Visiting Île-de-France
The region around Paris fits inside a circle about a hundred kilometres across. At its heart, the capital and its museums. All around, the residences that kings built to escape the city: Versailles, Fontainebleau, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Vincennes. Further out, a countryside of wheat fields, forests and rivers, the Seine, the Marne, the Oise, where the Impressionists came to set up their easels.
You are probably coming for Paris. Keep a day or two to get out of it: a château without the Versailles crowds, a whole medieval town in Provins, sandstone boulders to climb in the forest of Fontainebleau.
You will love it if
- You love museums and châteaux: the region has more of them than many countries
- You want to do everything by public transport, from the Louvre to Disneyland
- You like walking in the forest an hour from a big city
Give it a miss if
- Crowds wear you down: Versailles and the big Paris museums are packed from opening time
- You are after the sea or the mountains: the nearest coast is two hours away by train
- Your budget is tight: staying in Paris costs more than anywhere else in France
The must-sees
-
1 The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte +14 recs
The château Nicolas Fouquet had built by Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre, the three artists Louis XIV then took to Versailles. On 17 August 1661, Fouquet threw a party so lavish that the king had him arrested three weeks later. Come on a summer Saturday evening: the château and gardens are then lit by thousands of candles.
-
2 Provins, the medieval town +10 recs
A medieval trade-fair town that has survived almost intact, with its ramparts, its underground passages and Caesar's Tower overlooking the upper town. It has been a World Heritage Site since 2001. Allow a full day: an hour and a half by train from Gare de l'Est, then the town is explored on foot, between knights' shows and cobbled streets.
-
3 The Médiévales de Provins In June
One weekend in June, the upper town fills with markets, parades and jousts, and many visitors come in costume. It is the busiest festival in Provins: book your train and room early, or come another weekend if you prefer quiet ramparts.
-
4 The forest of Fontainebleau Hiking and climbing
Twenty thousand hectares of oaks, pines and jumbled sandstone in the south of the region. The boulders are climbed without ropes, bare-handed, on circuits colour-coded by difficulty. Trails leave from Barbizon, the village of the painters who invented open-air landscape painting here. Come on a weekday: at weekends the car parks fill up early.
-
5 The Château de Versailles +33 recs
The palace, the Hall of Mirrors, Le Nôtre's gardens and the Trianon estate. Arrive at opening time, or start with the gardens and the Trianon and visit the palace late in the afternoon, once the groups have left. The palace is closed on Mondays. On weekends in the warmer months, the fountains in the gardens play to music.
The classic trap
You will only see Paris and Versailles if you never leave the city, and you will miss everything else. The Château de Fontainebleau was home to almost every French monarch, and it is far less crowded than Versailles. Provins and Vaux-le-Vicomte each make an easy day trip from Paris.
Our itineraries in Île-de-France
| Length | Itinerary | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days | Paris › Versailles | Museums, neighbourhoods, château |
| 5 days | Paris › Versailles › Fontainebleau › Barbizon | Two royal châteaux, the forest |
| 1 week | Paris › Versailles › Vaux-le-Vicomte › Provins › Auvers-sur-Oise | Châteaux, the medieval town, the painters |
Keep Paris as your base and head out on day trips: Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Auvers-sur-Oise by RER or suburban train, Fontainebleau and Provins by train from Gare de Lyon and Gare de l'Est. Only Vaux-le-Vicomte needs a car or a shuttle from Melun station.
When to visit Île-de-France
| Appeal | Season | Temperatures | What's on | Crowds and prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WinterDec to Feb | 2 to 8 °C | Museums, Christmas lights | Medium | |
| SpringMar to May | 6 to 20 °C | Gardens in bloom, Versailles fountains | High | |
| SummerJune to Aug | 15 to 26 °C | Candlelit evenings, Médiévales | High | |
| AutumnSept to Nov | 7 to 21 °C | Russet forests, cultural season | Medium |
Our advice
Aim for May, June or September: the château gardens are at their best, and it is mild enough to walk in the forest. In August, many Parisians go on holiday and some restaurants close, but the museums and châteaux stay full of visitors.
