Paris sits at the crossroads of the country’s famous regions like the Loire (“Valley of the Kings”) and Burgundy, whose wine route snakes through the best Grand Cru vineyards. The French countryside is a haven of gorgeous castle hotels and Renaissance-era manor homes converted into exclusive retreats like Le Logis in Cognac, once an invite-only escape owned by Grey Goose that feels like a private chateau — medieval walls and all.
But if you’re looking for a quick countryside escape from the City of Light, we have just the places in mind for a day trip or romantic overnight stay. Here are three of the top spots to get your fill of wine country, culture and cuisine everywhere. The best part? They’re all less than an hour by high-speed train from Paris, so you’ll spend less time traveling and more time exploring the best these regions have to offer.
Versailles
The Château de Versailles tops the list of many travelers while in Paris — and for good reason. Considered one of the greatest achievements in 17th-century French art, Versailles was originally a hunting pavilion for Louis XIV’s father that the son converted into a lavish royal residence. Explore rooms like the gilded Hall of Mirrors, where costumed dancers, musicians and fencers reenact scenes from the days of the court during the Royal Serenade on summer Saturdays or catch singers and actors preparing you for the holidays with the festive King’s Tour.
No matter when you visit, plan to carve out a full day touring the palace and gardens, pausing for lunch at master chef Alain Ducasse’s café, Ore, at the Dufour Pavilion overlooking the Royal Courtyard. Another excellent spot to spend the afternoon is the regal restaurant and tea room Angelina, where you can sip Paris’ famous hot chocolate, the drink of choice for the French kings and queens.
Stay the Night: Experience a taste of what royalty once lived like at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle, the sole hotel on the regal grounds. Originally designed by Louis XIV’s favorite architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the building transports you to the 18th century with antique décor and Marie Antoinette-style canopy beds.
Perks here include an exclusive after-hours tour of the Château de Versailles, a private entrance to the chateau gardens, horseback rides at sunrise through the park and fine dining feasts from chef Ducasse, complete with everything from reimagined royal recipes to period costumes.
Champagne
The 13th-century Reims Cathedral, adorned with roughly 2,300 statues, is considered one of the finest pieces of Gothic architecture in the country. It also held the prestigious role as the coronation site for the majority of French kings.
After checking the landmark off the list, it’s time for another of Reims’ famous attractions: les crayères, UNESCO-listed chalk cellars carved deep beneath the city. At the oldest champagne house, Ruinart, descend nearly 130 feet into caves converted into aging cellars for the legendary brand’s bottles and interactive art pieces.
After strolling through Ruinart’s sculpture-filled gardens back above ground, take a seat on the terrace of the new Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion and sip a selection of cuvées under the shade of cork oak trees. While you’re in champagne country, there are a few other ways to experience the vines by cycling or setting off on a buggy excursion, floating over Épernay in a tethered balloon at sunset or cruising on a historic paddlewheel boat along the Marne river.
Stay the Night: The Five-Star Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa feels like a true wellness retreat, one where stylish suites frame views of the rolling vines from garden terraces. The destination spa is among the only of its kind in the region.
After a day of champagne tasting, take a dip in the infinity-edge pool perched over the Marne Valley or gallop through the hillside on horseback. For the ultimate indulgence, book a table at gastronomic Le Royal, where you’ll sample a selection of the region’s standout champagnes that pair perfectly alongside chef Christophe Raoux’s cuisine. Expect some of the finest ingredients sourced from around the country, including barbecued Brittany lobster with fennel and smoked bisque and spider crab from the French coast served with rhubarb, lemon balm and seaweed confit.
Giverny
When Impressionist icon Claude Monet settled in Giverny in the late 1880s, he transformed thesmall Seine-side village into an artist community, with hundreds following his lead, looking to the town for inspiration. Get your bearings at “the Americans’ hotel,” the Ancien Hôtel Baudy, which earned its name from the American artists who had studios at the one-time hotel and restaurant, holding court alongside masters like Renoir and Rodin. At Restaurant Baudy, dine on the same terrace where the greats once gathered — plus admire one of the artist studios from the late 19th century sitting untouched in the garden.
Nearby, Monet’s home and lily pond-filled gardens have been restored to look nearly identical to when the artist painted some of his most famous works, the Water Lilies series. After touring his studio and strolling through the gardens over the jade-colored Japanese bridge captured in the great’s oil paintings, get a deeper dive into the Impressionist movement and the artists of the Seine Valley at the Musées des impressionnismes Giverny, which features a garden of its own, blooming with more than 22,000 plants.
Stay the Night: If you’re heading to Normandy, which sits about two hours from Giverny, check into Domaine de Primard, an 18th-century estate that previously belonged to celebrated French actor Catherine Deneuve. Here, you’ll find gardens as impressive as Giverny’s thanks to landscape artist Jacques Wirtz (who’s also behind the Carrousel Garden in between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in Paris), whose beautifully manicured boxwoods and rambling roses make for a romantic setting — especially during candlelit teatime in the glass greenhouse.
