3 Days in Paris Plus Day Trips
3 Days in Paris Plus Day Trips
Three days is where this family of itineraries starts to earn its keep: a Paris orientation day, then Versailles, then Giverny if the calendar cooperates. Need a different length? See the 2-day , 4-day , 5-day , 6-day or 7-day version, or our full Paris day trips guide .
Book these before you go: Versailles’ timed palace slot (mandatory even for free admission), a Giverny day tour if you’d rather not manage the Vernon train and shuttle connection yourself, and your Le Marais or Saint-Germain hotel, since both sit close to the stations these gateways use.
The 3-day route at a glance
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Paris |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Paris orientation, Le Marais | In the city |
| Day 2 | Versailles | 35 to 40 min (RER C) |
| Day 3 | Giverny (seasonal) | 45 min train plus shuttle |
Day 1: Settle Into Paris
Morning: check into a hotel in Le Marais or Saint-Germain-des-Prés and load a Navigo Easy card (EUR 2) immediately, both Versailles and Giverny run on separate point-to-point fares outside the flat Metro ticket. Compare stays in either neighborhood .
Afternoon: walk the Seine from Notre-Dame, free to the nave since its December 2024 reopening, toward Saint-Germain, no timed tickets needed for any of it.
Evening: dinner in Le Marais. For the full Louvre-and-Eiffel-Tower side of the city, our 3-day Paris itinerary and Paris travel guide cover it properly.
Day 2: Versailles
Morning: RER C from Invalides or Saint-Michel to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, 35 to 40 minutes, then an 8 to 10 minute walk to the gates. Book your timed slot before leaving Paris, it’s mandatory even with free admission, and the palace is shut Mondays.
Afternoon: the Hall of Mirrors and state apartments, then the gardens, free daily 7am to dusk regardless of the palace’s own closure day.
Evening: back to Paris for dinner. Book a Versailles skip-the-line tour or check tickets at chateauversailles.fr .
Day 3: Giverny, in Season
Morning: between 1 April and 1 November, take the train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon, about 45 minutes, then the seasonal Petit Train shuttle (roughly EUR 5 one way, EUR 10 return) or a taxi for the last stretch into the village.
Afternoon: Monet’s house and gardens, EUR 13 adult admission, worth 1.5 to 2 hours minimum. Outside the season, swap this day for Fontainebleau instead, Transilien R from Gare de Lyon in about 40 minutes, château entry EUR 17, gardens free.
Evening: an easy return, neither trip runs late. Book a Giverny day tour that bundles the train and garden ticket, or check the current season at fondation-monet.com .
Can you visit Giverny outside the summer months?
Only from 1 April to 1 November, the gardens close completely for the rest of the year, no exceptions for a determined winter visitor. If your dates fall outside that window, Fontainebleau is the closer, cheaper stand-in and needs no seasonal check at all.
Is Versailles or Giverny the better single day trip?
Versailles wins on raw payoff and transit time, 35 to 40 minutes against Giverny’s roughly 45-minute train plus a shuttle connection. Giverny wins on atmosphere if the gardens are in bloom and you’d rather trade a grand palace for a quiet, single-artist’s garden. Book train tickets for either at sncf-connect.com .
Do Versailles before Giverny if you’re only adding one gateway a day, the palace gets genuinely crowded by midday and rewards an early start more than the garden does.