Sorry can’t help with Portofino - a place I would love to visit myself! Paris though: the
Louvre Museum is amazing, but I love the
Musée d'Orsay, which houses the largest collection of Impressionist art in the world within a fabulous former railway station building. For a day trip from Paris I would recommend
Giverny, Monet’s former home, or
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Either are totally doable from Paris using public transport, no need to pay for an expensive tour. An unusual place to visit in the city is the
Père Lachaise Cemetery, a garden cemetery and the resting place of an amazing array of famous people. It’s also the site of the
Mur des fédérés (Communards Wall) where the Paris commune was finally brought to a tragic end. There is a massive amount to see in Paris, best to just get a guide book and tick off some of the main sights :) Leave time to just walk the streets and absorb the atmosphere, the
Marais District is a great place to do this, and would also be a lovely part of the city to stay. Place de Vosges is in the Marais, and considered to be the most beautiful historic square in Paris. Eating out: I would recommend
Le Bouillon Chartier as not to be missed. Not possible to book a table and you will probably queue to get in, but it will be worth the effort.
How do you plan to get from Lucca to Paris? Consider train travel, civilised and relaxing compared to driving! You would need to take a local train to Florence, then onward to Milan. You could possibly have a night in Milan if you have time, (great shopping, fabulous cathedral, and the incomparable La Scala opera house) then take a high speed train from there to Paris, there are three each day. Check out this page on seat61.com for advice on this train trip.
https://www.seat61.com/Paris-to-Milan-by-TGV-train.htm
