Day trips under one hour
Places less than an hour from the city, for a late start, a half day or a trip you decide over breakfast, each with its sheet and verdict.
From Paris
All day trips from Paris
Worth a full dayVersailles
The palace of Louis XIV with its gardens and the Trianon estate, 14 minutes by train from Montparnasse or about 40 minutes on RER C.
Worth a full dayDisneyland Paris
Disneyland Park and Disney Adventure World at Marne-la-Vallée, about 40 minutes from Châtelet-Les Halles on RER A, with the station 2 minutes from the gates.
Worth half a dayGiverny
Claude Monet's house and the water-lily garden he painted, 46 minutes by train from Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, then a shuttle bus to the village.
Worth a full dayReims
The city where French kings were crowned and where the big champagne houses keep their cellars, 46 minutes from Gare de l'Est by TGV.
Worth half a dayChartres
A small town built around a 13th-century cathedral with its original stained glass, about one hour by regional train from Montparnasse.
From London
All day trips from London
Worth half a dayWarner Bros. Studio Tour (Harry Potter)
The studios at Leavesden where the eight Harry Potter films were made, 20 minutes by train from London Euston plus a 15-minute shuttle bus.
Worth half a dayWindsor
A royal castle still in use, with State Apartments and St George's Chapel, about 35 minutes from London Paddington with one change at Slough.
Worth a full dayCambridge
A university city on the River Cam, 49 minutes from London King's Cross on the fastest direct trains, known for King's College Chapel and punting.
Worth a full dayCanterbury
A walled cathedral city in Kent, 51 minutes from London St Pancras on the fastest high-speed trains, built around the cathedral where Thomas Becket was killed in 1170.
Worth a full dayBrighton
A seaside city on the south coast, 58 minutes from London Victoria on the fastest trains, with a pebble beach, a pier and the Royal Pavilion.
Worth a full dayOxford
England's oldest university city, about 1 hour from London Paddington by train, with colleges, libraries and museums in a walkable centre.
From Rome
All day trips from Rome
Worth half a dayOstia Antica
The excavated harbour town of ancient Rome, 25 km south-west of the centre and 26 minutes from Porta San Paolo on the Metromare line.
Worth half a dayCastel Gandolfo
A small town on the rim of Lake Albano with the popes' summer palace, 41 minutes from Roma Termini by direct regional train.
Only with a tourTivoli
A hill town 30 km east of Rome with two UNESCO sites: the fountain gardens of Villa d'Este and the ruins of Hadrian's Villa, a few kilometres apart.
From Barcelona
All day trips from Barcelona
Worth half a dayColònia Güell
A former textile workers' village in Santa Coloma de Cervelló with Gaudí's unfinished crypt, 20 to 25 minutes from Plaça Espanya by FGC train.
Worth half a daySitges
A seaside town south of Barcelona with a long promenade, an old quarter on a headland and two art museums, 37 minutes away by Rodalies train.
Worth a full dayGirona
A walled medieval city on the Onyar river with a cathedral and a well-kept Jewish quarter, 40 minutes from Barcelona Sants by Avant train.
Worth half a dayPenedès
The cava country west of Barcelona, centred on Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, where the Freixenet cellars stand beside the station, 47 minutes from Sants on the R4.
Worth half a dayFigueres
The home town of Salvador Dalí and site of his Theatre-Museum, 57 minutes from Barcelona Sants by Avant train to Figueres Vilafant.
From Florence
All day trips from Florence
Worth a full dayBologna
The capital of Emilia-Romagna, a brick-red university city of porticoes and food markets, 38 minutes north of Florence by high-speed train.
Only with a tourChianti
The wine hills between Florence and Siena, where estates are spread along country roads and the market town of Greve is an hour away by bus.
Worth half a dayPisa
A university city 80 km west of Florence whose main sights all stand on one lawn, the Piazza dei Miracoli, an hour away by regional train.
Worth half a dayArezzo
A hill town in eastern Tuscany with Piero della Francesca's fresco cycle in the Basilica of San Francesco and the sloping Piazza Grande, an hour by train.
From Amsterdam
All day trips from Amsterdam
Worth half a dayHaarlem
A compact old city with a large market square, canals and the Frans Hals Museum, about 15 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth half a dayZaanse Schans
An open-air village of working windmills and green wooden houses on the Zaan river, 17 minutes by train north of Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth a full dayUtrecht
A university city built around the 112-metre Dom Tower and canals with quays at water level, 23 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth a full dayVolendam and Marken
Two former fishing villages on the Markermeer lake, linked by a 30-minute ferry, about 25 minutes by bus from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth half a dayKeukenhof
A spring flower park in Lisse planted with 7 million bulbs, open about eight weeks a year, 35 minutes by direct bus from Amsterdam RAI.
