Day trip to Paris from the West

[gpmartin]

I am spending a week in Normandy next week with my family, and we would like to make a day trip into Paris one day. We are reasonably close to Évreux, Dreux and Chartres, all of which seem to be on railway lines out of Paris, or alternatively we could drive into the Paris suburbs and buy Mobilis tickets or similar to take us into central Paris (if there is an appropriate 'park and ride' type station).

Does anyone have any recommendations? Cheaper is obviously better, but not at a huge cost to convenience or safety! We are two adults, two teens (13 and 15) and one six-year-old. We would be looking to make Métro trips around central Paris while there.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[CC 72100]

I think Dreux has an advantage of being directly on the Transilien network, line N or J from recollection, although it is 'hors tarification ile-de-France' so you'd need a ticket from Dreux to the first station in zone 5.

That is of course presuming that you can by a Mobilis ticket outside I-d-F, which I'm not sure you can, so you may need to change trains anyway in order to do so, thus removing any advantage Dreux + Transilien has.

I'll have a little look at various options when I've got more time.

 

[gpmartin]

You may need to change trains anyway in order to do so, thus removing any advantage Dreux + Transilien has.

I'll have a little look at various options when I've got more time.

Thank you, that is very kind and much appreciated.

 

[CC 72100]

A good place to start is the Ile-de-France map: https://www.transilien.com/sites/default/files/atoms/files/plan_general_du_reseau_francilien.pdf

(Grey area = outside of I-d-F zones).

I don't have the appropriate local knowledge, but possibly Rambouillet could be a good option? Inside the area, hourly Transilien services and also some TER trains will stop there.

I've had a check and don't see any online purchase options for Mobilis, and looking at both the RATP and SNCF websites they only mention being able to buy at a station inside I-d-F; you therefore can't board a train outside the area and use a Chartres (for example) - border station ticket and combine it with it a Moblilis for border station - Paris.

Rambouillet as suburbs go has a fairly good reputation. Mantes-la-Jolie on paper would be even better, but having visited Mantes and travelled there on a line J local stopper I'm not sure whether I'd want to leave my (foreign registered) car at any of those places. The line J doesn't have the best reputation at all.

Could anyone with local knowledge add anything to the above?

 

[gpmartin]

Thanks. Also as a paper exercise, Houdan looks good - it's in Zone 5 and is fairly close to Dreux. But I haven't yet worked out how frequent trains are, and I suspect it would be Transiliens only, so maybe slower. And I have no idea what it's like as a place to leave a UK-registered car!

 

[CC 72100]

Looks like an hourly service, journey time of just under an hour.

From the french wikipedia page for Houdan station "Un parc pour les deux roues et un parking pour les véhicules y sont aménagés. Il y a plusieurs parkings payants d'une capacité totale d’environ 600 places."

There is motorcycle parking and a car park. There are several (paid for) car parks offering a total capacity of around 600 places.

Said wikipedia page also advises that the frequency is increased in the peak to 30-minute frequency, I'm guessing towards Paris in AM/from Paris in PM.

Expect just a ticket machine, and make sure you have a biro from writing on the ticket!

 

[Segedunum]

Rambouillet is pleasant enough to leave a car.

There were however still some unusually behaving passengers on the Line N stopper, particularly up to Versailles. Including people who think sticking their filthy bare feet into the aisle is somehow normal behaviour.

 

[gpmartin]

Just to round this off, in case anyone else has a similar query in future, we went from Houdan and all was fine. Plenty of parking at 08:30 on a Wednesday morning (UK half term) - €5 for the day, which I was able to pay for with a card at the parking booth opposite the station building. Uneventful journey to and from Paris - nice views of the city and of La Défense on the approach to Montparnasse. Houdan itself is a pleasant village /small town well outside the Paris conurbation; the station is on the edge of the village.

Many thanks to @CC 72100 and @rg177 for the advice.

 

[CC 72100]

Just to round this off, in case anyone else has a similar query in future, we went from Houdan and all was fine. Plenty of parking at 08:30 on a Wednesday morning (UK half term) - €5 for the day, which I was able to pay for with a card at the parking booth opposite the station building. Uneventful journey to and from Paris - nice views of the city and of La Défense on the approach to Montparnasse. Houdan itself is a pleasant village /small town well outside the Paris conurbation; the station is on the edge of the village.

Many thanks to @CC 72100 and @rg177 for the advice.

Pleased it worked out well, and thanks for letting us know.