My wife and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Paris and Dijon. We absolutely loved both Paris and Dijon and cannot wait till we return to France! We stayed at the Relais Christine in Paris and Hotel Cloche in Dijon. Next time we plan to go Normandy.
Whilst in Paris, we visited the Musee D'Orsay, Rodin Museum, Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saint Germain de Pres Cathedral, and did a boat tour along the Seine. Our last day in Paris we went to a violin concert at Saint Germain de Pres and did a food tour, sampling butter croissants, baguettes, various cheeses, chocolate, and wine. We also had a lot of unstructured time for exploring and strolling through the neighborhoods around our hotel.
In Dijon we visited the cathedral in medieval Dijon and strolled around the medieval quarter. We also visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, which was fantastic! We also did a day-long wine tasting/tour with Collete Barbier and visited Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, and other small villages in Burgundy.
My wife and I both started learning French last July and it was extremely useful. My French is still not great, but by the time we left Paris I started developing an ear for French and understanding much more.
Transportation:
Direct flight on Air France from IAD to CDG. Passport control/security at CDG was a breeze. Customs/passport control leaving CDG was chaotic and somewhat disorganized; but the CDG staff were awesome. We did not go thru EES entering/departing CDG Terminal 2E.
Took taxis and Bolts around Paris. We took TGV to/from Dijon from Gare de Lyon. We also walked a lot.
Practicalities:
90% of our purchases were with credit card. I had 200 euros on hand just in case, and used 65 e taking taxi from CDG because I had a brainfart with my credit card PIN and just resorted to cash. Donated 20 e at Notre Dame de Dijon and tipped 10 e to our driver from Relais Christine to CDG 2E.
For souvenirs we took a ton of pictures and pamphlets for all the museums we went to, plus our wine tasting adventure with Colette.
Restaurants:
Paris: La Petite Chaise, Pierre Herme (Gare de Lyon), Viandas de Salamanca, Comptoirs Les Deux Magots, Brasserie Vagenende, Allard, Malongo, le Calife dinner cruise, le Societe.
Dijon: Le Jardins, Parapluie, Ermitage de Corton.
The food was exceptional, we really loved pigeon and got to try calf brains, which was alright but a fun experience! France was magnificent, the food was great, and the people were generally friendly and warm.