I think the OP's query has been answered.

'I think the OP's query has been answered'

Basically on post #1 yes. Before you told us and the whole world what is photography.

Indeed.

Some people travel without any camera at all -gasp!

200ASA, f16 @1/60th should see you right. Agfa film is good.

By all means, take your camera. Try not to bog yourself down in fear of theft, but take reasonable precaution. The quality of your pictures from a camera should be better than those taken from a phone ... which, as another poster pointed out, is more likely to be targeted for theft.

If you're not an avid photographer, you're likely better off. Decide, in advance, how you want to approach it. For example, 1/2 pictures of the Eiffel Tower should suffice. Some folks take multiple shots, from every imaginable angle. You can run the risk of spending so much time "framing" each shot, that you don't actually experience the whole of the subject, and its surroundings.

CatyL, maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I take time framing photos, in part what makes my pictures identifiable as mine. But that doesn't mean that after it's done I don't come back to the experience of the whole. Many years ago I looked for pictures. Now I go about my business, camera at hand when they present themselves. I guess the reverse of how it used to be (unless one subject is the reason I'm in a particular location. Then I'm all there).

Hello everyone!
Thank you so much for the replies and advice. I have found a small camera that I had when I was a bit younger (Nikon) and am going to bring it on the trip. It's a nice balance between having a camera but not having to worry about the weight/bulkiness of my DSLR.
Again, thanks for all the replies and advice. Also I really enjoyed the photos/photo albums that some of you linked me to from your trips to France. They were beautiful photos!

nymphlys, make sure you have a good battery for that old camera - might not hurt to buy a replacement to have as a spare. Sometimes those old camera batteries can wear out and not old much charge after a few years. You can probably find a generic replacement battery for it on Amazon or eBay for a fraction of the cost of a name-brand battery.

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix (DMC-FZ1000) that's a "bridge camera" between my Canon DSLR and a point and shoot. I'm planning to travel overseas for a few weeks with it in May - and will be leaving my DSLR gear home for the first trip since 2000! Hard to do, but I am tired of dragging so much gear around. This one has a 25-400mm zoom and big sensor, and so far looks like a great camera. I am still trying to figure out its limitations - trying to understand exactly what I am giving up by leaving the DSLR behind, besides a sore shoulder!

The battery seems to work fairly well! I will look into the back up batteries, thank you for the advice!
I hope your trip with your Panasonic goes great, I'm sure it will be lovely to not have to carry around so much gear. Safe travels.

Andrew's advice is not what I'd consider optional. I've always carried at least 1 back-up battery and use it, more often than not. There's nothing worse than running out of power at an inopportune time and missing what you came so far to capture. A small investment that will pay off regularly.