Let's start with the most popular pairing: Versailles. Even for short visits to Paris, a half-day trip to Versailles is a must for history buffs, aesthetes and monarchists alike.
Another favorite from the city center, 50 miles west of Paris, is Giverny, the former residence of famed impressionist painter Claude Monet.
Only an hour away from the City of Light, Fontainebleau offers fairy-tale forests, drool-worthy gastronomic experiences and the castle of the same name.
At the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau is the quaint artist's village of Barbizon. Birthplace of the Barbizon School, has hosted the works of Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet.
While the French capital has enough bars à vin to satiate even the thirstiest traveller, a pilgrimage to Reims, the unofficial capital of Champagne, is a must for true oenophiles.
When it comes to the pinnacle of day trips, a trip to Chantilly—home of Chantilly cream, the perfect ancestor of whipped cream—is up there. less than 30 minutes from Paris by train.
Only two hours from Paris by high-speed train, Lyon is another university town that appeals if you yearn for a slower, more laid-back city atmosphere than Paris.
If château-hopping is your idea of a good time, look no further than a day trip to the Loire Valley. Loire, the longest river in Europe.
The medieval capital of Normandy is only an hour and a half from Paris by train. walkable and packed with enough art and architecture to deserve a few days of easy exploration.