Paris Sept 2027 (Looking for suggestions)

If you are planning to go to Versailles and spend a day in the Champagne region, I don't think that four days will be sufficient. But maybe you have only one or two other things what you want to see in Paris itself. There are many great areas and hotels in Paris. Generally speaking see Saint German, Le Marais, the Latin Quarter neighborhoods suggested for first time visitors. And yes, the hotels are expensive and September is one of the busiest and this most expensive times of the year so be prepared to see high prices.
Champagne Region: As to seeing the champagne houses, it really depends on how many houses you want to see. I do not recommend driving from champagne house to champagne house unless you have a person who will skip the tastings. It is an easy train trip from Paris and takes about an hour to get to Reims or Epernay. Here is a thread in which people discussed choosing between the two towns: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/reims-or-epernay I've done trips to the Champagne region as day trips but I have a friend who has spend fours days in the region.
Versailles: It takes about 40 minutes to get to Versailles from Paris and most people I know stay about 4 hours but it could easily be a full day.

As noted on your other post, spend a bit of time searching the forum for ideas. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/flying-into-london-then-onto-paris

If you are doing two day trips from Paris, then 3-4 days is insufficient in my opinion. It also depends on how much time total you have available for the trip - how you divide between London/Paris/outside Paris is highly dependent on your interests, but if you only have a week then you'll have to do some significant prioritizing.

As noted above, if you are contemplating 2 day trips while in France, then 3-4 days is completely inadequate. Indeed 4 days without day trips would be insufficient for many. Especially for a first visit. As recommended in your other thread, get some guidebooks and watch a few videos to see what sites and activities most interest you. Use the search feature for accommodation recommendations.

Whether visiting Reims/Eperney as a day trip or as an overnight, dont even think of renting a car unless you have a designated driver who wont be drinking. Versailles will take at the very least half a day (about 6 hours from leaving your hotel until you return), and most likely more.

You can take the Eurostar (not the chunnel) from London to Paris. The tube is only for local transit in the London area.

You are trying to do too much in too little time.

For a first time trip to Paris, 3 days will barely scratch the surface without leaving the city limits.

Best places to stay? There are over a thousand hotels in Paris in all price ranges from bare bones to ultra luxe. What does best mean to you?

Stop by your local library or bookstore and pick up a book or 3. Maybe the Rick Steves' Paris or Fodors or Lonely Planet or ... This will give you a feel of what there is to do and how to do it.

I'll ask the same thing I posted on your London thread....how many days total do you have?

To many of us 3-4 days in either city is not adequate. Whoever told you that, or wherever you read that 3-4 days are sufficient for either London or Paris probably is not someone who likes to research to find out what is available to see.

Just as a for instance....I'm going to Paris this spring. I'm spending 21 days just in Paris AND I have not gotten to everything on my to-do iist. Now, I'll admit that my visits are museum-heavy but there is still a lot to do that is not art museums or churches.

Editing to add: It might be interesting for you to take a look at the Rick Steves itineraries for his "7 Day" tours for London and Paris. I have that in quotes because the way tour companies count days is to count your arrival and departure days so really it's only 5 full days for either itinerary. Both of these tours are good but literally just scratch the surface of what there is to see.

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/france/paris
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/england/london

Just to add to the previous post, indeed, I spent 10 days in Paris in 2021 and STILL didn't get to see everything I wanted to see. Mind you, my idea of seeing Paris was to see maybe 1-2 sites per day max, and spend the rest of my time just being a flaneur.

I spent 11 nights in Paris on my first visit last April and then 3 nights in October finishing up a trip that was focusing on the Normandy region primarily. I don't know who told you 3-4 days is sufficient or what your priorities are, though.

I'm spending 8 nights in London for my first London trip. (then 4 more in Paris and it still feels tight).

Yes Versailles will take realistically all day. We spent the day and then were exhausted but managed to go out for dinner afterward. And that was it , even being probably high stamina travelers.

It's not really a cheap place to spend the night but neither is London, from what I've looked at.

arviv,
Whoever told you 3-4 days at most in Paris was sufficient is way off the mark. If you have just four days, I would skip any trips outside of Paris. There are weeks worth of things to see and do of all sorts, not just the many museums and churches. If you do deide to go to Versailles, know that it is very large and the grounds are immense. IMO it takes a whole day, unless you just want to see the palace OR the grounds. Also, the champagne region would use up a whole day, unless you just do a couple of tastings. Whether you choose Reims or Epernay, it will be a whole day, but no need to stay overnight. FYI in Reims there is the beautiful and famous cathedral where nearly every king of France was crowned, going back 1,000 years. There are some Roman ruins there as well as tasting houses within the town. If you go to Epernay or to the actual vineyards, go with a tour (arranged through the TI, perhaps). Impaired driving laws are strictly enforced in France, plus the blood alcohol limit is lower than in the US. The trains to Reims, Epernay and Versailles are frequent and take less than an hour.
September and the first week or so of October is the most expensive time to stay in Paris. It is the time of fashion weeks, and there are many business conventions then, making rooms more in demand and more expensive. As soon as you have your dates find your lodging and reserve it. And definitely no car in Paris. Driving in the city is not pleasant (to say the least), and parking is expensive and most likely will not be at your hotel.
What types of things do you like to do and see? The folks on the forum have some excellent suggestions, based on many years of experiences among them. You could get some good ideas for your visit to Paris.
jeanm is correct about the Eurostar (the Chunnel is a misnomer). As she said, the tube is only in London. Prices for the Eurostar go up the closer you get to departure, so reserve your tickets as soon as you know your date and as soon as they are available.

