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Places to Visit Close to Paris

Places to Visit Close to Paris

Travel Guide: Europe - France

 

CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES

Versailles-Yvelines, France(Pictured: Mirror Room)While you visit the beautiful city of Paris, leave a whole day out of your plans and open up a space to visit the Palace of Versaille in Versailles-Yvelines, France. This historical palace is located…

Versailles-Yvelines, France

(Pictured: Mirror Room)

While you visit the beautiful city of Paris, leave a whole day out of your plans and open up a space to visit the Palace of Versaille in Versailles-Yvelines, France. This historical palace is located on the outskirts of Paris. It can be easily reached by train (Line: RER C) or car and it’s only a 45-minute ride on both methods of transportation. The magic of this place, goes further than just jaw dropping architecture. It’s an important piece of French history dating back to 1682, time when Louis XIV was in power. He lived in the palace while he avoided facing the issues occurring in Paris at the time, issues that would eventually lead to the french revolution to breaking through in the 1700′s. It is now a symbol of the Ancient Regime and a representation of the Absolute Monarchy of France. 

The gardens of the Palace are breath taking and the history of each of the gigantic rooms takes you back through time. Do not miss the opportunity to get an audio guide, as the magic of each room comes with understanding  its history. When you visit the gardens at the end of your visit, we recommend the row boats on the pond, if you have enough time and after you can head to the restaurants nearby the pond for a nice meal. Make sure to bring comfy shoes, as you will be doing a lot of walking and we recommend you get there early, as the line can get really long (specially on the weekends).  

 

MONET’S GARDEN

Giverny-Vernon, France While you visit the beautiful city of Paris, leave a whole day or at least 8 hours out of your plans and open up a space to visit the Gardens of Monet in Giverny- Vernon, France. This magical place located an hour away from Pa…

Giverny-Vernon, France

While you visit the beautiful city of Paris, leave a whole day or at least 8 hours out of your plans and open up a space to visit the Gardens of Monet in Giverny- Vernon, France. This magical place located an hour away from Paris by train or bus, is one charming piece of history that not many get to see. Its gardens are a perfect reflection of Monet’s paintings in real life. The visit around his house and his gardens will take between 2-4 hours depending on your own pace or if you decide to take the tour. There is a gift store at the end, in which I recommend the flower seeds to give as a gift to Parisians, who love to plant on their balcony or take coasters back home (wherever that is). 

To make this trip make sure you select a day with nice weather, as most of the attractions here are outdoors as well as checking opening and closing times as they vary. If you have enough time, I encourage you to take the tour bus from the train station to Monet’s house. You will get to see the town and learn about its historic background while arriving to your destination and it only costs around 5 euros. This was a day I will always remember, I was astound by the beauty of the gardens and would highly recommend to take the whole day and explore.Totally worth it!!

 

CHATEAU D’ECOUEN- MUSEE NATIONAL DE LA  RENAISSANCE

 

Rue Jean Bullant, 95440 Écouen, FranciaSuburb: Écouen(40 Minutes away from Paris)On the outskirts of Paris we find a couple of hidden historical gems, including this one. Château d’ecouen is a palace built in the 1500′s  found north of Paris. I…

Rue Jean Bullant, 95440 Écouen, Francia

Suburb: Écouen(40 Minutes away from Paris)

On the outskirts of Paris we find a couple of hidden historical gems, including this one. Château d’ecouen is a palace built in the 1500′s  found north of Paris. It now houses the National Museum Of The Renaissance in which you can find very interesting pieces of history , that can guide you to better understand the countries background. 

The architectural structure of the château is astounding, specially from the outside because of the massive and beautiful gardens that surround the building. We recommend you visit on a nice day, as the part we enjoyed the most was walking around the gardens on a sunny day. It can get kinda dusty, since the roads are unpaved so make sure to bring shoes you won't mind getting dirty. There are several different expo’s every month and events are often likely to happen, so find information for the specific day you will be going to assure it won't be closed. The museum is open everyday except for Tuesdays.

 For instructions on how to get there, visit the website, you will have to take the train from Gare du Nord and in Ecouen you'll have to take a bus that will  leave you close to the Château. It can be confusing, but with google maps and some orientation it should not be too hard to find :) .  If you have the time to head out and explore more of the history around Paris,  we recommend you  visit all the 5 Château’s  that surround Paris, they will each require at least a day, these including Versailles and Chateau d’ecouen. 

 

PARC ASTERIX

Oise - Pays de France Natural Regional Park, 60128 Plailly, FranceSuburb: Plailly (1 hour away from Paris) Whether you are an Asterix and Obelix fan or just a roller coaster fanatic, this is the place for you. If you are looking for something e…

Oise - Pays de France Natural Regional Park, 60128 Plailly, France

Suburb: Plailly (1 hour away from Paris)

 Whether you are an Asterix and Obelix fan or just a roller coaster fanatic, this is the place for you. If you are looking for something exciting and new to do while you are visiting Paris, make your way out to Parc Asterix with your friends, family or kids. Immerge yourself into this French experience, by learning about this french childhood story as well as enjoying some great shows and attractions.

To get there you can select several different methods of transportation, there are shuttles leaving from Paris as well as from Charles De Gaulle airport, or if you feel comfortable enough with the RER system you can take that as well. Depending on your method of transportation, it will take you about 45 minutes to an hour to get there (visit the website for more details). Be sure to bring comfortable shoes and if you want to bring lunch or some snacks you are welcome to. One of my favorite things about this French theme park, is the fact that you are allowed to bring your own snacks and enjoy a nice little picnic just like a real Parisian would. The parc is divided into different sectors, from our personal favorites we recommend you visit the roman empire, the Greek section and finally the Viking section. Attractions wise we recommend Goudurix and Oziris and if you like water attractions be sure to bring a change of clothes because there are a couple very fun water attractions. Finally if you like animals we really enjoyed the dolphin show, its very interactive and a lot of fun! 

Profitez bien :)  

 

FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

 

8, Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, 75116 ParisSuburb: Boulogne-Billancourt (limiting the 16th Arrondissement)Just outside of the 16th Arrondissement we find a park named Bois de Boulogne in which we find the museum and cultural center Fo…

8, Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, 75116 Paris

Suburb: Boulogne-Billancourt (limiting the 16th Arrondissement)

Just outside of the 16th Arrondissement we find a park named Bois de Boulogne in which we find the museum and cultural center Fondation Louis Vuitton funded by the LVHM group. The museum was opened on 2014 and is an incredible architectural piece inside and out. The collections and expositions change constantly and include art and fashion. There is also a preforming art center for music and dance.

We recommend for you to go during the day time, as the park can have some sketchy areas, but apart from that enjoy your time there. They have a beautiful view of Paris from the building, several different floors of cool art and have a nice restaurant on the first floor to enjoy a sunny day. We highly recommend it, very cool structure, colorful, modern and something new to see close to Paris. To get there you can easily grab line 1 of the metro to station Les Sablons (exit: Fondation Louis Vuitton) and you will have a 10-15 minute walk, in a safe neighborhood till you are there. Have in mind that they are closed on Tuesdays and prices range from 4 Euros up to 20 Euros depending on the expo.  

Road Trips Portugal

Road Trips Portugal

Foodies - Lansing, Michigan

Foodies - Lansing, Michigan