[Rick Lee]

I've never heard of anyone (other than my great grandmother) needing a tour guide in Europe. There's no more pedestrian-friendly real estate in the world than most European cities. Get a Lonely Planet book, do your research and go. Get your tix for the Louvre online in advance unless you want to queue up for an hour or more before the place opens. It's actually one of the best bargains you can find in Paris at 12 Euros per adult (last time I was there in 2010). You certainly don't need a tour guide in the museums. They all have pamphlets telling you where this or that is. And believe me, the Mona Lisa is THE most overrated piece of art in the Louvre, but it's about the extent of most Americans' knowledge of Italian Renaissance painting.

Other highlights in France not to be missed are Versailles, the Bayeux Tapestry, the cathedral at Reims, Strasbourg and along that route are some excellent WWI battlefields, cemeteries and museums. My folks are going to Paris and to tour the Normandy beaches in a few weeks.