I am hoping to get some further details on the folowing as daytrips:
-Chartres
-Amboise
-Troyes

What I am looking for is an easy train trip, interesting sights to occupy a day and someplace that will really provide a memorable day in opposition to what Paris has to offer.(which we love and have been to MANY times by the way) Thanks!

I'm not quite sure what kind of information you are looking for. Troyes about an hour and 30 minutes from Paris Est by train. Chartres is about an hour and 10 or 15 minutes from Paris Montparnasse.

Have you looked at the www.SNCF.com web site to see when trains run?

Amboise is a little farther and if you take the TGV you have to go to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps and then change trains to backtrack to Amboise. If you take the train from Gare d'Austerlitz, you can make the trip in about two hours. For example, there's a 9:21 a.m. train that gets to Amboise at 11:24 a.m.

The train station in Amboise is on the north bank of the Loire, and the town is on the south bank, so there is a walk involved.

Sorry for the vague post!

I am looking for opinions/comments,etc. on the destinations as daytrips. I should be able to figure out the actual travel part myself. I guess the question should have been written as "If you could take only one day trip outside of Paris, which of these (and why) would you do"?

My two favorites have been the chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte and the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, particularly the impressionist experience at the Auvers Chateau.

I have a day trip file to send.

rzolezzi@aol.com

Ah. If you've never been to Chartres, that's what I would recommend. Try to go on a sunny day, when the stained-glass windows are magnificent.

here is a previous discussion on day trips from paris.

Chartres is memorable, and so is Malcolm Miller, who leads wonderful tours of the cathedral, though his schedule seems unpredictable. But for a more varied and very pleasurable 12 hours away from Paris, with less time spent on transportation, I much prefer Chantilly and Senlis: Chantilly with its lovely small chateau set on water, and Senlis, one of the most charming towns in France and great for walking the cobbled, winding streets, with a well-protected ensemble of 17th to 19th century architecture.

The travel time is short, 45 minutes by train to Chantilly and 20 minutes by bus from Chantilly to Senlis. And neither are as heavily visited as several other day trip destinations. Both were discussed in this two-page thread, and Ken posted photos of the Chantilly chateau:

http://slowtalk.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3956056284/m/35810263321

Dave