See Paris. Paris is a city that can seem almost endless: charming neighborhoods, hundreds of attractions, numerous daytrips. It's impossible to get it all in during a vacation. Find out how I see Paris to get the most local flavor in the shortest period of time.

Each time I've gone to Paris, I've used similar tactics (without even planning to) that have allowed me to get a good feel for the city. Here is how I do it:

• Pick a neighborhood first, and book your hotel based on this choice. Paris is filled with wonderful neighborhoods. I'm fond of the St. Germain de Pres, Ile Saint Louis and Le Marais. If you do this first instead of trying to see the whole city in a week, you will get a real feel for this singular neighborhood.
  Try to make the neighborhood central to the attractions you want to see most, but this shouldn't be your only criteria. (For instance, insist on staying near the Eiffel Tower and you will not be in the most interesting neighborhood). If you've already visited Paris, choose a neighborhood you've never seen or rarely visited. On a recent visit, I stayed in the Montparnasse area. I had never spent time there, and I was in close proximity to Luxembourg Gardens, Montparnasse Tower and lovely rows of cafés.
  
• Wander, wander, wander! The more aimlessly, the better. I keep a map on me, and just go. Paris is gloriously walkable (quite flat) and you will always happen on some great attraction, a cool row of boutiques or a hip neighborhood. A great way to do this is to hit something on your list, then walk back to your hotel. Even if it's a long walk, so what? If you get tired, catch a cab or hop one of the city's buses or jump onto the Metro.

• Only plan to see one or two attractions per day. I know, this seems like a way to NOT see the city. But it's the way to experience the city instead of breezing by it. If you spend all your time on tour buses trying to see everything, you will feel nothing (and you will only see tourists). Decide you will, for instance, hit the Champs Elysees in the morning and then do whatever you want the rest of the day.
• Consider visiting the less-popular attractions. The Louvre is great, certainly, but it's just too much to squeeze into a day. The lines can be outrageously long (I recently saw lines weaving for hundreds and hundreds of feet around the various buildings of the Louvre). Hit it on a slower weekday and just decide to see a couple things. Or skip it and visit any number of other wonderful museums. When it comes to art museums alone, your other options are almost endless.
• Get an overview during one of your first days. I know I've complained about the tour buses above, but it can be helpful to spend your first or second day riding on a hop-on-hop-off bus or boat. You shouldn't dedicate your entire vacation to it, but this is a good way to get a feel for the city's layout and determine which neighborhoods you would like to target for a future wandering.

Yes, I always leave Paris having missed something on my list. Who hasn't? But I've also always left Paris with a keen sense of, well, Paris. I've happened on memorable spots never mentioned in guidebooks, and had unforgettable meals. I've gotten to know neighborhoods the right way: like a neighbor. This is truly la vie en rose.