Paris and then where to?

thanks so much. anothr questions I forgot to add in the first post. we are thinking of paris in late april 2011. Can anyone give me experiences with weather that time of year?

About the best there is. Usually little to no rain. Mid sixties in the day, not much higher. Chilly enough (40?) at night for a jacket, which you'll also need when the wind starts blowing.

Jennifer, re weather: I was in Paris in late April three years ago and the weather was in the low 80s and even higher until I left May 9. There was one late afternoon thundershower with a little rain. In other words, it was hot. However, these early hot spells are somewhat unusual.

Thanks again for all the great repsonses. I was hoping to hear the weather is pleasant. After reading more posts, we are considering staying in France and not going to Italy on this trip. Waht are the best day trips around Paris?

The quickest you can to Florence from Paris by train is 9.5hrs. You can do this on the Artesia train out of the Paris-Lyon train station. But, going to the CT and then returning to Paris via Genoa and SE France will take a lot longer. As mentioned above, you could easily fly from Paris to Pisa.

I think you are wise to save Italy for another trip. And there are many day trips you could take with Paris as a base.

(Arguably you could have saved Paris for the "other trip" and spent your nine days in Italy. But I think trying to do both would be too much for such a short trip.)

But you might also want to consider an overnight (or two) in another part of France, or even Amsterdam. Normandy, Burgundy, Champagne, and Alsace are within reach. Provence and Lyon are just a few hours away, and you can arrange to fly home from either.