Beyond Paris: Sights Just South of the "Big City"

Okay, so you've seen all you want to see in Paris .... as overwhelming as that is! - but still have a few days before the end of your vacation. What to do? Well, the area immediately south of Paris is home to tremendous sights to cap off a French vacation ..... with less noise, fewer crowds, and lower costs, too. For those who wish to avoid the cost of a rental car and expensive fuel, each of these attractions is also accessible by train and the most distant is only 1 ¾ hours by rail from the Eiffel Tower.

Ten miles southwest of Paris (30 minutes by rail), the Palace of Versailles was begun by Louis XIII in 1623 as a simple lodge but the 'Sun King' Louis XIV enlarged it beginning in 1621 and now the palace and its gardens are one of the most famous and most beautiful places in the world, 'often copied but never duplicated'. The palace was declared the official residence of the Court of France in 1682 and remained so until Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette were overthrown in 1789, to meet their bloody ends in 1793.

The palace's Hall of Mirrors is Versailles' most well known architectural masterpiece. Built in the reign of the Sun King to honor himself, the Hall of Mirrors is 73 meters long, 10.5 meters wide, and 12.3 meters high ... an awesome sight of dazzling mirrors! The gardens are organized around a 'Grand Canal' flanked by forests of oak, ash, beech, and cherry and walking through the exquisitely landscaped gardens is a true joy! Its magnificence demanded its selection in 1919 as the site of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which ended WWI. One must visit the Versailles Palace at least once in a lifetime!

Rambouillet (1 ¼ hours) lies in the Yveline forest, 30 miles southwest of Paris. Only a small village until hardly more than 200 years ago, the town is now home to the splendor of 18th Century homes, a Town Hall and the 'Queen Dairy' built by Louis XVI, and the 'Palace of the King of Rome'. Louis built the Queen Dairy, a 'tasting place', for his Queen Marie Antoinette and it reminds one why the French people finally rose against the extravagance and waste of their monarchs. The palace has Rococo and Neo-Pompeian style interiors and is surrounded by beautiful gardens, canals, and six islands. It is today an official residence of the French President and is used to receive Heads of State visiting France. That adds to the security around the palace, of course. I remember the palace was the site of last ditch but failed negotiations which finally led to the NATO air campaign against Serb forces in Kosovo in 1999.

Rambouillet's Train Museum contains 4,000 miniature train models and more than 1,200 feet of track. I suppose the many American and Canadian students we observed in the city on the day of our visit included this museum in their plans. They may not have known the bread they ate in Rambouillet was probably prepared by members of the Pain d'Yveline, an association of local farmers, millers, and bakers. The unique bread is recognized by its golden crust and cream colored inside. We were pleased to meet an employee in the city's tourist office who had interned with America West Airlines in Tempe. We shared stories of the summer heat we knew had settled over Arizona while we enjoyed temperatures in France in the 70s!

Another Cathedral of Notre Dame is about 50 miles southwest of Paris (1 ¾ hours) in Chartres, the 'Capital of Light and Perfume'. High atop a hill in the middle of the city, visible from miles around, and the largest in France at 112 feet high and 427 feet long ..... that's more than 1 1/3 football fields! ...., the cathedral was begun in 1145 but was destroyed by fire in 1194. The 'new' Gothic structure was built from 1205 to 1260 on the site of the original building. I've visited many European cathedrals and churches and I have to agree with those who claim this cathedral's 23,400 sq ft of stained glass windows are the most impressive in the world, in amount and more importantly, in clarity and intensity of colors! The International Stained-Glass Center is steps away from the cathedral and has startling examples of contemporary and ancient stained glass while several nearby stained glass boutiques further prove the city is the world's 'stained glass capital'.

Fontainebleau, 45 miles southeast of Paris (1 ¼ hours) and two miles from the Seine River, calls itself the 'Capital of the History of France' as French sovereigns for almost eight centuries used its beautiful castle as an escape from Paris and as a ever more luxurious refuge from which to hunt the local stags and boars. First mentioned in 1137, Fontainebleau's relationship with French rulers expanded greatly under King Francois in the 15th Century and extended until the monarchy's final end in the late 19th Century. Louise XIV neglected the castle as he focused on Versailles but Marie Antoinette enjoyed her stays in Fontainebleau . Napoleon I returned it to its glory, referring to the castle as 'the real abode of kings, the house of centuries'.

The Pope was a castle guest in 1808 when he traveled to France to anoint Napoleon as Emperor and Napoleon spent his last days as Emperor within its rooms in 1814 prior to his abdication and exile to Elba. A major castle attraction is its Napoleon Museum but, unfortunately, the museum's guided tour is available only in French. Fontainebleau was liberated by GEN Patton's army in 1944 and it served as Allied headquarters from 1945-1965 when French President De Gaulle asked the headquarters to leave. The city is bounded by the 42,000 acres of the beautiful Forest of Fontainebleau, perfect for hiking, bicycling, and picnicking.

There is much to see and do on the south side of Paris when one is tired of the big city! Grab a few train tickets, pack a simple picnic, and strike out!