First time to Europe

You might be better off with a tour. Maybe this one with some extra days in Paris on the front end?
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/france/paris-france

If you don't want to buy " Rick Steves France", I suggest you go to the library, and find any country guide of his. He covers first time traveler's concerns and need very thoroughly. You have to check "hours" and "prices" online anyway, so the part you want to read does not go out of date! A glimpse, here: (top left blue menu): https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

We did buy the book and map

There's no point wasting your time considering the Dordogne. It's impossible to visit Dordogne without a car, especially since you mentioned staying only one night.

Alsace could be an option, but if you're arriving in the afternoon and leaving the next morning, I don't see the point either.

These are entire regions; what you're considering is even worse than planning to spend a single night visiting Louisiana by flying from NYC.

Look into Chantilly, Fontainebleu, Château de Monte-Cristo, Vincennes, Château De Chambord, Château De Pierrefonds, Château De Saint-Germain-En-Laye, and, of course, Versailles.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/recommended-side-trips-in-france-with-no-car

I'm curious about what you mean by " staying for 2 weeks in Ile de France". That is the administrative area immediately surrounding,, and including, Paris. Do you already have accommodation booked for those 2 weeks in that area?

One night stays are generally not a good way to see new places. You can lose up to half a day just getting from one hotel to the next. Without knowing more about your travel priorities, I'd suggest having a look at Rick's sample itinerary for France:

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/itinerary

But fair warning- I find Rick's recommendations to generally be on the fast paced side, and personally add an extra day or 2 to each place. It would also be helpful to know the time of year you will be visiting. The temptation for first time visitors is to pack in too much in too short a time, leaving them exhausted at the end, and not giving any time to just relax and enjoy the places they've travelled so far to see.

PS- for castles and chateaux- both Versailles and Fontainebleau are easy day trips from Paris. The Loire is chock full of them, but you would need to book a tour from Tours or Amboise if you won't drive.

Using the trains is very easy once you've gotten one or 2 under your belt. Read up on European train travel on the highly recommended Man in Seat 61 website

https://www.seat61.com/

Congratulations on your anniversary!
In addition to the suggestion for an RS "Paris & the Heart of France" tour, linked above, there is also a "My Way" tour that handles the hotels and transfers between the scheduled locations but otherwise leaves you alone to enjoy those locations at your own pace + ability to sightsee according to personal interests. You'd also have a bit of support from the accompanying Tour Manager. It might be a nice option for new-to-Europe/France travelers with some anxiety about public transit? Here it is:

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/france/my-way-france

I would add extra days for Paris on the front end as, well, it's a pretty romantic place for celebrating lovebirds, and the tour doesn't give it enough time; lots to see.

As others have said, the Dordogne requires much more than an overnight.

A town or city in Alsace for a night is possible, but would it be enjoyable? I spent a full week in Alsace in 2022 without a car. I stayed in Colmar and was able to visit many of the wine villages and a castle by taking buses, trains and, on one day, a small group tour.

Just my opinion, but for a nervous first time visiter, unless you decide to book an organized group tour, I would stay in Paris for most your 2 weeks. There's plenty to see and do. You can take day trips on your own and with organized tours to places outside of Paris.

Towards the end of your trip, after you've become more familiar with the logistics of being in France, treat yourself to a mini trip outside of Paris for a few days. Maybe Bayeux and the D-Day sights or Amboise and the Chateaux of the Loire Valley, for example.

How about a day trip to Chartres. It doesn't have a castle, but it does have one of the great cathedrals. Be sure to take the time to have a nice lunch when you take a day trip outside Paris.

I would also be inclined to spend most if not all of the two weeks in Paris. Four days is a very small taste for a first-time visit, and doesn't leave room for some unplanned/unstructured time for wandering and relaxing.

I understand the temptation to try to see as much as possible. You probably don't yet have a sense of the scale of the country -- it's almost as big as Texas, with around twice as many people and dozens of cities and towns worth visiting. It's big! So you can't really see all that much of it in two weeks, and planning any visit means making agonizing decisions as to where to go. (Well, I find them agonizing and yet also part of the fun.)

Taking a tour is a good option. If you'd rather not do that (I get it, I don't like being tied to a group), I would suggest borrowing some guidebooks from the library. Not just ones that cover the whole country, but also regional ones. They can help you decide whether you want to split your trip between Paris and another place, or simply stay in Paris but take some day trips.

