How Our Day Trips Work

Train out, local guide at the station, train back. What is included and what is not.

Three TGV trains side by side under the roof of a Paris station

Almost every day trip we sell follows the same pattern. You take a morning train from Paris. A guide who lives in the region meets you at the destination station with a van for eight people at most. You tour for the day and return to the station for an evening train. We book the train seats if you ask us to, and we send the tickets, the voucher, and the meeting instructions before you travel.

The pattern has one consequence people sometimes miss: there is no hotel pickup in Paris unless you book a private van tour. You get yourself to the station. In exchange you spend the travel time on a train instead of in a coach, and you spend more of the day where you are going.

Questions? Ask Maud. Award-winning AI. Instant answers. Or reach us by email, WhatsApp, or call 424-386-5222.

What is included

An English-speaking local guide for the day.
A van or minibus, eight guests maximum.
Admissions listed on the tour page: the abbey at Mont Saint-Michel, both châteaux on the Loire day, the cellar tours and tastings in Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux.
Lunch on the tours that say so: the Loire Chambord and Chenonceau day, the Veuve Clicquot, Moët, and Mumm days, the Burgundy day, the Bordeaux wine day, and the Caen Memorial tour.
Train tickets when you choose a price with 2nd or 1st class rail.

What is not included

Lunch on the Normandy D-Day, Mont Saint-Michel, Épernay, and Villandry days. Your guide stops where the food is good.
Getting to and from the Paris station.
Drinks beyond the tastings, tips, and anything marked optional on the tour page.

Booking

Book on the tour page. Your card is authorized for the total and charged only when we confirm the date, usually within a day. The email receipt is not your ticket. The voucher and any rail tickets follow as PDFs once the booking is confirmed. Book two to three weeks ahead in season; Champagne house visits and the Normandy tour fill first.

Cancellation

Shared day tours: more than 7 days before the tour, fully refundable; from 7 to 3 days before, 50% refundable; less than 3 days, and no-shows, non-refundable. Rail tickets are refundable up to 18 days before travel, 50% from 17 to 10 days, and not after. Multi-day and bike tours are non-refundable within 30 days of travel. Refunds carry a 3% card-processing fee. The full cancellation policy has the rest.

The stations

Destination	Paris station	Train time	Meeting point
Normandy D-Day, Bayeux	Saint-Lazare	2 hours 20 minutes	Bayeux station platform
Caen Memorial tour	Saint-Lazare	About 2 hours	Inside Caen station
Mont Saint-Michel	Montparnasse	About 2 hours 30 minutes to Saint-Malo	Saint-Malo station; return from Rennes
Loire Valley	Montparnasse	About 1 hour to Tours	Tourist office two minutes from Tours station
Champagne	Gare de l’Est	About 45 minutes to Reims	Tourist kiosk outside Reims station
Burgundy	Gare de Lyon	About 1 hour 40 minutes to Dijon	Saint-Bénigne church, a short walk from Dijon station
Bordeaux	Montparnasse	About 2 hours	Monument aux Girondins, Place des Quinconces

If something goes wrong

Call or text 424-386-5222. A missed train, a lost voucher, a guide you cannot find: tell us and we sort it out from the office while you are still at the station.

Private versions of most tours are on Private Day Trips From Paris. For the Normandy train in detail, see the train from Paris to Bayeux.

Questions

Do you pick up at my hotel?

No, unless you book a private van tour. For every train tour you meet your guide at the destination station. We send exact directions.

How many people are on a tour?

Eight at most. Most days run with four to six.

Do I have to book the train through you?

No. Choose the tour-only price and book your own seats, but wait for our confirmation of the train times first.

When do I get my tickets?

As PDFs by email once the booking is confirmed, and always the week before travel.

What is the cancellation policy?

Shared day tours are fully refundable more than 7 days out, 50% from 7 to 3 days, and non-refundable inside 3 days. Rail refunds follow a separate schedule; the full policy page has it.