Plan your trip by reading some good guides for Paris, France, Europe, etc. Here are a few suggestions (check to see if your local public library has a copy-- many have e-books available!):
First rate British guides: Rough Guide Paris and Rough Guide France
DK Eyewitness Guides to Paris and France, have a visual layout which is very appealing.
Michelin Guides come in two colors and contents: Green for cultural content by region and the annual Red guide of hotels and restaurants
Rick Steves’ well-known guide for France
Musée de Cluny (Medieval France)
Centre Pompidou (20-21st Century Art)--currently under renovation
Musée de l'Orangerie (Impressionist Art)
Musée Rodin (sculpture)
Palais de la Découverte (Science)
Musée des Arts et Métiers (technology)
Grande Galerie de l'Évolution (natural history)
Catacombs (artistic display of human bones)
Basilique Cathédrale de Saint-Denis (tombs of French Kings)--interesting but not a good neighborhood at night
Carnival Arts Museum--history of Paris
Here are some links to give you more information about places we'll be visiting this year!
Versailles: Louis XIV's magnigicent castle, inheirated by Louis XV and XVI, set the mark for European royalty in the 17th throught 19th centuries. You can't see it all in a day. Take it in bites. The best time to see the royal apartments around 3:30. Trains run from Paris Montparnasse and as well as the St Michel stations.
Vaux-le-Vicomte: this castle belonged to Louis XIV's tax administrator. Today it's privately owner and gives a window into the 17th centuries. To get there take a train to Melun.
Tours: the main city when you wish to visit the Loire Valley.
It offers hotels, a gpthic-renaissance cathedral and the ruin of St, Martin's Basilica. Said to have the purest Frenchtin France