[T50_Omaha8]

You could easily spend a week in Paris alone, and there are threads discussing what to do there. Keep in mind that it will be uncomfortably cold and the days will be very short in late December.

For that reason, you might consider heading to the south of France or to northern Italy. The Med. generally has a much more moderate climate than the rest of Europe.

Hostels are hit-or-miss, but can strech out your budget greatly. In the winter you might prefer hotels with an off-season discount (which should be almost any tourist-oriented place outside of Switzerland and other skiing places) to hostels. After a day of walking around outside you're going to want to take a warm shower and get comfortable, and a hotel is generally better for this. Also due to the shortness of the days you'll probably spend a bit more time in the hotel than you would have during the summer.