beautiful Villages Near Paris

Paris, c’est belle. (Ou c’est beau. Qui sait?) But it’s not everything, and it’s certainly not all of France. The most incredible thing about Paris is that just a few miles beyond the city limits is some seriously rural countryside. Here and there you’ll find beautiful villages near Paris — maybe with a train station, maybe with a boulangerie, maybe just a post office. There’s nothing nicer than taking the train to a small town like l’Isle-Adam and setting off across the meadows for another, even smaller village. It’s a necessary part of visiting France.

an image of the interior of the chateau at versailles

9 Best Day Trips From Paris by Train, All Under 2 Hours (2024)

The news is basically all good in terms of the best day trips from Paris by train: There’s a wealth of attractions within Ile-de-France, the administrative region that includes Paris and its suburbs — nearly all of these are accessible via the RER or Transilien commuter trains. (And it’s even better if you get a Navigo pass for the week or month — with an all-zone pass, which would include transport to and from Charles de Gaulle airport, you can travel for free on all of these lines.)