Ile de France: The Complete Guide to the Region Surrounding Paris

France's main airport, about 25 kilometers northeast of Paris, and most flights from Israel land there. It has three terminals that are far apart and connected by an internal train, and it's worth knowing in advance which one you're landing at and which one you're taking off from. In the article, I broke down the three ways to get to the city: the RER B train, which is the fastest and cheapest but requires carrying luggage up stairs, the buses, which are more convenient for families, and the taxi, which works according to a fixed price set by law and not by a meter. It also contains information about storing luggage and what to do when the flight lands before public transportation starts operating.

The older of the two airports, south of Paris and considerably closer to the city center than Charles de Gaulle. Since metro line 14 was extended to it in 2024, getting there has become very simple: a direct journey with no changes and no surprises. It serves mainly domestic flights, flights to Europe and North Africa, and also some flights from Israel. For those continuing south, to Fontainebleau or the Chevreuse Valley, it is also the more logical starting point, and the most convenient place to pick up a rental car without getting into the northern traffic jams.

The low-cost airport in Paris, which mainly serves Ryanair and Wizz Air. It is important to know that it is not in Ile-de-France at all, but about 85 kilometers north of Paris, and that reaching the center takes about an hour and a quarter by shuttle that leaves according to the flight schedule. The shuttle ticket is not included in the flight price, and it is worth adding it to the calculation before deciding that the cheap flight is really cheap. On the other hand, those who plan to start in the north of the province, in Senlis or Chantilly, will find that this airport is actually convenient for them.

Sleeping in Versailles is cheaper than in Paris and allows you to enter the palace when the gates open, before the buses from Paris arrive and change the character of the place. In the article, I divided the recommendations by budget and by distance from the palace, and I also added vacation apartments for families. And there is another advantage that most travelers don't think about: Versailles is a real city with an excellent market and restaurants at reasonable prices, so your evening there is much more pleasant than it sounds.

Anyone who dedicates two days to the park will benefit from staying at a hotel in the chain, not because of the design but because of the early entry into the park that guests are given. Half an hour before everyone else is the difference between two facilities and five. In the article, I compared the chain's hotels by price, walking distance from the entrance, and suitability for large families, and I also included the hotels outside the complex, which are much cheaper and a short shuttle ride away.

A Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century in the heart of the Chevreuse Valley, which passed into private hands during the revolution and was renovated by the Rothschild family in the 19th century. Today it is a boutique hotel with a vast park, a lake and church ruins that have remained exactly as they were. It is not cheap, but it is the most beautiful option I know of for a quiet weekend in nature an hour from Paris, and even those who are not sleeping there can come for lunch and wander around the gardens.

The complete guide to visiting: the types of tickets and what each includes, what time to arrive so you don't have to wait in line for an hour, and how to arrange your day so you can see the palace, the gardens, and the Trianon. The palace is closed on Mondays, and on weekends from April to October, the fountains are turned on to rock music – a show that alone justifies scheduling a visit for it.

Most visitors leave the palace and head straight back to the train, which is a mistake. Louis XIV built an entire city around the palace for the court and its servants, and it still stands today: the Notre Dame market, which operates almost every day and is considered one of the best in the Île-de-France, the Saint-Louis district with its low houses and small shops, and the ballroom where the oath that opened the revolution was sworn in June 1789. A half-day that isn't enough easily turns into a full day.

A route that focuses on the Petit Trianon and the Queen's Village, the corner to which she escaped from the endless ceremony of the court. Louis XVI gave her the small palace immediately upon his accession to power, and she turned it into a private world to which she invited only those she wanted. The village with the small houses and the lake was built in the 1780s, and is the quietest and most beautiful part of the entire estate.

Ronen worked at the palace and knows it inside out, and his tips are of the kind you can't get from a regular guide: at what times the halls empty out, which parts most visitors walk past without stopping, and what really happens in the place when the gates close and the staff is left alone. This is also an article that explains how much work it takes to keep a place like this open to the public.

Versailles was a modest hunting lodge for Louis XIII, and his son turned it into a political machine aimed at keeping the nobility close, busy, and dependent on him. Anyone who wanted to have influence had to be there, and those who were there wasted their fortune on clothes and ceremonies instead of a private army. The article explains how this system worked, why it lasted for a hundred and fifty years, and why it eventually exploded.

Nicolas Foucault, Louis XIV’s finance minister, employed the three most talented men of his time – the architect Le Vau, the gardener Le Notre and the painter Le Baron – and built the most beautiful palace in France. In August 1661, he hosted the king at a lavish ball, and three weeks later he was arrested and sent to life imprisonment. The same three were immediately transferred to the king’s next project, and the result is called Versailles. In the summer, the palace is lit up with thousands of candles on Saturday evenings.

A castle reflected in a lake, and inside the Conde Museum, which holds the second largest collection of ancient paintings in France after the Louvre. The Duke of Dumal, who bequeathed it to the state, stipulated that the paintings would never be moved from their place, so the hanging there looks exactly as it did in the 19th century. Around it are the Le Notre gardens, vast royal stables, and the name that has stuck to the place forever: Chantilly cream.

