Looking for Advice on Planning 3 Weeks in Paris This Summer

I have not used Airbnb, but have rented several apartments in Paris, and for 3 weeks I think you should do this.
I like VRBO and HomeAway rental sites, and someone on another post highly recommended Paris Perfect.
I'd stay as close to the center of the city as you can, knowing that rentals will be more pricey there, but you will spend less time on the metro getting to where you want to be -- and in July this will be a good thing! (arrondisments 1-9 would be good).
I think you should consult a good France guidebook, as well as the Rick Steves Paris guidebook for ideas on places to visit outside of Paris. What are your interests? Normandy is wonderful and moving. Versailles is great, but will be quite crowded in the middle of summer, still the grounds and outer trianons will be fabulous to walk through. The chateaus of the Loire valley are spectacular, I think this would be my first choice for a side trip.
I experienced Bastille Day in Paris 2 years ago -- sat on the champs du Mars and watched the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. Yes it was crowded but everyone I saw was very nice and having a good time. Really great fireworks with music. Can't beat the Eiffel Tower for great light shows. Only issue is leaving afterwards the huge crowd totally overwhelmed the nearby metro station and I had to walk farther to the Champs Elysees to get a train back to my apartment. But I just walked along the street with the thousands of others having a wonderful time. Another recommendation from me!
If this is your first visit, I hope it's great!

Lucky you, three weeks! To your questions:

1. An apartment would make a lot of sense for such a long stay, or even two of them if you want to experience different areas. Another recent thread discusses a Paris "crackdown" on short-term apartment rentals, suggesting caution when using airbnb, VRBO, Homeaway, or other sites that connect you to individual owners. We've done well before with Homeaway but there may be risks now. Agencies like Paris Perfect, Historic Rentals, and others have inventories of apartments where you pay the agency. This may be safer because taxes are likelier to be paid. Google "Paris vacation rentals" and look for agencies you pay directly, vs. websites that link you up with individual owners, to be on the safe side.
   
2. Closer to the river is more convenient but it costs you. The Metro is so convenient that you could be almost anywhere inside the Peripherique and get anywhere else easily. Look for a place near a station where two lines connect, if you can. We liked this place in Montparnasse a few years ago. There would be many other choices. Remember that the French "first floor" is our "second." For July, look for air conditioning or a high floor (hopefully with elevator) or facing away from the street so you can open windows without too much street noise. Europeans may call any two-person bed a "king size," so check the actual width if you care (160 cm is queen size).
   
3. Many possibilities -- Reims, Giverny, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Vincennes, Chartres, St-Denis as day trips (Reims might be better overnight). Normandy and the Loire deserve at least one night, preferably two. Take a look at Ina Caro's "Paris to the Past," describing historic and beautiful places you can reach by train.
   
4. I haven't been there for Bastille Day but would love to. Don't miss it, just go with the flow re the crowds.
   

I recently visited Paris in November with 2 groups of freinds. I stayed in 2 apartments, 2 bedrooms. Both with vrbo. The first on Rue Claude Bernard at the edge of the 5th, very near rue Mouffetard. A bus stopped just outside the apartment. Less than 10 minutes walk to a metro. A lovely neighborhood. Great food shopping, small restaurants. It felt great to eat where locals ate, older couples out for coffee, students at a small college having breakfast. I loved it.

The second rental was in the 15th, 5 minutes walk to the Eiffel Tower. I liked that neighborhood too; more yuppie, more upscale properties, but a short walk to the Motte-Piquet metro and a large Monoprix.

It was wonderful to be able to go to the marche and purchase food for meals. We made simple meals of cheeses, veggies, breads, fruit, pastries. Markets are a passion for me, so we visited many, ate take away lunch sitting by the Seine. Fabulous.

I have yet to go to Giverny but it is on my list. I have visited Versailles. I have not done other day trips.

I recommend buying a metro pass or the 10 ticket carnets. I brought a passport photo and ourchased the refillable pass on a weekly basis. I will keep it to be refilled on my next visit.

Paris is my favorite place in the world. Enjoy.

The norm for rentals is that a month is about the same price as 3 weeks. You might see if you could manage a month instead of 3 weeks. When you are staying for 3 weeks it doesn't much matter where you stay as the transportation is so good. I'd go outside the center -- perhaps the 14th near Montparnasse which is well connected by metro everywhere but less touristy than the Latin Quarter and St. Germaine and the Marais. It is a tad late to find an apartment for this length of time during high season -- but you might have luck further out.

We have twice spent two months in Paris and once one month -- we got places in the 20th and in the 17th for those particular trips. It is fun to go out to get the breakfast bread from local bakeries in the morning and to develop a relationship with the local butcher, fish monger and baker.

There are also literally dozens of great day trips within an hour of Paris by train. You can see some of our recent time in Paris and day tripping from Paris in my photo journal. www.janettravels.wordpress.com. Look under Paris and Day trips from Paris. This only scratches the surface -- we did many trips before I started doing this.

I'd also get a book with a 'Paris Walks' theme that presents a variety of self guided walking tours -- get one with walks that are less central. I unfortunately don't recall the name but you can browse in book stores, but we had one that for example laid out an architecture walk in the 16th that was fabulous.

Three weeks is a perfect amount of time to enjoy the city and a month would be even better.

Hello Paul,

I am french and i am living in Paris so please doesn't make attention to my spelling mistakes ;) Concerning all about your questions, it's answered for the mostly but no concerning the Bastille Day:

• In Paris Bastille Day, it's special. Morning lot of militaries are present on the "Champs Elysées" with the president and the aviation. It's the military parade in Champs Elysees! Lot of people are coming around the street during this morning.

• The afternoon the atmosphere is really sympathic! Lot of french people are on the street and play music, games or walk in Paris.

• The evening, you will see a fireworks around the eiffel tower! It's really impressive and there are lot of people! After all the pubs and discotheque are opening. Please be careful certain places in Paris during this night like champs elysees or Bastille. Lot of young people are present and they are sometimes really drunk and can be violent.

A friend and I did a nine-day stay in an Airbnb apartment, which was great. We were in the 19th arrondissement (NE part of the city), which we liked very much. There was a nice market street around the corner with great cheese and produce, and we became recognized regulars at the café near our Metro stop.

We took a day trip Vaux le Vicomte, which was very nice and not overrun with tourists. We went later on a Saturday when they light candles in the chateau and surrounding gardens. It was beautiful. We brought a picnic dinner and it was no problem to eat on the grounds in the designated area.

We also took a day trip to Reims. While there we took a tour of the Mumm champagne cellars, which I thought was very good and not overly focused on selling their products. Easy to get to on foot, too. We visited the cathedral, which was very moving given its WWI history.

The highlight of the trip was exploring the 11th and 12th arrondissements with a Paris Greeter named Daniele. I found out about Paris Greeters on Rick's radio program and I highly recommend this organization. http://www.greeters.paris/?lang=en

Another thing we enjoyed doing in Paris was a wine and cheese tasting at Cook'n with Class: http://www.cooknwithclass.com/cooking-classes-in-paris/cheese-wine-master-class/

Have a wonderful trip!