Paris and Reims with a teen

The must dos for a teen are what that teen wants to do. Some 14 year olds would for example love the Galleries Lafayette fashion show; mine had no interest in that at all. Mine wanted to climb the tower at Notre Dame and go to the Cluny and of course the top of the Eiffel Tower. I would hand an accessible guide to the teen in question and ask them to plan a day or two afternoons and see what she surprises you with. We have visited many things we would have not thought of due to choices of our kids when traveling and at 14 she is both at a potentially difficult age and pretty much a young adult capable of planning. I would not have seen the John Soanes museum in London, the Aqueduct Park near Rome, or gone to the Specalo or Galileo Museum in Florence or Arts et Metiers in Paris without my son's choices. I would not have seen the British Library (who knew THAT would be interesting), the Cluny in Paris or Butte Chaumont Park in Paris or the Etruscan Tombs of Tarquinia and Cervetari near Rome without my daughter's choices.

I have taken my daughter to paris when she was 11 and when she was 18. I took my son when he was almost 14.

I think you need to get your child to participate in the planning.. .even my 11 yr old was able to google things to do in Paris and submit a list of three sights she wanted to visit. Then , you are obligated to visit them.. and be nice.. as the turn about is she will have to put up with some of the places you want to visit.. its a two way co operation street.

My daughter had read a few books,, so was very interested in seeing Versailles and visiting the Halocaust museum( and no, we arent jewish ) ..

She loved the Orsay.. but not so much the Louvre.. however.. my son loved the Louvre and even requested a second day visit there.. so its a pretty individual taste thing.

Boat cruise for dinner might be a nice idea.. look at Calife.. well reviewed and not over the top expensive and most importantly the only cruise where they make the food on the ship.. and not just heat up premade food!

A bike tour is fun( and easy enough for you i promise.. if you are remotely healthy and mobile ) look at Fat Tire bike tours or Blue bikes.

IF this is a first visit to paris and less than a week or so.. stay central ( people say everywhere is good with the metro, but i maintain for a shorter first time visit stay central, walk to many sights etc) . Central would be anywhere in the 4th, ( Marais) 5th ( Latin Quarter ) or 6th( St Germain) .. closer to river than farther from it. Yes there are many other completely wonderful areas.. those are just my favorites for new tourists.. and they have character. They also all have noisier and quieter areas, so read the reveiws carefully and double check on this or other forums for first hand feed back on a hotels location.

As for a specific hotel,, without your budget per night in euros its difficult to suggest a place.. please post your budget.
Also.. time of year you are going.

Many people summarily ignore the possibility of a hotel on Ile St Louis but they shouldn't. It is as centrally located as one can get and using the Metro will get one anywhere with no trouble at all. Depending on their vacancies the prices can be very competitive with other areas. Check out Hotel des Deux-Iles and Hotel de Lutece (they have the same owners) and see what you think. You can also check out Hotel Saint-Louis that is on the same street. Rooms might be a bit small by American standards but there is nothing like staying right in the heart of Paris. Most hotel breakfasts in Paris are (in my opinion) overpriced but there is a lovely local place for breakfast named St. Regis on the same street as the hotels mentioned.

With regard to "must do's for the teen!" you definitely need to get her heavily involved in the planning. If you and your husband do all the planning and things are not to her liking....well, just think about an unhappy fourteen year old girl. On the other hand if she has a lot of input into what to do and things to see there's a much smaller chance of having an unhappy camper.