Also, I suggest that on arrival you take a taxi into the city. You'll be tired after a long flight, you'll have all your things with you, better to sit back and relax rather than deal with trains/metros.

siesta makes a good suggestion, go to your local library. And don't limit yourself to Rick Steves' guidebooks. While they are very informative, they are also very curated. There's more to France than RS books will tell you.

pandm,
Likem CJean, I wonder what you mean by "staying in Ile de France". Have you made reservations somewhere? Ile de France is not a town, and not even a location such as "staying in Los Angeles county/area". The area is over 4,600 square miles, and Paris is the main city in that area.
The Dordogne is impossible to visit without a car, and is much too big for a one day visit. (Even 5-6 days is too short.) The Alsace region where tourists like to visit is composed of many cities and towns and not amenable to a day trip from Paris. Less than 3 days is too short, IMO. Traveling to and from the Dordogne would also eat up a lot of two different days. The Alsace area (e.g. Strasbourg or Colmar) would also use a good half day to/from each. So to make that worthwhile, I would spend a minimum of 3 nights (2 full days) there.
The one hour train ride into Paris that you mention is from where? The location of your lodging? To which town/city do you refer? I am a bit confused on this reference.
Paris does deserve a full week just for itself. There are many places for day trips from there with trains. BB has some good suggestions for castles, etc. as day trips. Please let the forum know what you meant by that reference to where you are staying. Actually, I would spend maybe 10 days in Paris and 3 days in the Loire Valley. Allow one day for transiting (without rushing).

And Happy Anniversary! Our 54th is tomorrow! (We have spent a couple of anniversaries in France. Treat yourselves to one special dinner to celebrate!)
Bonne chance!

We will be staying at the Marriott’s Village d’ile-de-France for 14 nights as we traded our timeshare from Las Vegas. I realize that we are 1.5 hour train ride from Paris and plan to go into Paris 5 Days. I was looking for a town with castles or medieval within 3 hr train ride that we could spend a night or two. We have travelled quite a bit but never been to Europe. I know once we are there I will love it and want to go back. There is just so much to see in such a short time. The reason I said that I am nervous is because in all of our travels there has never been trains going in so many directions. Also should I buy a Eurail pass on Bonjour RATE before we go? And what should I do for the metro? Buy before we go or get when we get there? We also have Canadian Passports and I read that you need a visa over a 90 day stay, are there any other documents needed? Should we also buy tickets before we go for attractions? We plan to go to Notre Dame, St Chapelle, tour Eiffle, Catecomes, Ile St Louis, St-Germain-des-Pres, a couple of gardens and a few more.

We will be staying at the Marriott’s Village d’ile-de-France for 14 nights

I think you may not like what I have to say, but frankly I don't think this is a good choice for a place to stay for a trip to Paris, especially a first trip, and especially one where you are not driving. From your wording you may not be able to change it / have much of an option, but I think you need to go into this with your eyes wide open about your transportation logistics.

Assuming you are talking about this location, this is essentially a resort villa in the Paris suburbs, near Disneyland Paris. This is not walkable to the closest RER, i.e. regional rail station -- it's a theoretical 1 hour+ walk to the Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy station on roads that in practicality are not suited for pedestrians. To get to the station, you will have to take a bus or a shuttle, which may not run very frequently and will only add to your travel time.

That aside, even if you were within walking distance of the train station, I personally think it's tiring to be so far from Paris. The train ride may not sound that long, but I often find myself wanting to take an afternoon nap or even rest before heading out again for dinner or evening activities. Being at that distance from Paris likely means going into the city for the whole day -- i.e. once you come back (especially with the added bus / shuttle time!) I'd imagine you won't want to head back out again.

I understand that I don't know what your budget is, and possibly the savings here are what are allowing you to make the trip, but if you have any flexibility at all I'd really consider staying in Paris itself if your goal is to see Paris.

I wouldn't buy a rail pass, but if you are over 60 the SNCF (French national trains) has a discount card that costs 49 euros, might be worthwhile depending how many eligible train trips you take. I don't know if your commute to Paris and back would be eligible for the discounts, but it's well worth checking.

Details here:

https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-ch/catalogue/description/carte-avantage-senior

As for attractions, you should book tickets in advance wherever possible, choosing a time slot as early in the day as practical for you.

You will also need to decide on your longer train trips as soon as possible. High-speed trains (TGV) can sell out quickly and tickets get more expensive as the number of available seats declines (capped fares with the senior discount card might help but not if there are no tickets). They're usually released about 3 months in advance. The sncf-connect site lets you set alerts for release dates. Even if you don't need/want alerts or senior discounts, create an account anyway to make it easy to keep track of your tickets.

As Canadian passport holders, you don't currently need any added documentation for a two-week visit. However, ESTA is coming eventually. You didn't say when you're going but you should check on that. (Electronic travel authorization like many countries now have.)

