Île-de-France, Paris and what lies an hour away by train.

What is the Île-de-France?

It is the Paris region: the capital and the surrounding départements, linked by a single network of metro, RER and commuter trains. For almost everyone, travelling here means travelling to Paris, and that's fine. But less than an hour and a half away by train you have palaces, forests and a medieval town that change the pace of the trip and can all be done without a car.

• Paris is the base: three nights for the essentials (the Louvre or the Orsay, the Île de la Cité, Montmartre, walks along the Seine) and five if you want neighbourhoods and museums without rushing.
• Versailles, the palace and its gardens, is the classic excursion. You get there on the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about ten minutes' walk from the entrance. Closed on Mondays.
• Fontainebleau, another royal palace and an enormous forest of rocks and trails. Take the line R train from the Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon, about 40 minutes, and a bus to the château. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Provins, a town of medieval fairs with ramparts, a tower and underground passages, and shows with knights and birds of prey from late March to early November. Line P from the Gare de l'Est, between an hour and twenty minutes and an hour and a half. With one train an hour, check the return timetable before you leave.
• Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallée, at the end of the RER A: Disneyland Park and Disney Adventure World, with the new Frozen world, about 45 minutes from Châtelet.
• Vaux-le-Vicomte, Fouquet's château that inspired Versailles, 50 km away by car; open from March to November and at Christmas with the Grand Noël.
• Auvers-sur-Oise, the village where Van Gogh spent his last seventy days: his room, the church he painted and his grave. Direct train from Paris-Nord at weekends from April to October, in 44 minutes.
• Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallée, at the end of the RER A. If you are travelling with children, allow a whole day for the park alone.

Outside the region, but less than an hour by train from Paris, there are three more excursions: Chantilly, with its château and its horses, 25 minutes from Gare du Nord; Giverny, Monet's garden, by train from Saint-Lazare to Vernon, from April to October; and Reims, the cathedral of the coronations and the champagne cellars, 45 minutes by TGV from Gare de l'Est, with Épernay and its Avenue de Champagne an hour and twenty minutes away on a direct train. An hour or an hour and a quarter away are also Chartres, the cathedral of the stained glass, by train from Montparnasse, and Rouen, the city of Joan of Arc and of Monet's cathedral, by train from Saint-Lazare.

How do you get there from Spain?

By plane is the most common: from Madrid and Barcelona there are daily flights to Charles de Gaulle and to Orly, and from many other Spanish cities there are direct routes, some to Beauvais, which is much further from the city. From Orly, metro line 14 drops you at Châtelet in about 25 minutes; the old Orlybus no longer runs. From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B goes to Gare du Nord and Châtelet.

By train, SNCF's TGV INOUI links Barcelona Sants with the Gare de Lyon with no changes, in about 6 hours 50 minutes, with a couple of departures a day. From Madrid you have to change in Barcelona or go via Hendaye.

By car it is about a thousand kilometres from Irún on toll motorway. It makes sense if you combine Paris with the Loire or Normandy; for Paris alone, the car is a problem: parking is expensive, traffic is slow and to enter you need the Crit'Air sticker.

How do you get around?

On foot and by metro. Since 2025 the fare has been simpler: a Metro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.55 in 2026 and is valid on the metro, RER and commuter trains throughout the region, including Versailles, Fontainebleau and Provins. What it doesn't cover are the airports: for those there is a ticket of its own, €14 in 2026. You can load your journeys on a Navigo Easy card or on your phone and avoid the queues at the machines.

If you are staying several days, make a note of the museums that matter most to you and book an entry time on their website: at the big ones, the queue with a booking and without one are nothing alike.

When to go and what does it cost?

Spring and autumn are the best times: temperatures for walking all day and shorter queues than in summer. In August many Parisians leave and some neighbourhood restaurants close for a few weeks, although the city doesn't stop. In winter it gets dark early, but it's a good time for museums.

Paris is among the most expensive places in France, especially for accommodation. A simple hotel in the centre costs what a good one does in the provinces. You save by sleeping near a direct metro line rather than in the centre, by eating the lunchtime menu and by walking: many of the places you want to see are less than half an hour's walk from each other.