"figuring it all out and finding my way around. I am trying to do this and get around all on my own, without tours and guides."
Excellent. That's how I did it the first time and all subsequent times. You will gain time and independence and enjoyment this way.
"I have read/heard such varying opinions on the Metro, from "it was so easy!" to "it was so confusing!!"..."
It is very easy, very user-friendly. On my first trip to Paris, I was 18. I had just come from London. I understood the metro system quite quickly, and found it more user-friendly than the London tube, even though in Paris I had to deal with a foreign language.
The trains are very frequent. No kidding: we locals are so spoiled that during daytime on a week day, if we have to wait for more than 3 minutes, we start complaining bitterly: what ? It's coming in 4 minutes ? Grrrrrr.
Google Map is very useerful, for the metro, for public transport in general, and for walking too.
1. Input your destination.
2. Click the "getting-there" icon.
3. Then input the address of where you are.
4. Choose one of the icons on top: driving, or public transport, or walking.
Then an itinerary will appear. It will also give you the estimated time of getting wherever.
"The batobus is not an efficient way to get around" (from a Parisian), to "We used the boat every day!!" (a friend who visited).
If you consider it pubic transport, it is not good, not like Venice's vaporetto or Bangkok's Chao Prya Express. All public transport that takes longer than a 15-minute-wait is self-defeating.
But you're a traveller. You have no appontments. Your only duty is to make memories, and you should make the best, most beautiful memories.
Think of the Batobus as an inexpensive and comfortable hop-on-hop-off tourist boat on the Seine, and you will enjoy it immensely.
The river Seine is more than a river. The entire history of Paris has happened around it. The riverview is unbelievably beautiful. I am still smitten with it, with its big concentration of the city's major historical monuments. A boat ride always offers you a different view of a city, and a boat ride on the Seine will seal your love for the city.
"I am getting overwhelmed."
The pre-trip overwhelm is norminal.
It will work out. Paris is user-friendly. You can walk everywhere. Every street corner is beautiful. 10 days will fly by.
A few anti-overwhelm tips:
1. In your planning, choose one theme at a time, and not all the themes together. Transport is one theme. Food another. You canalso try some (half-)day trips, to Versailles or to the beautiful Normandy coast (2h train one way).
2. Involve children in your planning. What are their interests? And for example, when we say kids, we mean tech-savvy. At night in your appartment, have a road-map session together. Ask them to figure out for you a general concept of road map(s) for next day's sightseeing.
3. Be prepared to walk a lot. Don't worry about getting tired. You can always stop on a park bench or in a café.
4. You will get lost. Don't hesitate to ask passers-by to help. I'm a local and I still do that all the time. Just did it this morning. You will have great fun in these little interactions with the locals. They don't bite.
5. Pickpocket is a real problem in Paris, as in all the major European cities. It is not an insurmountable problem. Carry the kind of bags that would not facilitate it. And be alert at all times, especiall in those major spots for sightseeing: around the Louvre, in the metro lines frequented by tourists…
6. Whether you are traveling with friends or with family, always be a team. No blame game. Be supportive of those who try to deal with a foreign language. I remember what a pressure it was on my first trips. Make the planing a collective game and not a chore.
7. Meet others' culture half-way. If people eat late, you eat late too. It is more fun, and you will eat better and have a better experience. Besides why do you care whether you are eating late or not? You're jetlagged. Another simple thing to meet the French culture half-way: always, ALWAYS, say "bonjour" when you enter a shop, a café, a restaurant. And when in doubt, ask.
If you do these little things, Parisians will love you and adopt you.
8. Oh, adopt ! Yes, choose one nice café near you and make it yours. Don't think of adopting a café. Think of getting it to adopt you. By the next morning the waiter will remember your orders. And next year he will embrace you and greet your like his long-lost cousin from Brittany.
"Need a little encouragment, and would also love to hear things you wish you knew before your first trip to Paris!"
I fell in love with the city immediately. I'm still in love.
We - I was 18, my then bf slightly over 20 - would starve for a meal in order to go to a good restaurant for a real French feast.
We walked forever, and the city was always beautiful and never boring.
I would point to a graffiti and ask locals what it meant. I ended up learning a lot of cuss words.
P.S. For transport I also like using Uber or the French version of Uber called Kapten. Both have a very clear English-language app. Just that alone makes me prefer it to taxi. This is good option if you are looking for a more comfortable tansport, or if you have luggage or if you are not feeling well. Often in Paris, a car is not the fastest way of getting somewhere. Metro is the fastest and most reliale. But walk, walk, walk.