I just Googled Marriott’s Village d’ile-de-France and searched for nearby castles. There are at least four within a 15-minute taxi ride. I have no idea of the worth of those visits or access to taxis, but I'm sure others here are more informed and will weigh in. You could also take the train for a longer commute, but still, it's not the 1.5 hours one way into and out of Paris.
Since you're willing to stay in a hotel for castle visits, why not stay a few nights in Paris instead and commute to the castles that are within commuting distance from Marriott’s Village d’ile-de-France?

If I were you, I would reach out to the Concierge at the Marriott, and get their suggestions for small-group or private tours in and around Paris, allowing you to enjoy the sights without worrying about how you will get back to the Marriott.

If you or your husband are interested in War World I, the Great War Museum in Meaux is about a 30 minute cab ride from where you are staying,

https://www.museedelagrandeguerre.com/en/great-war-museum/

I would also consider a visit to Chantilly.

https://chateaudechantilly.fr/en/

I am trying to work both of these places into the itinerary for my next trip to France, so I have no personal knowledge to share.

I agree that you may find your "free" hotel to be an obstacle to your real objective. But based on your OP, another reason for staying in the city of Paris is taking the Métro quickly to the correct train station for a daytrip. There are many stations in Paris because of the way the ... radial ... long-distance train system is organized. No one needs a car for their first trip to Europe, France, or Paris. But you have placed an obstacle in the way to making daytrips by train.

Now, in fact, Paris is certainly good for five to seven days of, just, Paris. But you are staying two weeks, and quite reasonably, want to see some other places.

I see suggestions online that the RER A from Châtlet to Marne La Valee may be 42 minutes. But you have to wait for the trains, and, much worse, pay for a taxi or bus to get to the RER station. (The average waiting time for public transportation is 1/2 of the scheduled time between trips.) It sounds like you may not have much experience with public transportation. But since you have traveled a lot, maybe you have quickly learned about transport in major Canadian cities that you visited?

Oh, I have friends with a time share who travel all over the world like that. I see from your first post that you already know about the train time to get to Paris. If you are going into Paris for 4 days, are you planning to stay in Paris for those nights? As others have said, that would be easier, but, of course, it would be an extra expense.

Regarding the question about staying more than 3 months, I haven't done so, but here is what I found. (The information is provided by an American, but I'm guessing it would be similar for us Canadians.)

"France offers a long-term visitor visa for a period of up to one year. According to the French Embassy, “The ‘visitor’ visa (or visa ‘D’) allows you to enter France and stay for more than three months. Long-stay visa holders will be allowed to reside in France for up to 12 months according to the validity of their visa and the purpose of stay.”

To get this visa, you must set up an appointment at the French consulate near you. You can’t walk in — you must make an appointment.

At this appointment, you’ll need the following documents:

One application form filled out completely and signed
ID photos
Your original passport, which must have been issued less than 10 years ago, be valid for three months after your return, and have at least two blank pages left
A letter certified by a notary public that promises you won’t engage in work
A letter of employment stating current occupation and earnings
Proof of income (you’ll need copies of a pension certificate or your last 3 bank statements)
Proof of medical insurance that includes evacuation insurance and medical coverage of at least 30,000 EUR (a copy of your US health insurance card is not acceptable as proof, you need a detailed description of coverage)
Proof of accommodation in France. (If you don’t have an official document such as a sublet agreement, you can include a letter describing your accommodation arrangements.)
Note: You can’t apply for this visa more than three months before your arrival date.

France-Visas [https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/france-visas/] is the official visa website for France. It details all the types of visas and has a helpful “visa wizard” where you put in your situation and it tells you what type of visa you should apply for as well as all the documents that you need. This visa costs 99 EUR to apply for.

You can also visit the French Embassy website [https://franceintheus.org/] for links to local embassies and consulates for more information."

From https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/how-to-legally-stay-in-europe-for-more-than-90-days/

pandm,
Estimated Prophet offered a good suggestion to contact the concierge about getting into Paris. A resort of that size must have many guests who want to see Paris and they may have some type of transportation to the train station or shuttle system. It's worth checking.

When we visited Spain with some relatives we stayed at their time share apt. and took the commuter-type train into Barcelona and another day to Tarragona. It took about an hour and we would have preferred being closer to Barcelona, but the price was right for our stay! And we just enjoyed the scenery along the way. I can't remember the name of the town.
This could all be doable, but you will have to plan out your days carefully to get the most of those trips into the city.
When in France we usually stay with cousins in a suburb that is a 1+ hour's drive to Paris. Sometimes we drive, other times we take the train, which is faster (plus not having to find reasonable parking). But the train station for us is a 5 minute drive from their house, with a free parking lot at the station, so not a problem for us. I hope the resort has some type of shuttle to the train station for its guests.

I would absolutely cut short my time at the Marriot as you will not have near the enchanting experience in Paris if you have to travel four hours every day you want to spend there.