Special Celebration

What interests your daughter?

My sarcastic sense of humor says let her know that, since she is now 18, mom and dad only bought her a one-way air ticket. She's on her own - but you wish her nothing but the best.

The first response was the best. What would she enjoy most? Let the day be hers. I don't plan on ever going to Disneyland Paris, as an example, but if that was something she really wanted to do, that's the day for it.

According to wiki the legal drinking age in France is 16 for fermented alcohol and 18 for distilled alcohol. So maybe a drink at the Champagne bar at the top of the Eiffel Tower?

http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/component/content/article/114-bar-a-champagne

Sounds like this is a poor choice, see comments below.

What does she enjoy?

Some ideas:
Drink at the Eiffel tower's champagne bar
Food walking tour
Versailles
Dinner cruise on the seine

Cooking class
Spa day

The "Champagne Bar" at the Eiffel Tower is a very small counter, and champagne is served in plastic cups...so depressing!!!

I would take her to a nice hotel bar and let her have fun. Le Meurice is around Concorde Metro station - you could get there in 15 minutes.
Or, if that's a little too rich for your tastes, take her for a glass of champagne at either Deux Magots or Café de Flore in the 6th arrondissement. Great "eye candy", here...

If you wanted to take her for a glass of champagne, maybe the top of Printemps department store? It's got a nice view, bar and seating. If so, it's not open very late so it would be in the afternoon.

I am with Chexbrex on this. The 'Champagne Bar' on the Eiffel Tower is a guy in a closet dispensing overpriced champagne in a plastic cup. Festive doesn't sum it up for me. Although it is probably in how you spin it. A glass of champagne on top of the Eiffel Tower might in fact be memorable for her.

There are lots of very pretty restaurants and lots of very good restaurants for an elegant French meal with that champagne. For memorably pretty rooms Bofinger and Train Bleu are good choices. For pretty views and elegant meals La Tour d'Argent and Les Ombres are good choices. We had a lovely 7 course meal at L'Initial in May; the room is nothing special but the meal was elegant and tasty and it is moderately priced. The 7 course meal was 48 and champagne was 12 Euro for a generous coupe.

You can also buy champagne in a supermarket and drink it in a park, like the Champs de Mars, as long as you don't cause any rowdy scenes. (You can't carry your own up the Eiffel Tower.)

For festive, another I like is La Coupole at metro Raspail. It's a scène. To top it off, we've seen several political and film personalities around there.

Thanks everyone for the ideas!!

We saw Dominique Straus-Kahn while sipping a cocktail with friends at Coupole -- he was striding by on the sidewalk. Not sure that is the celebrity you are going for though.