Kandace, I just topped a trip report by john183 who with his wife took his granddaughter on a trip to Paris and beyond. Click on his name at the top of the report and you will see a more recent trip report with another granddaughter and wife. There are some good ideas that might appeal to your girls.

Instead of hunting for the TR irishface mentions . . . here is the actual link http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-june-2004.cfm

Looks like you are getting plenty of good ideas and help.

Here's our trip report as newbies (kids 12 & 9) to Paris:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Or cutting straight to the photos and blog:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/paris.html

And a short trip to London:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-with-kids.cfm

Enjoy.

Please don't let not speaking French affect your trip! You don't need to speak more than a few key words (e.g., please, thank you, hello, goodbye), to manage anything you would need while in Paris. If you study a bit before your trip, that's just a bonus. So many of the people you will encounter in hotels, restaurants, at sights, etc. in central Paris will speak English that it's not an issue. And pointing at a menu will always do the trick. Just be friendly, and don't be intimidated by the lack of an ear-to-ear grin on the face of everyone you encounter. An attempt at French seems to always be appreciated rather than just sticking to English. You may feel silly at first since you don't speak the language and probably aren't pronouncing words correctly, but in central Paris you won't be unique in that situation.

I took my 13-year old daughter to Paris last summer. It was our first trip out of the country. My daughter had one year of 7th grade French and I took French in high school. Needless to say - we didn't speak much. We spent the first 1.5 days on our own exploring the area around our hotel and catching up on sleep. We then joined our Rick Steves' 7-day city tour. I was hesitant about taking my 13 year old on the tour but it worked out great! There was an 18 year old girl w/her family. Three 8th grade teachers and 1 middle school principal on the tour w/us. Everyone LOVED having the two girls on tour. My daughter saw things i couldn't have shown her on our own and she had an opportunity to visit with adults in a setting she wouldn't have in the States. She was asked to join other groups every night at dinner and I would sit across the room and watch everyone laugh right along with her.

It was an amazing experience and she was the PERFECT age for it. She knew enough about Paris to ask questions but little enough to be awed around every corner. We had plenty of time for shopping and sight-seeing on our own. Granted, we did get up and out the door early but she was up and ready to go every single minute of the trip.

She is already asking to go back and saving her money for it. Please don't skip Paris! :) Feel free to msg me if you have any questions!

PS - Versailles was a HUGE hit for my 13-year old daughter. We rented Marie Antoinette (the one w/Kirsten Dunst) before we left and she was so amazed to be walking the same paths Marie Antoinette did. Being in a REAL palace that she had seen in a movie helped bring everything together for her.