Worth half a dayLeiden
A university town of canals and almshouse courtyards, Rembrandt's birthplace and home of the national antiquities museum, 35 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth a full dayRotterdam
The second city of the Netherlands, rebuilt after 1940 with modern architecture around a working port, 41 minutes from Amsterdam on the fastest train.
Worth a full dayThe Hague
The seat of the Dutch government and home of the Mauritshuis, with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, 49 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam.
Worth half a dayDelft
A small canal town between The Hague and Rotterdam, known for Delft Blue pottery and as Vermeer's home, 58 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal.
From Dublin
All day trips from Dublin
Worth half a dayMalahide Castle
A castle with 800 years of Talbot family history, a walled garden and a butterfly house, a 10-minute walk from Malahide village on the DART north of Dublin.
Worth half a dayHowth
A fishing harbour and headland with a cliff path on the north side of Dublin Bay, 24 minutes from Connolly on the DART.
Worth a full dayNewgrange
A Neolithic passage tomb in the Boyne Valley, part of Brú na Bóinne, reached only by shuttle from a visitor centre near Drogheda.
From Lisbon
All day trips from Lisbon
Worth a full daySintra
A hill town of royal palaces and forest parks, 40 minutes by suburban train from Rossio station in central Lisbon.
Worth half a dayCascais
A former fishing town with small beaches, a marina and a seafront walk, 40 minutes by train from Cais do Sodré station.
Worth half a dayMafra
A baroque royal palace and convent that takes up one side of a small town, 47 minutes north-west of Lisbon by direct bus from Campo Grande.
Only with a tourSetúbal and Arrábida
A natural park of limestone hills and small coves south of the Tagus, beside the port city of Setúbal, about 50 km from Lisbon.
Worth half a dayÓbidos
A small walled town with a castle and whitewashed lanes, one hour north of Lisbon by direct express bus from Campo Grande.
From Madrid
All day trips from Madrid
Worth a full daySegovia
A Castilian city with a Roman aqueduct at one end and the Alcázar castle at the other, 27 minutes from Madrid Chamartín by high-speed train.
Worth a full dayToledo
A walled hilltop city above the Tagus with a Gothic cathedral, two medieval synagogues and El Greco's best-known painting, 34 minutes from Madrid by Avant train.
Worth half a dayAlcalá de Henares
A university town east of Madrid where Cervantes was born, with an arcaded main street and a college founded in 1499, 39 minutes from Atocha by Cercanías train.
Worth half a dayAranjuez
A Bourbon royal palace with large formal gardens along the Tagus, about 48 minutes south of Atocha by Cercanías train.
Worth a full dayCuenca
A walled old town on a rock spur between two river gorges, known for its hanging houses and Gothic cathedral, about 1 hour from Madrid by AVE.
From Prague
All day trips from Prague
Worth half a dayKarlštejn Castle
A 14th-century royal castle on a hill above the Berounka river, about 40 minutes from Prague main station on the S7 commuter train.
Worth half a dayKonopiště Castle
A castle outside Benešov tied to Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este, visited on timed tour routes, 41 minutes from Prague by the fastest train plus a 2.4 km walk.
Worth a full dayKutná Hora
A former silver-mining town with the Sedlec Ossuary and St Barbara's Cathedral, 50 minutes from Prague main station by direct train.
Worth half a dayTerezín
A fortress town north of Prague used as a ghetto and Gestapo prison in the Second World War, 50 minutes by bus from Letňany.
From Athens
All day trips from Athens
From Edinburgh
All day trips from Edinburgh
Worth half a dayThe Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel
Two 30-metre steel horse heads and a rotating boat lift that joins two canals, at opposite ends of Falkirk, 21 to 29 minutes from Edinburgh by train.
Worth half a dayNorth Berwick
A harbour town on the East Lothian coast with two beaches, the Scottish Seabird Centre and views of Bass Rock, 23 to 35 minutes by direct train.
Worth half a dayStirling Castle
The Renaissance castle of the Stewart kings, on a volcanic crag above Stirling, 41 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley by direct train.
Worth a full dayGlasgow
Scotland's largest city, 42 miles west of Edinburgh, with free museums and a different mood from the capital, 44 minutes away by the fastest train.
Worth half a dayRosslyn Chapel
A small 15th-century chapel covered in stone carvings in the village of Roslin, 45 to 60 minutes south of the centre on city bus 37.
Worth a full daySt Andrews
A small university town on the Fife coast with the Old Course, a ruined cathedral and a castle, about 53 minutes by train plus a 15-minute bus.
Worth a full dayAlnwick Castle
A large medieval castle in Northumberland, England, used as a Harry Potter filming location, 58 minutes by train to Alnmouth plus four miles by bus or taxi.