3 Best Sights in Side Trips from Paris, France

The excellent Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie displays finds ranging from Gallo-Roman votive objects unearthed in the neighboring Halatte Forest to the building's own excavated foundations (visible in the basement); note the superb stone heads bathed in half light. Upstairs, paintings include works by Manet's teacher, Thomas Couture (who lived in Senlis), and charming naïve florals by the town's own Séraphine de Senlis.

The breathtaking Cathédrale Notre-Dame, one of the country's oldest and narrowest cathedrals, dates to the second half of the 12th century. The superb spire—arguably the most elegant in France—was added around 1240, and the majestic transept, with its ornate rose windows, in the 16th century.

A great alternative to Disneyland, and a wonderful day out for young and old, this Gallic theme park takes its cue from a French comic-book figure whose adventures are set during the Roman invasion of France 2,000 years ago. Among the 30 rides and six shows that attract thundering herds of families each year are a mock Gallo-Roman village, costumed druids, performing dolphins, splash-happy waterslides, and a giant roller coaster.