Hello, we are planning a trip to Paris. Any suggestions on what little town/region to stay at right outside the city? We want something quaint, safe and with shopping and great food. We will be going into the city, as well. Our budget is a little over $200 a day for hotel.
Thanks!

If you are going to Paris, why not stay in the city. You'll eat up time on the train, etc. Can't go back to your room for a glass of wine before dinner or to leave packages.

Senlis or Provins.

Provins is great but it took me about two hours each way to get there by train - senlis is not that close to Paris either.

STAY in Paris - day trip to smaller towns IMO or as Gretchen says you'll spend a lot of money and time on trains getting in.

I know of no real neat little town right in the immediate vicinity of Paris.

Some areas of Paris are quainter than others - like the Marais or the sedate southwestern part of Paris. Versailles the town would be a possibility too - about 40 minutes from Paris via three different train routes going different places in Paris - Versailles is a really neat regional town away from the tourist mobs at the famous chateau.

Stay in Paris.. staying at some "quaint town" outside Paris will add money and time to each day.. you will need to purchase train tickets to go back and forth if you stay outside of Zone 5.
For instance.. Versailles is only 45 minutes from Paris.. but you will pay 8 euros return each.. so 16 euros extra just to commute back and forth.. then you will still need to pay for metro or buses in the city. It might be ok if you primarily plan on staying in Versailles or Senlis or whatever little town you find .. and only visit Paris once or twice, but to constantly go back and forth would be a waste of time and money( and trains unlike metro do not come every 2-5 minutes.. )

Choose a nice neighborhood in Paris.

OK -- please clarify . . . Have you been to Paris several times before and want to stay elsewhere just for a different experience?

OR -- is this your first time there?

That makes a huge difference whether you should stay outside the city or not.

The towns immediately around Paris aren't that quaint, of course, it's like any major capital with suburbs--ones you could reach Paris easily by metro/RER. And of course you don't get "great shopping" in any quaint small town.

If I had to pick a quaint one, it might be Auvers-sur-Oise. It involves at least one transfer on the RER line and that's outside Paris, depends where you are going in Paris as to how many more transfers you'd need. Probably about an hour and a half train time each way.

Now St GErmain-en-Laye is easier to get into Paris from but I wouldn't call it quaint.

St Cloud was nice and kind of quaint when I walked thru it - perched on a hill overlooking all of Paris - kind of a small town feel and good train service into Paris' Gare Saint-Lazare and via La Defense where you can transfer to the RER to get into Paris fast. May be what you are looking for - not sure how many hotels it has though.

Agree--stay in Paris. If you stay in the higher numbered arrondisements, you will be a quick Metro or bus ride from anything you want to see and can find a hotel within your budget.