Abi Summers

Destinations

Looking for inspiration on where to go in Île-de-France? Find some ideas here and which train lines to use to get there. Here, I’m using the most common way to reach the destination but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way - for example sometimes you can take a train and then a bus, or sometimes there will be works on the line.

All of these places will make for a cheap day trip if you have a Navigo because you won’t have to pay anything additional for transport. The links on place names links to a blog post of my experience there - usually as part of my Alphabet of Île-de-France. There really are so many places to visit in this region - there is something for everyone.

There are 5 different types of trains in Île-de-France:

• Métro - the underground of Paris and close suburbs
• Tramway - the trams that go around Paris
• RER - the suburban trains that go to across Île-de-France, passing through Paris
• Transilien - the suburban trains that go outwards from Paris to the rest of Île-de-France
• TER - the local network of trains that often connect smaller towns and cities to the larger ones. This is not exclusive to Île-de-France

RER A

RER A goes from the east to the west of Paris. It's the line that goes to Disneyland Paris and La Défense (the business district of Paris). It's also the line that goes to Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

• Champs-sur-Marne
• Rueil-Malmaison
• Saint-Germain-en-Laye (known for the château and domain)
• Marne-la-Vallée Chessy (Disneyland)
• Maisons-Laffitte (known for château de Maisons)
• Le Port-Marly (known for château de Monte-Cristo)

RER B

RER B goes from the north to south of Paris. It connects both airports, Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly to Paris.

• Sceaux (known for the château domain, and the cherry blossoms during the season)

RER C

RER C had many different branches. It connect Versailles to Paris.

• Bièvres
• Dourdan
• Versailles (no surprise, it's known for the château)

RER D

RER D goes north and south of Paris. Some of the stops are outside of Île-de-France so are not included in the navigio

• Yerres

RER E

RER E goes east and west passing through both gare du nord and gare saint lazare.

• Favières

Transilien V

• Bièvres

Transilien P

• Favières
• Provins (known for the medieval town and annual medieval festival)
• Maincy (known for château de Vaux-le-Vicomte)
• Maisons-Laffitte (known for château de Maisons)

Transilien R

• Nemours
• Fontainebleau (known for the château, the forest and bouldering)
• Barbizon (known for it's painters village)
• Maincy (known for château de Vaux-le-Vicomte)

Transilien L

• Ville-d'Avray
• Saint Cloud (known for the large park)
• Le Port-Marly (known for château de Monte-Cristo)

Transilien U

• Ville-d'Avray
• Saint Cloud (known for the large park)

Transilien H

• Auvers-sur-Oise
• Écouen
• Asnières-sur-Oise (known for Abbaye de Royaumont)

Transilien N

• Houdan
• Versailles (no surprise, it's known for the château)
• Rambouillet (known for the château and the forest)

TER

TER trains are the local regional trains. If you stay within the Île-de-France region, you can use your Navigo pass.

• Dourdan

Get in contact

See any of your favourite places that I’m missing? Has this list inspired you to visit somewhere new? Please get in contact via email at contact@abisummers.com or via instagram at @abisummers