If you have the particularly first-world American problem of trying to find your way Europe, and then, say needing a place to stay while in Paris, don't worry: My friends in the blogosphere have got you covered. Here's some good advice from people who know what they're talking about.
Cameron Marlow on planning a trip to Europe:
Going to Europe in the summer is about as much as you can ask for out of travel. Most people will tell you to stay away during the tourist season, but if you want to be there when the weather is great, you’ll have to put up with some other Americans making you want to wear a Canadian flag pin.
And Nelson Minar on renting an apartment in Paris:
If you're going to stay in Paris for a week or more, conside renting an apartment. Particularly if you're travelling in a group that would benefit from 2-3 bedrooms. Apartments are generally cheaper than hotels and integrate you more into the day to day life of the city.
I've never been to Paris, but I do hope to get there someday. Fortunately, I've got these links saved for future reference.
I second the rec to rent an apartment in Paris. It's a wonderful way to spend your time there. We used NYHabitat.com to find the apartment. Compared to other services I looked at, I liked NYHabitat the best because the prices listed were the prices you paid, plus they give you the address of each apartment. Most other brokers hid the broker commission from the listed price and would only tell you the rough neighborhood where the apartment was located. Our place was in the Marais right off Place des Vosges near Place de la Bastille. It was a great location Metro-wise, and we had a wonderful little bakery right across the street with the best eclairs and pain au chocolat fresh each morning. And the biweekly open-air market on Boulevard Richard Lenoir just up the street is amazing.
I'm a big advocate of living somewhere foreign (currently writing this from a villa in Malta, where we're living for six months). You can use your foreign destinatio to travel around and hit other, more foreign destinations (next week we're going to Budapest).
Here's some other useful advice for the American newbie traveller abroad. As usual, the best material is in the comments:
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