The City of Light
All the romantic influences from art, architecture, and literature certainly played to my imagination with my expectations, but I can honestly say it has never disappointed.
One doesn't want to rush around trying to fit every sight into the always limited time a vacation allows. Take some time to a walk in a park. Watch what's happening around you. Let your nose lead you into a patisserie. Stop for a latte or a glass of wine and people watch from the cafe's patio. Dinner should be savored, like a souffle, and extended with laughter and conversation. Listen to me (!): The type of traveler that's researched and read everything about a destination and planned each day. It's those moments in between that I remember the most fondly.
France is a very big country with lots of different regions that have different cultural identities based on the migration of tribes. Each has unique food and architectural identities to explore.
A place we visited on another visit to France had me stopped in my tracks with my mouth agape several times. It was storybook and awe-inspiring: Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. I had never heard of it so the location and view was something else. You can Google if you are dying to see a photo, but I highly recommend making the trek and being surprised in person. This would have to be in my top 5 sites to visit if all things being equal in terms of travel time, etc. It takes a little effort. I've included the story behind both why I was inspired with the connection of the Celtic knots and Mont Saint-Michel as well as the origination story of the current village.
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life." Thomas Jefferson