Paris in 6 Days on a Budget: Cheap Day Trips
Six days adds a seasonal garden, and a hard pass on Reims
Six days adds a seasonal Giverny day, Monet’s garden, only open late March through early November, to the same five-day spine, plus a plain answer on why Reims and its champagne houses don’t make this budget cut. It nests inside the 7-day version, or drops back to the 5-day , 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.
- Confirm Giverny’s season and book a Giverny day tour on Viator (Day 6) if you’re visiting; the gardens are shut completely outside late March-early November.
The 6-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 6 | Giverny (seasonal) | 45 min train + seasonal shuttle | EUR15 train, EUR5-10 shuttle, EUR13 garden |
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.
Day 6: Giverny, if the season cooperates
Morning: Monet’s garden at Giverny only opens late March through early November, confirm the current season at fondation-monet.com before you build a day around it. In season, a train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon takes about 45 minutes, roughly EUR15 one-way, then a seasonal shuttle, Le Petit Train, EUR5 one-way or EUR10 return, or a taxi around EUR20, covers the last stretch into the village. Check availability for a Giverny day tour on Viator if you’d rather not manage the Vernon connection yourself.
Afternoon: Garden and house admission runs about EUR13, worth 1.5-2 hours minimum; go on a weekday morning if you’re travelling April through June, the busiest bloom window.
Evening: If your dates fall outside late March-early November, swap this day entirely, Fontainebleau’s gardens (Day 4) are open year-round, or spend a free afternoon at Pere Lachaise Cemetery back in Paris instead.
What replaces Giverny if you’re visiting outside its season?
Fontainebleau again, already covered on Day 4, is the closest year-round substitute in character, a grand estate with real gardens and no seasonal closure. If you’d rather see something new than repeat a day, a free afternoon at Pere Lachaise Cemetery or wandering Le Marais on a Sunday costs nothing and needs no seasonal check at all.
Is Reims and the Champagne region worth adding on a budget trip?
Not on this itinerary. Reims runs a direct TGV at about 45 minutes, but a full day of cathedral plus champagne-house tours and tastings runs roughly EUR180-250 a person once transport’s included, a genuine splurge day, not a budget one. Add it only if a champagne tour is specifically the point of your trip.
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.