We visited Paris for the first time two years ago and absolutely LOVED it. I had heard before going from people who loved it and people who hated it. There seemed to be very little in between. So very many people went on about the rude Parisians.
I thought Paris was just breathtaking, and I would move there to live in a heartbeat if the chance arose. My girls were 4 and 6 at the time, and they had so much fun and loved it a lot. So much so that we will be returning next summer and visiting DLP for the first time as well.
Yes, you pay for toilets. This was not as weird to us only because we went to Amsterdam first on that trip, and you pay there, too. So we had gotten used to it by then. It was never a problem until the one at Sacre Coeur. They wanted 2 euros each for me and my two daughters (total of 6 euros, which seems insane!), even though they were very young and we were using the same stall. The attendant was very nasty towards me and my struggle to understand what she was saying, but I encounter rude people all the time in the US, so I didn't give it any further thought. You don't need to carry toilet paper.
Just some coins. When you think about it, it's a great employment opportunity, so I tried to be positive about it, even though it seemed really weird.
Almost everyone else we encountered was so nice and helpful. There were a couple rude people, but they have become funny stories we like to tell and laugh about, and like I said, we encounter rude people here at home, so I don't think of it as a Parisian thing. My French is abysmal no matter how hard I try. I would ask, in French, if the person spoke English, and I always got a "non." Then, I would smile, take a deep breath, and do my very best to speak French, flipping through my little phrase book and trying to not let my NY accent through too much. They would immediately start speaking to me in English.
I think they didn't want to speak English, but my French was just too painful for them to listen to any longer, but the attempt was appreciated. My husband's French was even worse, and that is saying something! We both found that a smile and "Bonjour" along with a humble attitude went a very long way towards smoothing the language issues. We have done several international trips, including to Japan where we rarely encountered an English speaker, and we have always found that when we are nice, it all goes quite smoothly, mostly. It's ignorant and rude Americans who demand the rest of the world speak perfect English just for us that angers people in other countries. Don't act like that and you won't have a problem.
We also used pocket wifi and found it to work great.
We kept our money and passports secure. My husband kept them in the bottom of his backpack. Big cities in Europe all have pickpockets, but it isn't a problem if you go prepared. Do not keep your phone or wallet easily accessible or in small pockets on the outside of backpacks or purses. I always wore my purse cross body and kept a hand on it, same as I do in every city, including my own. We felt perfectly safe, otherwise. We visited a few months after the tragic cafe bombing, and while the mood was a little more somber and edgy, perhaps,than it might have otherwise been, we felt safe. The only place that was not as expected was the Eiffel Tower area. There are so many people trying to sell you junk and bumping into you and trailing you around asking for money. We are city people, so it wasn't that uncomfortable for us, but it did take away a little from the beauty of the place.
If you are interested in museums, check out the museum pass. It allows you to skip the very long entrance lines and is also quite a savings if you go to lots of museums. Although the Louvre was very beautiful, our favorite was Musée de l'Orangerie. If you are looking for where to stay, I highly recommend the Saint Germain district. It was quite central and had lots of lovely restaurants and macaron stores (which was high on our list of priorities!). My second pick would probably be the Latin Quarter.
In the mornings, grab a pastry from a bakery. That was how we did breakfast for 7 days, and I still dream of the croissants.
I don't care if it is a 100 degrees when you go, you must try Angelina's hot chocolate. Heaven. On. Earth.
You can take the RER train from Paris to DLP. It's only about a 45 minute trip, I believe.
I hope you have an amazing trip to Paris! It truly is one of the most amazing cities in the world.