Paris Day Trips

Taking a few Paris day trips is a good way to start your vacation in Paris France with the double-decker Hop On – Hop Off buses.

The double-decker bus tours give you the freedom to tour and wander all over the city on your trips to Paris France without worrying about parking or driving through crazy city traffic.

Paris is a beautiful city for walking around in and discovering romantic, winding cobblestone streets, tasting the exquisite delicacies in the boulangerie and patisserie, or admiring unique artisitic boutiques, but taking a few Paris day trips and touring around the city with the double-decker bus tours will give you a quick introduction to Paris.

Paris Day Trips on the Outskirts of Paris

Many of the great Paris day trips and things to see are located outside of the downtown districts.

Here is a list of my top picks of easy day tours from Paris France, which you can easily visit on the edge of the downtown city core:

• Bois de Boulogne - a huge natural park on the west end of Paris 2.5 times larger than Central Park in New York and 3.3 times larger than Hyde Park in London
• Parc Andre Citroen - a 14 hectares (35 acres) park built on the site of a former Citroën automobile manufacturing plant
• Bois de Vincennes- a large park on the east end of Paris, originally a hunting preserve for the kings of France, it became a military exercise area after the French revolution and was made into a public park by Napoleon III in 1860.
• Pere Lachaise Cemetery – this is the most famous cemeteries in the world; burial site of many famous people including Chopin, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison
• Parc des Buttes-Chaumont- a favourite park of Parisians; they flock to its grassy slopes to relax, picnic, and stroll along the five kilometres of trails found there.
• Parc de la Villette - a city within a city – an amusement park of Science and of Music
• Aux Marche Puces de St Ouen - Flea Market of St-Ouen – one of the greatest antique market and Paris attractions in the world with 2000 stalls of furniture, books, art glass ware, jewellery, porcelain, records, bronzes and more
• La Grande Arche de la Defense - a monument and building in the business district of La Defense to the west of Paris, designed to be a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe: a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals rather than military victories

Top Ten Easy Day Trips from Paris France

1. Chartres (Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Chartres)
2. Chateau de Chantilly
3. Chateau Versailles and its Gardens
4. Euro Disney (Disneyland Paris)
5. Fontainebleau
6. Giverny – Claude Monet’s House and Gardens
7. Loire Valley – this is undoubtedly one of the favourite day trips from Paris with many beautiful castles, vineyards, beautiful gardens and countryside
8. Chateau de Malmaison - home of Napoleon's first wife Josephine de Beauharnais
9. Reims – Champagne vineyards, Champagne houses, cellars and wine-tastings
10. Parc Asterix - amusement park with rides and themes from historic cultures such as the Romans and ancient Greeks

Paris Day Trips
In and Around the City of Love & Lights

In Paris, you can find fabulous tours of all kind and the best way to discover the City of Love is by trying out a few of the Paris day tours.

• Seine River Cruise & Dinner Cruises are romantic way to see the beautiful bridges and magnificent buildings along the river - there are several boat tour operators and many boarding points for your convenience
• Boat Cruises on Canal St. Martin and the Locks through Paris
Galerie Vivienne Covered Shopping Mall in Paris France

• Guided Walking Tours - These cover famous Paris gardens, grand museums, splendid monuments, original covered shopping malls, and Da Vinci Code tours
• Free and Self-Guided Walking Tours - Spend hours walking through Jardin du Luxembourg, the Tuileries Garden at the Louvre, stroll along the River Seine, the neighborhoods of Montmartre, the Marais, and the Latin Quarter, the charming Grands Boulevards, or even explore the Catacombs of Paris - and there are many more walking tours.
• Hop On – Hop Off Bus Tours

By taking a few tours, you will quickly discover exciting Paris attractions that you may not have found otherwise. To fully experience the best of Paris, whether on foot, metro, bus or by boat, plan to take several Paris day tours, and enjoy a variety of Paris events.

Paris France Weather for Paris Day Trips

Paris and the region of Ile-de-France have a temperate climate with warm summers, cold winters and rainfall throughout the year.

In the summer, the oceanic influence can bring on sudden mid-summer downpours and although these may be brief, you may want to pack a small umbrella.

Paris weather in the summer is sunny and can get very hot, and typically most French take their five-week vacations during the second half of July and August and head to the coasts and mountains at that time.

Anytime is a great time to visit Paris depending on your preferences. To avoid the heat, late spring, May to mid July, or in the fall, from early September to late October, are the best times to vist and to plan your Paris day trips.

To see the romantic lights in the City of Lights over the Christmas season, visiting in the winter is a good choice too.

If you enjoy hot Paris weather, mid-summer would be a good option as well because the Paris beach on the Seine River (or "Paris Plage" in French), a free summer event, opens up from July 20th to August 20th and transforms three spots in Paris into full-fledged beaches with sand, palm trees, beach-side cafes and each with distinct themes and games.

Often visitors to Paris do not know that many Parisians leave the city mid-summer for their summer holidays, and some shops and restaurants will be closed, but this is a perfect opportunity to head down to the Paris beach or include a few Paris day trips in your vacation to the City of Love.

While you are in Paris France, take advantage of exploring the beautiful towns, cities, castles, vineyards and spectacular activities in the region surrounding Paris and plan a few day trips from Paris.

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