13 Fontainebleau and Chartres Day Trips from Paris to Build a Day Around

1.Fontainebleau & Vaux-le-Vicomte Châteaux Day Tour from Paris

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 454 reviews · 9 hours · from $123Our pick

Travel from Paris to two exceptional châteaux by air-conditioned coach. Explore Vaux-le-Vicomte with its Fouquet-voiced audio tour and formal gardens, then visit Fontainebleau, a former royal residence, at your own pace. No live guide accompanies the group.

“Travel and tickets were arranged very well. The timing mentioned in the plan was followed to the dot. Over-all, I really enjoyed the trip. I would recommend the same. 🙂”

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2.Giverny Monet’s Garden & Auvers-sur-Oise with Van Gogh House Full Day From Paris

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 369 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $266Top rated

Spend 10 hours with a guide such as Alice, Izzy, Brune, or Clement visiting Monet’s gardens, home, grave, and Van Gogh’s final residence and grave. Travel by air-conditioned minivan with no more than eight people, and enjoy free time for lunch in Auvers-sur-Oise.

“Izzy was an excellent guide! We loved the history given about the two artists and the tour of the beautiful country side. Izzy shared wonderful details about the areas as well as the artists She was a great and safe driver who had wonderful tips on where to eat or get treats along the way. Highly recommend!”

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3.Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte Chateaux Day Trip from Paris

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 339 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $138

Travel by air-conditioned coach from Paris to Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau. Explore both castles independently with audio guides, visit gardens and fountains, climb Vaux-le-Vicomte’s dome, and return to Paris around 6:15 pm. This is transport and admission, not a guided tour.

“The WOW moment when you first see the double staircase at Fontainebleau. Sumptuous rooms, tapestries, and furniture.”

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4.Fontainebleau and Vaux-Le-Vicomte Castle Small-Group Day Trip From Paris

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 224 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $266

Spend about 10 hours visiting Vaux-le-Vicomte, Fontainebleau, and a medieval castle photo stop from Paris. A driver-guide such as Will, Cesar, Valeria, or Brune leads a group of up to eight in an air-conditioned minivan. Admission is included, but lunch is not.

“We had a wonderful visit and our guide / driver was very informative. I think her name was Valaria..”

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5.Chateau de Fontainebleau & Vaux-Le-Vicomte Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 96 reviews · 10 hours · from $259

Travel by air-conditioned minibus from Paris to Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau. Explore the château interiors with audio guides, stroll Vaux-le-Vicomte’s 99-acre French gardens, and hear the stories behind Napoleon, Louis XIV, and Nicolas Fouquet from an English-speaking guide.

“Valeria was personal and helped us make the best of our time. Would do another trip with her anytime!”

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6.Vaux le Vicomte Chateau Entry Ticket and Chateaubus Transfer

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 55 reviews · 5 hours · from $35Best value

Take the R train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Melun, then ride the Chateaubus to Vaux-le-Vicomte. Explore the chateau, French formal gardens, carriage museum, and garden trails with a 3D audio guide in English, French, German, or Chinese. Check shuttle times carefully, especially off season.

“Not gréât. When we got to Melun there were no signs of where to catch the Chateauxbus. We asked many people and ended up taking an Uber at our expensé. Then when we got to the château we saw that the tickets were 15 euros when we had paid 60 which included the useless transportation. After touring the château we found that the Chateaubus only runs infrequently during off season. Save your money and just go independently!”

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7.Fontainebleau & Vaux-le-Vicomte Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 34 reviews · 8 hours · from $303

Travel from Paris by private vehicle to Fontainebleau Palace and Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. You will have entry tickets, hotel pickup, and time to explore both sites, with a driver-host such as Yasser, Anas, or Nasser helping you get oriented.

“This was a solid day-trip out of Paris, and after 6-7 times in the city it was well-worth it to come to these locations. Anas, our driver was extremely friendly. If your French is not great, not to worry, his English is perfect. :) I was a reticent to book a trip with a new company with no reviews, but I’m glad we did. Looks like we’re the first!”