Alexandre Dumas the Elder made a huge fortune from The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, and immediately built himself a small palace in Fort-Marly, with a park and a separate writing building surrounded by water. Just two years later he went bankrupt and had to sell everything. A visit there is especially charming for those who grew up on his books, and the place is small enough to be enough for two hours.

A private castle in the Chevreuse Valley where the family lived has become something of a rarity: in each hall are life-size wax figures that recreate Charles Perrault's fairy tales, from Puss in Boots to Sleeping Beauty. Perrault truly had an affinity for the family, so this is not a tourist gimmick but a continuation of a family story. Around it is a large park with a maze and games, and this is the place to take children who have run out of patience for another hall of mirrors.

A small palace from the mid-18th century that survived the revolution and two world wars with its original furnishings. The last Marquise who lived there bequeathed it to the state on the condition that nothing be changed in it, so a visit there is not a tour of a museum but an entrance to a house that someone left yesterday. It is already on the border of the Champagne region, about an hour and a half from Paris, and is very convenient for those continuing east to Reims or Troyes.

An early 18th-century mansion built for two financiers, and rented by Madame de Pompadour for two years. It is considered one of the most complete examples of the Regency style, the refined stage between the Baroque and the Rococo, and its French gardens extend all the way to the Marne River. It is a twenty-minute drive from Disneyland, so it is the perfect stop for those who need a quiet day after the park.

Henry II built this palace for Diana de Poitiers, his beloved who was twenty years his senior and ruled the court during his reign. He left their monograms and the crescents of the hunting goddess in every corner, and after his death she was banished from court and retired there. Part of the palace was destroyed in the Revolution, but what remains tells this strange love story well.

The Royal Chapel of the House of Orléans is the last royal cemetery in France, and is the burial place of Louis Philippe, the last king to rule the country. He died in exile in England in 1850, and his remains were not returned to France until twenty-four years later. The place is quiet and impressive, with almost no visitors, and is a very natural stopping point on the way from Paris to Normandy.

Everything you need to know before you go: the difference between the two parks and when it's worth paying for both, the types of tickets and their pitfalls, the rides by age and height, and which shows are worth reserving in advance. I also added the logistical part that people forget: how to get from Paris on the RER A without wasting an hour in the morning, what is allowed to be brought into the park, and where to eat at a reasonable price.

The practical side of a day at the park with kids, from someone who's done it herself: what to pack for the day, when to eat so you don't have to wait in line for an hour, how the queue system works and is it worth paying for, which rides to do in the first hour when the park is still empty. There's also the stuff no one tells you in advance, like how many kids actually go there in a day.

In Nogent-sur-Seine, the town where the sculptor Camille Claudel lived, a museum opened in 2017 that houses the world’s largest collection of her work. The exhibition presents her not only as Rodeau’s student and lover, but as an independent and amazing sculptor in her own right. The visit is moving and difficult, both because of the art and because of the last thirty years of her life, during which she was held in a closed institution against her will.

One of the great gossip stories of the 18th century: Louis XV's house was located in a side neighborhood of Versailles, and the rumors surrounding it grew more extreme over the years. The article separates what is known for sure about the place, and what the revolutionaries invented after his death to blacken his name. Interesting reading before a visit to Versailles, because it shows how propaganda is born.

The business district west of Paris, deliberately built outside the city limits so that towers would not damage the historic skyline. The Grand Arche, inaugurated in 1989, stands right on the great mirror axis that continues from the Louvre through the Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe. It is not a classic tourist site, but for those interested in architecture and those who want to see contemporary France, it is an interesting half-day.

Opened in 1899, it is considered the world's first pet cemetery, and is still active. It is home to thousands of rescue dogs, animals belonging to actors and aristocrats, and thousands of pets belonging to ordinary people. What makes the place truly moving are the inscriptions: sentences that people left on the tombstones a century ago, which sound exactly like what you would write today.

An hour and a quarter by train from Saint-Lazare station to Rouen, and from there an entire region opens up: the landing beaches and Bayeux, Mont Saint-Michel, the cliffs of Etretat and the villages of Pays d'Auge. There is also a real overlap with the Île de France: Giverny, the home and gardens of Claude Monet, is an hour's drive from Paris and is a perfect day trip in itself. Those who combine the two regions in the same trip get a whole week of palaces, beaches and history, without having to travel more than two hours between stops.

An hour by train to Orléans or two hours by car south, and you are in the land of the great castles: Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise and Blois. It is a natural continuation for those who enjoyed Vaux-le-Vicomte and Chantilly and want more of the same, on a larger scale and with the option of sleeping inside one of the castles. The distances there are greater than in Baie-de-France, so it is worth dedicating at least three days to it and not trying to cram it into a day trip from Paris.

An hour and a half by train southeast, and you’re on the wine route and in medieval seaside towns like Beaune and Dijon. It’s a region for those looking for a slower pace, good food and rural views rather than grand palaces. It fits in well with a trip that continues to Lyon and the south of France, and it’s also where you’ll understand why the French argue over plots of land the size of a backyard.