Bon Voyage and amusez-vous bien!

Agree with others. 3 to 4 days is merely an appetizer, not a sufficient visit to call it a meal and not long enough to venture anywhere beyond the city itself for any side dishes or desserts.

Our first visit to Paris was 7 nights and we scuttled any idea of venturing to Versailles or Giverny. Our second visit was planned for four nights that turned into five. That second visit was preceded by two nights in Chartres and one night in Versailles. Of our four days in Paris, we took one partial day trip to Giverney.

Only our third visit was compressed to 3 nights. We did see Notre Dame and one museum - the Musee d’Orsay - on the first and third visits. And one other museum - the Orangerie - on the first and second visits. Otherwise, the sights were really all different, other than walking along the Seine a bit, walking in the Tuileries, Luxembourg Gardens and one particular neighborhood street. Otherwise, different museums, different neighborhood walks, churches, shops and more. (We had just spent two weeks in eastern France: Alsace, Burgundy and Lyon.)

There are still a few famous museums, churches, and other sights we have yet to see after roughly two weeks total in Paris, though we’ve been to much of what is listed below for your consideration.

As for sights beyond Paris, we’ve taken four trips to France - more than two months - and we have yet to see Champagne, WW1 battlefields, Normandy (other than Giverny), Brittany (other than Nantes which used to be considered in Brittany), the Riviera or the French Alps.

So, what to do with five nights and four days …

Parks - Luxembourg Gardens, Jardin des Plantes, Tuileries

Big Famous and Crowded Museums - no more than two of: the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Orangerie, Invalides/Napolean’s Tomb/Armee (one complex)

More Museums - (no more than three) Carnevalet, Museum of Jewish History and Art, Picasso, Rodin, Petit Palais, the Museum at the Luxembourg Gardens depending on exhibit, Marmottan Monet, Jacquemart-Andre, Cluny

More sights - (just 2 or 3) Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Place des Vosges, Maison Balzac, Maison Victor Hugo, Passages Couverts, St Chapelle, the Pantheon

Churches - Notre Dame, St Etienne du Mont, St Sulpice, St Germain de Pres, Sacre Coeur. (I am leaving out St Denis, only because it is just outside the historic city limits)

Neighborhoods to explore - the Left Bank, Le Marais, Montmartre, Rick’s suggestion of Rue Cler, though I prefer Rue Mouffetard in the 5th Arrondissement away from the Left Bank.

French Fashion? Galleries Lafayette, the Dior Museum, others can suggest shopping particulars, perhaps along the Champs Elysees or perhaps near the Palais Royal

Restaurants ...

Music …

Cafes, gelato, patisseries.

Get a couple of good guide books. RS is fine, but get another, different one, too. Public library is a good starting place for those.

And as others have said … no car. Your Eurostar train will get you into Paris. Gare du Nord, I believe. Then take a Metro or bus to your hotel. Hopefully you can get some help at the station to get Navigo cards. Each one needs one, unless there’s some rule that allows younger kids to join parents. I don’t know about that.

LATE NOTES. Group sights by geography. Example: Eiffel Tower, Rodin Museum, Rue Cler, Invalides are all in the 7th Arrondissement. Example: Luxembourg Garden, Pantheon, Cluny, St Sulpice & St. Etienne churches are all near each other. Example: the Louvre, Palais Royal, and a couple of Passages Couverts (Galerie Vivienne and Galerie Colbert) are quite near one another in the 1st and 2nd Arr.

DK Eyewitness Guide to Paris may show these types of ideas well.

You can enjoy large museum, a picnic or stroll in a park, a second sight that does not involve lines or crowds, a stroll by the Seine and a neighborhood all in a single day with a little planning and flexibility to adjust as weather or open hours may govern.

With only 3-4 days, do not leave Paris.

I've visited seven times so far and returning in October. We sadly only manage four or five nights each time, because we travel to other places in France, the UK or wider Europe, but we just can't miss a Paris stop.

I didn't get to Versaiiles until around trip number three and Reims for champage was trip number five. We finally got to Giverney last time on trip number seven!

Even with all that time in Paris there is so much that we haven't seen.

Like many though, we do one or two things a day and then just wander, being a "flaneur", what a wonderful word that is and it sums it up perfectly.

London is much the same. Being originally from England I've spent more time in London even than Paris. Don't reduce it to a couple of nights.

If you have one week in Paris, you could do a day trip to Versailles.

As with London, who is advising you that 3-4 days is sufficient? And what is their basis for advising that?

Some people hate big cities and big crowds and for them Beijing, Mexico City, Istanbul, Tokyo, NY and, yes, London and Paris may miss the mark. For me,these have all been highlights even if I’ve also loved smaller cities.

If you just want to be a dutiful visitor, check off the box that you’ve been, and take a hop on hop off bus plus see a palace in each country, that is enough time.

That is not how most people on this forum regard travel. Each of those cities is so much older than anywhere in the US, that just walking around is a marvel.

If you have only one week to travel, might you consider London OR Paris, but not both? Or are you afraid you won’t get back. Flights, like hotels, cost too much, I know. If so, enjoy even if it is not what people on this forum would do.

If saving money is key, off-season can be great. Typically, winter, when hotel prices can drop.

If you really want to combine both cities in one week, 7-8 days, there are group package tours that have better buying power than individuals to save money and do the planning for a first trip.

We may sound harsh, but we want you to love it.

I found a precipitous drop in airfare right after the fashion week ended last October.