Need Paris advice

So many fun options to consider!

Go directly to the Loire Valley, Chartres, etc.
Go east to Colmar, etc.
Go to Bayeaux & WWII sites.

Stay in Paris for the time you want and then spend your extra time in one of the regions in England before a finale in London. We really liked York, but there’s so many others by train or by car that you can find in the RS guidebook. If you haven’t been to England, yet, I would go this route.

Another good side trip from Paris is Reims. Can get there easily and quickly via train. Beautiful and very historical cathedral, Museum of the Surrender, and many champange houses. Do a google search and see if it holds any interest for you. There is also Verdun to consider although that would be more than just a side trip.

Go to Bayeux and visit the WWII sights then take a ferry to England and work your way to London: https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferries-france/portsmouth-caen/about.
Buy Rick Steves FR guidebook: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/france-guidebook and his GB book: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/britain-guidebook.

1.5 hour flight Paris to Barcelona. 2.5 hour flight Barcelona to London.

3 different countries to enjoy and explore.

The train to Amsterdam is easy and scenery beautiful. The parks are starting to bloom at that time - including spectacular tulips. But I also want to say that having two weeks in Paris is a dream, in that you can visit other places not so much at the top of the tourist list. Especially: Musee des Arts et Metiers - amazing! But most gratifying is to walk and walk, and sit and sit at a cafe watching life, reading or writing a book. It is a very different experience to glide along as an observer rather than hitting the highlights. You never know what you will encounter.

Not recommended to depend on a ferry in late April. Can be a bit rocky or even cancelled.

So much opportunity!

Go south to Orléans for 3 nights. Lovely and the cathedral is special. Then further south to Loire valley. We stayed at a fabulous accommodation in Chinon. Chinon itself is good for 2-3 nights. Up to Bayeux for WWII sights, then back to Paris for a few and on to Eurostar to spend time in UK-just about anywhere is special.

If you do something like this you may want a car to go from the Loire to Bayeux as train will most likely take you back through Paris. Or you could go to Bayeux first then train back through Paris to go south.

If nothing else, get the France map out and explore options. You have many choices with 20 nights to fill.

I've had 2 of my 5 Channel ferries canceled over the years, and I only travel in that area between late May and the end of September.

What about heading north? Couple nights in Lille, then on to Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, then onto London?

I adore Paris and a year isn’t too long, but i’m with Jean, after say, a week in Paris (so many great day trips from there… Vaux-le-Vicomte, Fontainebleau, Giverny, Senlis, Malmaison, just to name a few) visit another part of France. Visit towns, villages, gorgeous countryside. I recommend the Loire Valley if you haven’t been, if you have, then Burgundy. There’s so many wonderful areas of France to see and enjoy, no need to leave Paris and go to another country.
Just fyi, i’m not a fan of Reims… there are other areas far better in my humble opinion… Loire Valley, Burgundy, Normandy, Provence, Dordogne, Alps…

Do you intend on getting a rental car? If yes, that obviously increases your flexibility and I would suggest going east of Paris, if you're interested in seeing WW1 and Napoleonic sites, eg , Montmirail, Montereau, Vauchamps, Brienne-le-Chateau.

On the WW1 going eastwards: Soissons, Chateau-Thierry, Meaux (where the big WW1 Museum is located),