I will be traveling in Europe for 18 days at the end of August and beginning of September. One of our stops will be Paris for 2 1/2 days and Strasbourg for 1 day.
Any hotel suggestions???
Paris sites, Louvre, Versailles, Montmartre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Sainte Chapelle, Patheon, Luxembourg Gardens, Norte Dame Catheral
Strasbourg sites: La Petite France, Les point couverts, Cathedral, Palais de rohan
On a recent trip, I almost stayed in Strasbourg but decided to see it for a few hours during the day off the train and spend the night in Colmar instead. Hotels aren't cheap in either town. (Or Paris for that matter.) My one hotel suggestion for Strasbourg is: book something early in case the town books up due to European government business (though probably not in August).
For Paris, you need to figure out first which area of town you want to stay in (or pick a few areas) - and that isn't something anyone agrees on, even people who have been to Paris many times. Paris is huge but easy to get around by metro train and by bus. You may need to compromise between hotel location and price, depending on your budget. Are you the type of person who wants to stay in a lively area where you can walk from your hotel to fun restaurants and shops? Or would you be OK being further from the action and taking public transportation to get back to your hotel in exchange for saving some money?
Last time I stayed in Paris, I stayed in the Opera area, in the 2nd arrondissement (section of town), because I got a great hotel deal there. It was convenient to sites and Metro but I didn't particularly care for the immediate area (I didn't attend the opera, though). Once I stayed near the Eiffel Tower, something some first-time tourists might prefer, but it's...touristy. I think I liked staying in the 17th arrondissement best, years ago, because it's more of a nice residential neighborhood - not much of interest to the average tourist, though, I guess.
I still think you should cut Strasbourg to give more time to Paris or another stop.
Unless you have a special reason for seeing Strasbourg, I agree you should drop it and spend the time in Paris. Even having been there just a few years ago, the sites in your Strasbourg list are jogging very few memories. The only site in Strasbourg that I found memorable is the Museum of Alsatian Life. But there's never enough time for Paris.
If the reason you are stopping in Strasbourg is that it's on the way to somewhere in Germany, that's different, but even then, if you post your whole itinerary, people can suggest other options.
What I liked about making Strasbourg my base for that region is that it is indeed "where all waterways" and roads meet-- where everything meets, including rail. We did day trips to Obernai, Colmar, Winzenheim, etc. Strasbourg's waterways are compelling for someone who appreciates this kind of engineering and feature, the town is fascinating, as well as the walkways around such. The cathedral there towers out of nowhere, has an amazing clock outside with moving features. Obernai is utterly charming. "Le Petite Venise," as they call it, is charming and romantic. There, we came upon an exceptional farmer's market, and took a walk on pathways between vineyards above the town. The old city wall is built into the houses. Colmar was lively actually, with jazz outside, art inside, friendly talkative people. We even saw an example of an Art Nouveau building. The trip to Wizenheim was so we could take the trail above the vineyards and into the forest, where we climbed Hohlandsbourg Castle, which had views of wine towns in the valley. I cannot recommend this area highly enough! And this was all by train.
