My wife and I are headed to Paris from AM on 7/8 to PM on 7/13. We've never been before. We want to the standard sightseeing (Eifel Tower / Louvre / Etc.) but would also like to take a couple of day trips into wine country.

Any suggestions - either for Paris "Must Sees" or for Wine Trips?

Start with getting a good guidebook and making of list of things that you've always wanted to see and do. Do just see something to see it, see it because it means something to you. You can also click on "destinations" above and navigate to Paris for some good general information.

Hi R,

With only 5 nights, I suggest that you stick to Paris this trip.

You can visit France another time.

rich: Five nights won't even give you enough time in Paris to see everything this wonderful city has to offer. I would not plan any day trips at all, especially into the wine country. However, if you really want to get out of Paris for a day you could go to Versailles as it is a short train ride and easily doable in one day and you will be back in Paris for dinner. Enjoy your trip. J

I agree w/ the others. With such a short tim in Paris, I wouldn't plan ANY day trips let alone two.

Even just getting to Versailles which is in a suburb of Paris will take a lot of time away from what you can see/do in Paris.

And one more--stay in Paris. You don't have enough time, and you can enjoy just tasting a lot of wine in the city while people watching.

Take the Hop on Hop off bus for an over view of Paris.

Skip the wine country tours since it is your first time in Paris. You won't be at a loss for things to do. You can do Versailles in half a day, but I don't recommend it. It really does deserve a full day, especially given the size of the gardens and grounds.

Ditto to above. Lots to see in Paris, with maybe a side trip to Versailles.

I'd start by reading the Fodor's Destination guide from this site. Perhaps also buy /go to library to see other guides. Do a couple of searches here, there are quite a few Paris itineraries posted.

After that, pick what sounds interesting to you, make a rough draft, and we'll help you out. Let us know your interests. My 'must-sees' may not be the same as yours. To me a bakery is a must see

For hotels a budget and what your expectations are will help people make recommendations.

See my trip report.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34808878

Thanks to all who responded. It has been very helpful in narrowing the itinerary.

Rich

If you are a Monet fan, the Marmotten museum is a MUST. It's off the tourist track so it's almost empty and you can see some of his most beautiful work in peace and quiet.

It was amazing to be able to view the works from every angle, near an far without crowds of people blocking the view (like at the Musee'd'Orsay and the Louvre.)

to the OP: You may want to start your thread with "going to France, landing in Paris", to avoid the don't do what you want to do comments. Paris is the hub of France, if you want to go to wine country - given the travel times from Paris - then certainly look into short trips via a train for the day. I do agree with the principle that Paris has more than enough to offer anyone in a 5 day trip, but if you want to go to one of the wine regions, then certainly search this site for the information.

My husband and I have been to Paris many, many times and can still find sights and things to do that we haven't done before. I agree that you should stick with just Paris this trip and take in all the beauty, history, excitement and romance that it has to offer.
Enjoy!

We were in Paris for ten days in November - our first time there. It was a mad rush to try to see everything we could, and of course there was much we didn't get to.

I can't imagine being there for only six nights and considering a side trip elsewhere.

We mostly used the Eyewitness Paris guide book, and felt it gave us a lot of good ideas for things to see and do.

Now we want to go back again just to relax a bit and soak up the Paris experience ...