One of my favorite day trips from Paris is a visit to Claude Monet’s House and Gardens in Giverny, a small commune in Normandy France. With about a 90 minute journey from Paris to Giverny, you can retrace the footsteps of where one of the most famous impressionist painters lived and created his artwork for almost 40 years.

Read on for why you should take a day trip from Paris during your travels, and why I recommend Giverny in particular as a beautiful Paris day trip. I’m also sharing exactly how to get to Giverny from the heart of Paris (and back again!).

A Paris Day Trip Idea: Visiting Reims in the Champagne Region.

Reims is the largest city in the Champagne wine region, and is the home to multiple Champagne houses and UNESCO world heritage sites, despite serious devastation in both world wars (especially WWI). Reims is also home to the Gothic stunner, the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims, a soaring cathedral dating back to the 1200s that served as the site of France's royal coronations for hundreds of years.

We visited two champagne houses as part of our day trip from Paris - learn more about my visit and consider adding a day trip to Reims to your next Paris trip itinerary.