laly_phillips

Hey you experts, there's got be a way to get to Giverny from Versailles that doesn't entail returning to Paris. Giverny is not that far from Versailles, my husband drove it 20 years ago and it took about 1/2 hr. I could drive it but I get easily distracted and get lost even with a GPS, so I rather not drive it. Are there any mini bus tours from Versailles? A train, something.....

StCirq

No, there doesn't have to be a way. You have to go through Paris Gare St-Lazare on the train or pay for a guided tour, about which I know nothing, sorry.

PalenQ

Yes, what is a short drive on autoroutes takes at best 1 h 30 min by train - always going back to Paris from Versailles Rive Droit station (in town center north of chateau) on commuter trains to Paris' Gare St-Lazare train station where you change for trains to Vernon - about 4 miles from Giverny with shuttle buses and taxis from in front of station. Could find others to share taxi with perhas.

This is for several rail connections up until about 10:30 am and after that it will take over 2 and sometimes 2.5 hours with 2 or 3 changes but all via St-Lazare.

I get these schedules from www.bahn.de/en - German Rail's pan-European train schedule site that has schedules for most all European trains and gives details on where and when you change, etc.

For lots on French trains check www.oui.sncf (schedules and fares and can book your own tickets online) - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteruopetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. You can always buy tickets for these kind of trains at normal fare at station on day of travel.

There may be buses Versailles to Mantes-la-Jolie and Vernon or catch the train at Mantes I think. Probably are guided tours and certainly private drivers check the Versailles Office de Tourisme web site for that or to e-mail them.

I did a lovely 4-mile walk from Vernon's train station to Giverny along the abandoned railway - now a bike and footpath - that Monet used to ride to Rouen and back when putting things like its famous cathedral on canvasses. It comes into a sleepy part of Giverny the village by the parish graveyard where Monet still lies with a fairly simple tombstone.

If trying to do Versailles and Giverny the same day think twice about that IMO - very possible but to me the charm of Versailles is not just the often caustrophobic palace tour but to explore the vast famous parks and gardens - especially the Petit Trianon where Marie Antoinette allegedly liked playing a peasant shepherd tending to a garden, etc. There are some nice old cottages there where she and other royals hung out.

Book a time slot for Monet's House and Garden to avoid a long long wait in line on the official site. And, Giverny away from the constant hubbub around the House and Gardens Giverny is a quintessential quiet flower-bedecked French village that few however see. Or take time to amble down to the Seine near the House where Monet famously sat and Impressionistically painted the bucolic scenes.

But if going from Paris to Versailles then Giverny on your own takes a lot of travel time too.

Best for both on same day would be one of several guided bus tours from Paris. But then you move at the often hectic tour pace and have little time to ferret out other things at Versailles and Giverny that many would find very enjoyable.

Happy Planning!

PalenQ

Versailles Tourist Information Center

Versailles Tourist Office web site to ask about tours Versailles to Giverny.

Christina

YOu can do that if you want, you do NOT have to go through Paris.

You take Transilien line "N" from Versailles Chantier to Mantes la Jolie, and from there, lots of trains for the 20 minutes ride to Vernon (IC or TER), about one per hour. YOu have to be careful at Versailles as route N goes north and splits, some trains go to Mantes-la-Jolie and some go to Dreux. The ones going to Mantes-la-Jolie are marked MEPU or MOPI, at least those are two, check the board at the station.

THis is the entire RER/Ile de France line, you can see line N in blue at the left.
plan_reseau_201709.pdf

That trip from Versailles to Mantes-la-Jolie takes 50 minutes.

TDudette

Do you have the means to take a taxi?

PalenQ

Ah Christina has a good way - I went to www.bahn.de/en and they did not give that route but yes a lot better and makes more feasible. Good call Christina!

kerouac

Versailles-Chantiers is an easy walk from the château. It is simply a bit longer a walk than to Versailles-RG-Château but it is in the same direction. For those interested, you can also get a direct train to Chartres from there.

greg

I don't know the OP's reason to avoid going back to Paris. But if the travel time is the interest, in case off a train travel, distance is a poor proxy for travel time. One need to actually compute the travel time differences taking account the time of travel offering different milkrun vs. express train options.

laly_phillips

PalenQ, The Versailles Tourist Office stated that I must return to Paris to Gare St. Lazare . I checked the RER timetables and it appears that there is a direct train from Gare St. Lazare to Vernon. Originally I thought you had to change trains at Mantes la Jolie, its not very clear. Thanks for all the links.

laly_phillips

That is good news Christina. Thanks. I'll look into it.

kerouac

You can go directly to Saint Lazare from the Versailles-Rive Droite station.

PalenQ

Wonder why tourist office said you had to return to St-Lazare?

Check the map yourself:

https://www.transilien.com/en/page-e...e/network-maps

kerouac

I would assume that it's because of the travel time issue. A lot of the local TER trains would stop in every station along the way whereas the train from Saint Lazare to Vernon is a main line train that skips all of the little stations.

FrenchMystiqueTours

It's been a while since I checked but I believe that the connection at Mantes-la-Jolie is going to involve a longish wait between trains. I don't know why the reluctance to go back into Paris. Take a train from Versailles Rive-Droite to Gare Saint-Lazare and then from there to Vernon. I'm pretty sure you'll find that takes less time than the Mantes-la-Jolie connection. Use transilien.com for trains between Versailles and Paris / Mantes-la-Joile. Use oui.sncf.com for trains between Paris / Mantes-la-Jolie and Vernon.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Correction, you can also use transilien.com for trains between Paris / Mantes-la-Jolie and Vernon (that didn't used to be the case). A quick check of that site reveals that on weekdays between 8AM and 4PM the following train departure times from Mantes to Vernon: 8AM, 8:53AM, 10:52AM, 11:56AM, 12:36PM, 12:52PM, 1:56PM and 2:53PM. The same info can be found on the oui.sncf.com site.

PalenQ

OP would ultimately be changing to the same Saint-Lazare-Vernon trains at Mantes-la-Jolie - it seems quicker and cheaper to take RER from Versailles-Chantiers station than returning to Paris to start.

FrenchMystiqueTours

That is not the proper way of looking at things. You first need to look at the trains schedules from Chantiers to Mantes-la-Jolie and see if you can connect in a reasonable amount of time. You also need to do the same if going from Rive-Droite to Gare Saint-Lazare. Depending on what time one leaves Versailles then one connection might be preferable to another. So instead of saying one connection is better than the other the correct way to analyze the situation is to determine which connection works best depending on what time one leaves Versailles.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Doing a random search on a random weekday between 8AM and 4PM the following are the times that trains from Chantiers arrive in Mantes-la-Jolie: 8:58AM, 9:57AM, 11:05AM, 12:06PM, 1:06PM, 2:06PM and 3:06PM. There are several trains each hour between Rive-Droite and Gare Saint-Lazare. Using the times I already gave for trains departing from Mantes to Vernon it is pretty easy to see that there are really only one or two convenient connections between Chantiers and Mantes that won't require a lot of hanging around in Mantes waiting for the next train to Vernon.

PalenQ

Just call a Uber and bit the euro bullet?