Versailles, Fontainebleau or Giverny: which day trip from Paris?

Choose Versailles if you want the grandest palace and the most famous rooms, Fontainebleau if you want a quieter royal château and a forest, and Giverny if Monet's garden is the point. All three work as a day from Paris, and none is a small outing, so one per day is the sane plan. The Versailles travel guide covers the biggest of the three, and the wider France guide shows how Paris fits with the regions.

For most first visits, Versailles. It has the Hall of Mirrors, the royal apartments and a huge garden, and it is the easiest of the three by train from the city center. The cost is crowds and a booking rule: the palace says visitors must reserve a time slot, and its tickets are non-refundable. For that reason, a weekday morning is the best bet.

Fontainebleau suits people who have already seen Versailles, or who prefer calm. The palace is large, filled with Renaissance and later interiors, and set among woodland that invites walks. It tends to feel less crowded than Versailles, and its courtyards and gardens are free to enter every day.

Giverny suits garden lovers and anyone who loves Impressionist painting. Monet's house and the water-lily garden are the draw, and the visit is seasonal. It is the most weather-dependent of the three, and the village itself is small, so the trip is mostly about the garden.

Who should skip which? Skip Versailles if you hate queues and have one day only. Skip Fontainebleau if you want a single famous room and a photo from the Hall of Mirrors. Skip Giverny from November to March, because the garden is shut, and in the middle of July if you cannot stand crowds and heat.

Versailles is the right choice when you want the icons. The State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, the chapel and the gardens give a clear picture of the French court at its height, and the Trianon palaces add a quieter side. The palace's own pages are clear about the rules: you must book a time slot, and the palace and the Trianon estate close on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

Getting there is simple. RER C from central Paris reaches Versailles Château Rive Gauche in about 40 minutes, then it is about 10 minutes on foot. The how to visit Versailles from Paris page covers the route, and the tickets and timed entry page covers the Passport and free-entry rules.

On cost, the Passport that covers the palace, Trianon and gardens is listed at €35 in the high season from April to October and €25 from November to March. The palace opens at 9am and closes at 5:30pm, or 6:30pm in the high season, so a morning slot leaves the afternoon for the gardens.

The downside is crowds. Midday on a summer weekend is the hardest time. Book the earliest slot that suits you, bring a light bag and plan the gardens for after the interiors.

Fontainebleau is a royal château with a long history, a layered mix of building styles and a large park and forest around it. It suits visitors who like to wander, who have already done Versailles, or who want a day that feels spacious. The Fontainebleau travel guide has the town and the practical details.

By train, take the Transilien line R from Paris Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon, about 40 to 45 minutes, then bus line 1 toward the Château stop, about 20 minutes more. A car makes the forest easier to explore, but the public route is simple enough for a day trip.

The château's own site lists it as open every day except Tuesdays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Hours are 9:30am to 6pm from April to September and 9:30am to 5pm from October to March, with the last entry about 45 minutes before closing. A full-price ticket is listed at €17 and a reduced ticket at €15, and it covers the Grand Apartments and the Napoleon I museum. You can buy it online in advance or on the day, so Fontainebleau asks less planning than Versailles.

If the weather is poor, the interiors still make a full visit, which is not true of Giverny. If the weather is good, the free gardens and courts are worth an hour on their own, and the forest begins beyond them.

Giverny is a small village, and the main reason to go is Claude Monet's house and gardens. The garden is a seasonal attraction: it is open daily from 1 April to 1 November in 2026, from 10am to 6pm, with last admission at 5:30pm. The adult ticket is listed at €13. The Giverny travel guide covers the village and the other sights.

The usual route is a train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, about 50 minutes, then a shuttle to the village that costs €5 one way or €10 return. A guided tour from Paris removes the transfers, and it is a good option if you have limited time or dislike buses. Check whether a tour includes the garden ticket.

Giverny is the most weather-sensitive choice. Rain softens the garden but does not ruin it, but winter leaves nothing to see. The Fondation highly recommends booking online, because once the online quota is full you should expect long waits at the gate. If you visit in peak season, arrive early, since the lanes and the garden fill by late morning.

If the weather is uncertain, favor an indoor-heavy choice, which means Versailles or Fontainebleau. If you are traveling in July or August, start early and avoid the afternoon, because heat and crowds meet at the same time. In shoulder seasons, any of the three is a pleasant day.

Count the transfer as part of the price. Versailles adds about 40 minutes each way plus a 10-minute walk, Fontainebleau about 45 minutes plus a bus of around 20 minutes, and Giverny about 50 minutes plus a shuttle or a bike. At the gate, Giverny is the cheapest, with a €13 adult ticket and €7 for children aged 7 to 17, while the Versailles Passport costs the most but covers the most ground. For a family on a budget, Fontainebleau's free courts and gardens are the cheapest way to enjoy a royal estate.

Closing days can settle the choice before taste does. Versailles is shut on Mondays, so a Monday in Paris is a Fontainebleau or Giverny day. Fontainebleau is shut on Tuesdays, so Tuesday is for Versailles or Giverny. Giverny is open every day inside its season, which makes it the flexible option between April and October, and the one to book last if the forecast is the only open question.

Many Paris museums also close on Monday or Tuesday, so people tend to stack day trips on those days and then discover the closure. Write your Paris plan by weekday first, then drop the day trips into the gaps.

In winter the weekday logic gets simpler: from November to March only Versailles and Fontainebleau are open, so pick between them using the closing days and how much you want a crowd.

Technically yes, but the result is a rushed day. Versailles and Fontainebleau are on opposite sides of Paris, and Giverny lies in the north-west. Doing two in one day means a lot of transit and little time for either, and it makes sense only with a private driver. A better approach is one day per site, spread over a longer Paris stay.

If you have a car, Giverny pairs well with Rouen and Honfleur on a Normandy loop, and the Rouen travel guide shows how. Fontainebleau pairs with a forest walk and a village lunch, and Versailles pairs with an evening in Paris.

If your interest is Impressionism rather than palaces, read our guide to Impressionist day trips from Paris, which compares Giverny with Auvers-sur-Oise and Rouen.

The first mistake is choosing by photo alone. A palace day and a garden day are different kinds of effort: one is indoors, crowded and timed, the other is outdoors, seasonal and weather-led.

The second is ignoring the transfer. Versailles has the shortest last leg, a 10-minute walk, while Fontainebleau needs a bus and Giverny needs a shuttle or a bike. Check the last return before you linger, especially after a late lunch.

The third is booking a non-refundable Versailles ticket before the forecast is clear. Versailles lists its tickets as non-refundable and non-exchangeable, while Fontainebleau lets you buy on the day. If the weather is the unknown, Fontainebleau carries less risk.

For rail planning across the country, see whether a Eurail Pass is worth it, which explains when point-to-point tickets are cheaper, and the Paris travel guide for where to base yourself.