For a Half Day

Château de Versailles: No sooner had Louis XIV set eyes on his finance minister's château at Vaux-le-Victomte, than he decided to build a bigger and better one. The result is one of the three most visited monuments in France. Construction began in 1664, continuing until Louis XIV's death in 1715. Much of the palace can only be visited with a guide, with the notable exception of the 73m (240ft) Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, effectively bringing WW1 to an end. It is worth queuing for a guided tour, if only to recapture the ritualistic atmosphere of the reign of the Sun King, whose actions were considered as miraculous as the movements of the sun itself. The honoured elite among the 20,000 courtiers and royal ministers were obliged to relocate to the palace and observed these banal rituals with awe.

Entry is charged to the château state apartments (tel: (01) 3083 7800; www.chateauversailles.fr). There is the option of a one-hour guided visit of the King's Chamber (audio tour), which costs extra. The chateau and gardens are set in a landscaped park, designed by Le Nôtre, which is open daily, except during bad weather, from 0700 in summer and 0800 in winter until sunset. Admission to the park is free. The château itself is open Tuesday to Sunday 0900-1730 (until 1830 from April to October). The grounds are so large that a little train chugs from the palace to the former royal love nests - the Grand and Petit Trianons (open daily 1200-1730, until 1830 from April to October). The Italianate Grand Trianon was built in 1687, for Louis XIV to enjoy the company of Madame de Maintenon. Napoléon also had a penchant for this building, which is on a somewhat more human scale than the château, and stayed there with Marie-Louise. Louis XV had Gabriel build the Petit Trianon in the 1760s, for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. Admission is charged to the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon. The château (and everything on site) has free admission on the first Sunday of the month from November to March.

Versailles is located 23km (14 miles) west of the city and is easily accessible from central Paris on the RER line C5 to Versailles-Rive Gauche.

For a Whole Day

Giverny: Monet lived in countrified Giverny, located 80km (50 miles) northwest of Paris, from 1883 until his death in 1926. The house, in which he painted his last, vast water lily canvas, is open to the public as Musée Claude Monet. Although the house retains much of its charm, the artist's studio is now a large and over-commercialised gift shop - Monet is, after all, big business. Although many of the original paintings are now at the Musée d'Orsay, the inspiration behind them remains here - the famed water lily pond and Japanese footbridges. The museum, 84 rue Claude Monet (tel: (02) 3251 2821; www.fondation-monet.com), is open daily 0930-1800 (April to October). Admission charge.

A few minutes away, at 99 rue Claude Monet, the Musée d'Art Américain (tel: (02) 3251 9465; www.maag.org), is a shrine to Monet-influenced American artists, such as Winslow Homer and Mary Cassatt. Opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday 1000-1800 (April to October) and admission is charged.

By car, visitors should take the A13 from Paris to Bonnières onto the D201 to Giverny. Alternatively, the train from Gare St-Lazare station goes to Vernon, from where visitors should take a taxi or bus to Giverny.