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8.Private tour: Chateaux de Vaux le Vicomte & Fontainebleau

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · 10h 30m · from $306

Spend a full day with a private English or French-speaking guide at Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte. Andy, Sandra, or Rado may lead the day, with hotel pickup, entry tickets, audio guides, countryside drives, and free time for lunch in Fontainebleau.

“Rado was amazing, we had a great time. Would definitely recommend.”

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9.Private Day Trip to Giverny and Auvers sur Oise

★★★★★★★★★★3.4 · 6 reviews · 9 hours

Travel from Paris in a private air-conditioned vehicle with a French or English-speaking driver-guide. See Monet’s home, flower garden, water lily pond, and Japanese bridge in Giverny, then follow Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, including his room, church, fields, and grave.

“We had a fantastic time with Ange as our guide for a private tour from Paris to Giverny and Auvers-sur-Oise to see Monet’s home and Can Gogh’s final home/resting place. Ange was so helpful and so knowledgeable and made the trip a fantastic experience. Many thanks and we look forward to many more excursions with you in the future!”

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10.Chateau de Fontainebleau & Chateau de Versailles

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 5 reviews · 10h 30m · from $460

Leave Paris with a private driver-guide for Fontainebleau and Versailles. See Napoleon’s throne, choose lunch in Fontainebleau, then tour the Hall of Mirrors, royal apartments, Trianon, bosquets, sculptures, and Orangerie. English and French support is available, with multilingual audio guides.

“Excellente journée ! Merci à Andy pour sa gentillesse et son professionnalisme !”

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11.Candlelit Dinner at Vaux-le-Vicomte by Limousine

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 5 reviews · 7 hours

Your private limousine collects you in central Paris for a seven-hour evening at Vaux-le-Vicomte. Explore the château with an audio guide, drive through Le Nôtre’s gardens, dine on seasonal cuisine with champagne and wine, then watch the candlelit grounds and fireworks before returning to Paris.

“Wir wurden pünktlich mit einem Mercedes vom Hotel abgeholt und zum Schloss gefahren. Dort hatten wir für ca eine Stunde einen Golfwagen zur Verfügung, um uns den Schlosspark anzusehen. Danach hatten wir einen Rundgang im Schloss mit Audioguides und später dann war das Dinner mit Feuerwerk im Anschluss. Was sehr positiv aufgefallen ist, dass wir immer betreut wurden. Wir wurden von jeder Etappe des Abends von jemandem abgeholt und zur nächsten hingebracht. Nie mussten wir rumrennen und irgendwas nachfragen, die Organisation war sehr gut. Was etwas besser hätte laufen können, war dagegen unser Essen, doch das lag dann wirklich ausschließlich an unserer Kellnerin, sie wusste nicht so recht, was...”

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12.Auvers-sur-Oise & Giverny Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 3 reviews · 1 day · from $507

Your English- or French-speaking driver-guide collects you at your Paris hotel and takes you by private luxury van to Van Gogh’s Auvers-sur-Oise and Monet’s Giverny. See Van Gogh’s room, grave, and church, then explore Monet’s house and gardens with skip-the-line tickets. Lunch is on your own.

“Having a small group. Sights were exceptional. Puck up and drop off at hotel was hreat”

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13.Fontainebleau Castle Private guided tour from Paris

★★★★★★★★★★3.1 · 3 reviews · 5 hours

You’ll spend five hours traveling from Paris to Fontainebleau Castle in a private vehicle with a licensed guide. Expect palace rooms filled with art and furnishings, access to the gardens, skip-the-line entry, and hotel pickup. Guides speak English, French, Russian, or Spanish.

“Wunderbare Tour, netter Guide. Preis-Leistung-Verhältnis: überteuert im Vergleich zu anderen Anbietern.”

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