So, it’s official: my niece Hannah and I are going to Paris in April. This will be her first trip to the world’s most beautiful city, and to France; I am so lucky to be able to show her the Paris, and the France, that I love. It has been five years since I’ve seen Paris; Fred Gion, a Parisian who is one of this blog’s readers, was a terrific companion, though I’m sorry the little Perigord restaurant we passed such a good time in has since closed. Hannah decided to minor in French when she started college last autumn, in part because of the things I was able to show her and tell her about France, so it is truly an honor to be her guide this spring.

I have an idea of the things I want to show her — and I was encouraged to hear her say yesterday that yes, she wants to see some of the main sights, but mostly she wants to experience Parisian street life. That’s my favorite thing about any city. I’ve spent this evening looking for boutique hotels either on the Left Bank neighborhood, or in the Marais. Those are my favorite places to stay, because they’re so pleasant and so central, but maybe you have a better idea? Or a good recommendation in either neighborhood. I was eager to book a particular hotel I ran across in the Marais, L’Hostellerie du Marais, and was so pleasantly surprised to discover that it was the very same hotel my wife Julie and I stayed in when I took her to Paris for the first time (it was called the Hotel des Chevaliers then). I might well book that one, but I’m going to look a bit more. It’s so much cheaper, it seems, to book through Expedia, bundling a flight and a hotel.

What will we do in Paris? Aside from the main church-and-museum sights — Notre Dame, Ste-Chappelle, the Musee d’Orsay, the Musee Rodin — I want to visit some places for shopping and eating that are off the beaten tourist trail. Which are your favorite places? We will have to go to Berthillon and have ice cream, and maybe to Angelina for chocolat chaud. But where does a thoughtful uncle who is not made of euros take his niece to help her fall in love with Paris? Let’s crowdsource this one. Of course you know I will be taking you all along with us, blogging this trip, helping you to see Paris through the eyes of an 18-year-old American girl who just might find herself there.