Getting to Île-de-France
-
By train The easiest
The Eurostar links London St Pancras to Gare du Nord in around two hours and twenty minutes, city centre to city centre. From the rest of Europe, high-speed trains arrive at one of Paris's six main stations.
-
By plane The quickest from afar
Two main airports: Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle to the north-east and Paris-Orly to the south. The RER B links Charles-de-Gaulle to central Paris, and the metro serves Orly. Allow forty-five minutes to an hour to the centre.
-
By car Best avoided for Paris
From the Channel ports, the motorways lead to the Boulevard Périphérique, often jammed at rush hour, and parking in Paris is expensive. A car only makes sense for châteaux and forests that public transport serves badly, such as Vaux-le-Vicomte.
From the UK, take the Eurostar: you arrive in the centre, and the rest of the region is a RER ride away. If you bring your car, leave it in your hotel car park while you are in Paris.
Getting around Île-de-France
The metro, the RER and suburban trains cover the whole region. The weekly Navigo pass, Monday to Sunday, gives you all zones, from Versailles to Disneyland and Fontainebleau, for a single price. In Paris, walk: many journeys take less time on foot than by metro.
Good to know
The weekly Navigo pass is loaded onto a card that needs an ID photo, or straight onto your phone. It always starts on a Monday: if you arrive on a Thursday, single tickets will cost you less.
What to eat in Île-de-France
- Brie de Meaux and brie de Melun: the region's two bries, one creamy, the other stronger and saltier.
- Paris-Brest: a ring of choux pastry filled with praline cream, created for the cycle race of the same name.
- Jambon de Paris: cooked ham, served in a baguette with butter in the classic jambon-beurre.
- French onion soup: the dish of the old Paris market halls, served in a bowl under a crust of melted cheese.
- Moutarde de Meaux: an old-style wholegrain mustard sold in stoneware pots.
- Champignons de Paris: button mushrooms, originally grown in the old quarries beneath the city.
In Paris, have lunch in a bistro near where you are staying: the set lunch menu often costs half the price of dinner. On a Saturday in Meaux, or at the Paris markets, buy a brie cut from the wheel.
Where to stay in Île-de-France
| Area | What for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | Museums, neighbourhoods, every outing | The base for most trips |
| Marne-la-Vallée | Disneyland, Val d'Europe | Handy for the parks, far from everything else |
| Versailles | The château, a quiet town | 40 minutes from Paris by RER |
| Fontainebleau | Château, forest, climbing | One or two nights, in peace |
| Provins | The medieval town | One night to see the ramparts at dusk |
How much does a trip in Île-de-France cost?
| Trip | Length | Budget per person |
|---|---|---|
| Budget (youth hostel, Navigo, bakeries) | 4 days | €300 to €450 |
| Comfort (3-star hotel, restaurants, two museums a day) | 4 days | €750 to €1,300 |
| Luxury (palace hotel, starred restaurants, private tours) | 4 days | €2,500 and up |
- Accommodation: this is the item that will tip your budget; a room in Paris costs far more than in Versailles or Fontainebleau.
- Museums: the Louvre, the Orsay and Versailles each have their own ticket; some national museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, but book anyway.
- Theme parks: a day at Disneyland costs more than a week of museums, especially during school holidays.
- Transport: the weekly Navigo pass works out cheaper than single tickets as soon as you leave Paris.
- Free outings: parks, forests, the banks of the Seine and churches cost nothing.
Traditions and way of life in Île-de-France
For centuries, the kings of France lived around Paris rather than in it: at Vincennes, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau, then Versailles, where Louis XIV moved the court in 1682. The basilica of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, holds the tombs of most of them.
In the 19th century, painters took the train to the countryside: the Barbizon school in the forest of Fontainebleau, then the Impressionists on the banks of the Seine and the Oise. Vincent van Gogh spent the last weeks of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, in 1890; he is buried there next to his brother Theo, and you can walk up to their two graves in the cemetery above the fields.
