Best day-trips from Paris

by Leigh Fergus

If you're looking for a change from the Versailles-Giverny-Eurodisney tried and tested day trips from Paris, here are a few for a getaway with a difference…

Moret-sur-Loing

This small medieval town at the edge of the forest on the river Loing offers a quiet alternative to the relative bustle of the more famous Fontainebleau, 6 miles away. The Impressionist artist Sisley was attracted by the tranquil charm of this town, which makes a logical add-on trip to any visit to the artists' village of Barbizon to the north. Mini-cruises are offered during the summer months, and the annual plays and son et lumière shows organized on the river banks always draw massive crowds. Among the sights are a museum of bicycles, set in an old bicycle parts factory, and a small museum of barley sugar (only open at weekends and on public holidays), where you can see how this treat is made, and taste it
.  
Moret is 44 miles south-east of Paris. Trains from Gare de Lyon, Paris stop at Moret-Veneux-les-Sablons. Access by highway A6 or A5, Fontainebleau exit, (6 miles from Fontainebleau).

Chantilly

Combining culture and countryside, Chantilly is a perfect day trip from Paris. The château's Musée Condé has an astonishing art collection, 18th-century stables, famous racecourse, as well as the museum of the horse, which features live horses. Within the grounds are a natural English-style garden with waterways and the charmingly named Temple of Venus, and a formal French garden, designed by Le Nôtre.
Trains from Paris Gare du Nord to Chantilly-Gouvieux take 30 minutes, and there are buses from the station to the Château.

Boulogne-Billancourt

Just outside Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt to the southwest offers a green oasis and site for car lovers. The Albert Kahn gardens, built by the banker and anthropologist of the same name, is a microcosm of the world's garden styles: Japanese Zen, English lawns, tropical palm trees, and French Vosges forests are all here, without any sense of being cramped or reduced to their most basic elements. He created Archives of the Planet, a collection of photos and films of the 50 countries he and his colleagues visited between 1910 and 1931 in an effort to promote a world of better understanding and harmony. Tea ceremonies are organized during the summer, a small café restaurant is open in the converted Orangérie, and you can visit exhibitions of the photo collection year-round. 14 rue du Port, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt; tel: +33 (0)1-4604-5280. Métr Boulogne-Pont de St. Cloud. Entrance: 1.5 euro.

Car fans can visit the Renault museum and automobile display, where the car manufacturer's history-and a major part of French industry-is explained in images and objects, from the workers' blue overalls to enamel advertisement boards and car prototypes, all organized and taken care of by retired Renault employees. Open in the afternoon, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., 27, rue des Abondances, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt; tel: +33 (0)1-4605-2158.