Spend a week or more in France and you can relax and truly savor Paris: stroll its neighborhoods, attend a concert or service at one of the churches, dawdle in sidewalk cafés, inspect a good number of museums, take a cruise on the River Seine, and even attend the opera, ballet or a special art exhibit (if you've ordered your tickets online beforehand).

You'll also have time to make day-trip excursions. France's excellent high-speed trains make it possible to visit even such far-off destinations as the Loire Valley, the D-Day beaches of Normandy, Mont St-Michel, the Champagne region, Strasbourg and Alsace without moving out of your Paris hotel. More...

Follow our itinerary for A Week in Paris, then plan your excursions farther afield in the Île-de-France and beyond:

Versailles

Versailles is more than the stupendous Château de Versailles—it's also a fine small French city with an excellent market, several museums, and relaxing parks. More...

Chartres

Likewise the town of Chartres: you go to visit the breathtaking cathedral, with its brilliant stained glass windows, but the town, its parks, restaurants, cafés and markets are also a delight. Plan to spend the day. More...

Disneyland Paris

Different from the historic wonderlands of other excursions, but lots of fun, especially if you're traveling with children. More...

Giverny

You've dreamed of visiting artist Claude Monet's home and gardens at Giverny, to see his water lilies for yourself. You can! Giverny is an easy, comfortable 45-minute train ride from Paris. More...

Loire Valley

It's possible to visit a grand château on the Loire on a day-trip from Paris, but much more rewarding to spend several days on an excursion there, making your base in Amboise, Blois, Chinon or Tours. More...

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