Paris in 5 Days on a Budget: Cheap Day Trips
Five days adds a full park day, on the cheapest date you can find
Five days adds a full day at Disneyland Paris to the same settle-in, Versailles, Chartres and Fontainebleau spine, RER A both ways, and a dated ticket booked on the cheapest date tier you can manage. It nests inside the 6-day and 7-day versions, or drops back to the 4-day or 3-day plan.
Book these before you go
- Versailles Palace timed entry slot, mandatory even with free admission, at chateauversailles.fr (Day 2).
- Compare budget stays in the Latin Quarter or Marais on Booking.com ; both sit close to the RER and train lines this itinerary uses.
- A dated Disneyland Paris 1-Park ticket on GetYourGuide (Day 5), or direct at disneylandparis.com ; Eco and Low tiers cost far less the earlier you fix a date.
The 5-day route at a glance
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Paris | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Settle into Paris, free orientation | In the city | EUR0-15 |
| Day 2 | Versailles | 35-40 min (RER C) | EUR4.40 fare + EUR21 palace |
| Day 3 | Chartres | About 1 hr (TER) | EUR10-24 train, free cathedral |
| Day 4 | Fontainebleau | 40 min (Transilien R) + short bus | EUR5 train, EUR17 chateau |
| Day 5 | Disneyland Paris | 35-40 min (RER A) | EUR56-62+ ticket (Eco/Low tier), separate RER fare |
Day 1: Settle in without spending much
Morning: Load a Navigo Easy card, EUR2, at your first Metro station. It covers the flat EUR2.55 Metro-Train-RER fare and EUR2.05 Bus-Tram fare inside the city, but Versailles and Chartres both run on separate point-to-point fares, not this flat ticket, so budget those separately on their own days. Compare budget stays in the Latin Quarter or Marais on Booking.com ; both put you close to the RER C and the Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare stations you’ll use later.
Afternoon: Walk into Notre-Dame’s nave for free, no ticket needed since its 2024 reopening, then follow the Seine toward Le Marais.
Evening: A EUR18-28 formule (fixed two-course menu) is the standard budget dinner move; the couvert, a per-person cover charge, doesn’t exist in French dining, so the menu price is the price you pay.
Day 2: Versailles, the near-in gateway
Morning: RER C reaches Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche in 35-40 minutes from Left Bank stations, a separate Origin-Destination fare around EUR4.40 one-way, not the flat city ticket. Check current schedules at iledefrance-mobilites.fr . From the station it’s a 5-10 minute walk to the gates. Every visitor needs a timed Palace slot, mandatory even for free admission (under-18s, EU residents 18-25), so book that first at chateauversailles.fr .
Afternoon: Palace-only entry is EUR21; the Passport, adding the Trianon estate and gardens on Musical Fountains days, is EUR25 low season or EUR35 high season. The gardens themselves are free daily, 7am to dusk, even on the Palace’s Monday closure, so a garden-only visit costs nothing beyond the train fare.
Evening: Back to Paris for dinner. Closed Mondays, so swap this day with Day 3 if yours falls on one.
Day 3: Chartres, the cheapest real day trip
Morning: The TER regional train runs direct from Gare Montparnasse to Chartres, about an hour, roughly 18 trains a day. One-way fares start around EUR10-12, though a same-day round trip can run EUR32-48 if booked late; book ahead on sncf-connect.com for the cheaper fare tiers. The cathedral is a 10-minute walk from the station.
Afternoon: Cathedral entry is completely free, no ticket, no timed slot, the one genuinely free major sight in this entire family of day trips. The stained glass alone is worth the trip; a tower climb or crypt tour is a separate small paid add-on if you want it.
Evening: Chartres itself is a small town, so an easy lunch in the old town plus the cathedral fills a relaxed day rather than a rushed one. Head back to Paris by early evening.
Day 4: Fontainebleau, the cheap Versailles alternative
Morning: Transilien R runs from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon in about 40 minutes, one-way fare around EUR5, then a short local bus (about 15 minutes) or a longer walk covers the final stretch to the chateau gates. Check the timetable at sncf-connect.com .
Afternoon: Chateau entry is EUR17, no mandatory timed slot the way Versailles requires, walk-up tickets are the norm here, and full details are at chateaudefontainebleau.fr . The gardens are free every day. It’s quieter and less grand than Versailles, fewer state rooms, but also a fraction of the crowd.
Evening: Back to Paris; no late finish needed, Fontainebleau is a relaxed half-day-transit, half-day-chateau trip.
Day 5: Disneyland Paris on a budget
Morning: RER A runs direct from central Paris (Chatelet-Les Halles or Gare de Lyon) to Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy in 35-40 minutes. This is a separate fare from the flat city ticket, buy a specific Chessy ticket or check whether your pass covers it before you board, the park ticket itself never includes the train. Book a dated Disneyland Paris ticket on GetYourGuide ahead of the gate price, or direct at disneylandparis.com .
Afternoon: 1-Park 1-Day tickets start around EUR56-62 on the cheapest Eco or Low date tiers, climbing well past EUR130 on Peak dates, so a flexible travel date is the single biggest lever on this day’s cost. Disney Adventure World, the March 2026 relaunch of the old Studios Park, now justifies a 2-Park ticket if you have the extra day; on a single-park budget day, Disneyland Park itself has the stronger ride lineup.
Evening: Skip the on-site hotels’ early-entry perk if the budget is tight, staying in Chessy, Val d’Europe or Bailly-Romainvilliers runs noticeably cheaper and still connects by RER A in under 15 minutes.
Is Disneyland Paris worth it on a budget trip?
Yes, if you book the cheapest Eco or Low date tier and travel by RER A rather than a coach package, a single park day can land near EUR70-80 including the train. Peak dates more than double the ticket price alone, so the day’s cost depends more on when you go than on anything you do inside.
Do you need to book the RER A ticket separately from the park ticket?
Yes, always. The park ticket never bundles transit, so buy a Chessy-zone RER A ticket or confirm your Navigo covers it before you travel. It’s a small cost next to the park ticket itself, but showing up at the gate without one just means a second queue at the station instead of a delay you can avoid.
Keep every timed ticket for this trip as an offline screenshot, not just an email link; mobile signal at Versailles, Chartres and the smaller gateway stations is patchy enough to make a live QR code a real gamble.