JohnneeO

Hi,

We are planning our Paris sightseeing in August, and I am having trouble finding specific information about traveling from Paris to Giverny and Ch teau de Vaux le Vicomte by train. I am having trouble finding out what train services these areas. We are staying just outside of Paris, in a hotel that is in Zone 2. Here are my questions:

- What train do I take from Paris to Giverny and Ch teau de Vaux le Vicomte? I am curious to know if they are served by RER. I am considering buying weekly Navigo passes for travel within Zone 1-5, as we arrive on a Tuesday morning, and we would be there for most of the week covered by the pass.

- If not RER, what is the name of the train, and how do the tickets work?

I guess that is only two questions. Thanks in advance, and if you have any other suggestions for traveling to and/or visiting these locations, I would appreciate the advice!

TIA

DCJoe1

Don't know about Giverny- never been there. But looks like you take the TER or the J train- both longer distance trains than the RER, but still use the regional train tickets and can be bought as point to point tickets at any kiosk. The train leaves from Gare St-Lazare. Station nearest is called Vernon-Giverny. Looks like Vernon is outside zone 5, so the Navigo pass will not get you there.

Vaux-le-Vicomte I know well. This gives most of the details.

https://vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/prepare-your-visit/access/

You take the regional P train from Gare de l'Est. It leaves hourly. The first stop is Verneuil-l'Étang (35 minutes). The bus to Vaux-le-Vicomte leaves from there and is timed to the trains. It is in Zone 5, so the Navigo pass will work. Make sure to validate your Navigo pass at the blue device on the platform at Verneuil-l'Étang, both when you get off there and when you come back to rise the train back to Paris. There are ticket barriers at Gare de l'Est, and if you haven't "tagged in and out" in the hinterlands, the gate won't know how to count your trip.

https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com &sl=fr&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://malignep.transilien.com/2017/10/09/la-validation-pourquoi-comment-et-quels-sont-les-obstacles/&xid=17259,15700019,15700186,15700190,15700256,157 00259,15700262,15700265&usg=ALkJrhj4X9NeP2qd4iauDh qWT945yEIOnw

JohnneeO

Thank you, this is great information. I have had no problem finding information about traveling within the immediate Paris area (airports, tourist stops, DLP, etc.) or between major cities, but not so much for information on intermediate regional train travel.

- Regarding Gare St-Lazare, I assume it can be accessed via the Paris Metro?

- When you say "Looks like Vernon is outside zone 5", I assume that means you are not sure. Are you aware of any resource of how to verify this?

stut

Yes, Vernon is outside the Ile de France zones, you buy a point to point ticket there. The fastest trains are actually some of the Inter-City ones headed to the coast.

It's pretty obvious where to go to get the shuttle bus up to Giverny, although the bus ticket validation system can cause some delays when a busy train disgorges a new load of tourists.

Do buy a ticket for Monet's House in advance and use the "coupe-file" entrance. The queues for on-the-day tickets can be horrendous.

St Lazare is on the metro, and RER E. It's the major terminus for trains from Normandy and (for now) the NW suburbs. It's an elegant building.

Mountain Trader

JohnneeO

Thanks again everyone!

We are ticketed for Vaux-le-Vicomte. I am wondering about lunch. Is the on-site restaurant expensive? The site mentions picnics, but I would imagine that is going terribly inconvenient for US tourists to pack and travel with a picnic.

Regarding the train to Vernon, I see the various prices for different train times on the OUI.sncf site. Are those prices always the same? I am not sure if the prices will vary like airline tickets, or if I should worry about specific train times selling out. I would prefer to buy them that day if it is going to be all the same.

JohnneeO

Checking in from France on our experiences. We leave our Paris area hotel tomorrow for DLP.

First, to address to previous posts, my wife had already purchased Rick Steves's Pocket Paris, and I did end up purchasing the Giverny train tickets in advance.

Vaux le Vicomte was great. We almost had a problem leaving Gare de l'est, as I had managed to focus only on the arrival board, and had completely ignored the departure board! As bad luck would have it, there was a train arriving at the same time as our departure. Fortunately, I realized my error three minutes prior to departure, and were able to make it from Track 2 to Track 12 in time. The visit itself was a wonderful experience.

Regarding Giverny, when we realized how early we needed to leave our hotel to make the 8:19 AM train from St. Lazare, we ended up cancelling and decided not to go. Train tickets were refundable, but we ate the cost of the tickets to Monet's house. C'est la vie. Instead we just went to Versailles that day, since the cost was covered with our Navigo and Museum passes.

Thanks again.

MSPeconomist

Mountain Trader

JohnneeO

We had the four day museum pass, using it from Aug 15-18. At the advice of the Tourism office, we made the required reservation to visit the Louvre (free to make with the pass), expecting that we would arrive at 3 PM on Aug.18, and stay until close. However, after using our passes to sample the Pompidou Center, we decided to bypass art museums thereafter in favor of castles and cathedrals. We let our Aug. 18 Louvre reservation slide. Instead, on that day we started out early at Chateau de Vincennes, and visited the Pantheon later in the day.

So we never saw any Monets.