What do you think of Paris and France in general?

[quote] Is it as glamorous and chic as people claim

Yes

Haven't visited yet, but have high hopes after so many years of wanting to. I'll probably be disappointed....but I like art and architecture so even if that's all I get, it should be enough...

Today Milan feels more chic than Paris.

R3 that’s crazy. The two cities are not even comparable.

I was just there and loved every moment. I love the architecture yet it can seem a bit monochrome . The people are honestly very welcoming to English-linguals.

The air quality is bad, that is a minus

Best city on earth and I've been to quite a few.

April in paris, chestnuts in blossom . . .

I fell in love with Paris- I've been living in Los Angeles, and I am culturally starved and a closet romantic. It's a bi-polar city for sure. Vienna is pretty cool, but more "sanitized", Berlin is probably a good mix between the two. Amsterdam is fun, but tiny. Rome is stressful but exciting.

I've been to Paris. It's a beautiful city, but like any city....has some shady areas. I would love to go back again. I would love to see more of France....the countryside and villages.

My third favorite city

I’ve been to Paris six times and have always loved everything about it. On my last trip (2019) I was on the Metro and had gone two or three stops when I realized that I didn’t have my little travel wallet (held cash, credit card, and ID). Got off, went back to original station. The man at the counter was holding it and filling out paperwork. Someone saw it on the ground and turned it in with all of its contents — including the credit card and €150. ( I rarely carry a lot of cash but we were leaving the next day.). From that moment on, I won’t hear a word against the French or Parisians especially without relating this story.

Years and years ago I spent a lovely autumn in Dordogne. Lovely people and a magical place.

What are your first two R11?

Plutôt préférable de..

R8 we are living parallel lives. I could have copied your comment word for word - only I would have added something about the superiority of the French men too haha.

It’s cool to visit. Aesthetically beautiful, tons of culture, and a great vibe. Not sure I’d be into living there.

I love Paris. I've visited twice, highly recommended to everyone.

Right now I am reading David McCullough's "The Greater Journey - Americans in Paris". All about US citizens, including Oliver Wendell Holmes and Samuel F Morse, living and studying in Paris in the 1830s.

A good read, fascinating stuff and yes, the Americans each fall in love with the city.

I’ve been to Paris numerous times. It’s a glamorous shithole. Beautiful art and architecture clash with dirt, poverty, and trashy tourists in one big old mess.

Any and every depiction you see in the media is completely sanitized. Like, you would never see the ridiculous getups from Emily in Paris or The Devil Wears Prada outside of a fashion show.

My favorite part of visiting Paris is going to the reliable restaurants. The people tend to be pretty nice toward Americans and the food is always delicious. It also isn’t as expensive as many other Central European capitals.

France, outside of Paris, is VERY basic. The people tend to be trash.

What did the French waiter say when the Nazis marched into Paris?

Table for 70,000?

Love Paris....Great memory of hiring bikes and finding ourselves in the manic traffic around the Arc de triumph. I swear I almost closed my eyes and hoped for the best..there were just no road markings...u just followed my friend who was in front and as I said, just ploughed through. Madrid is spectacular and now my favourite city.

I wasn't interested in Paris until I hit my 40s and fell in love the first time I finally visited. Have been back several times. I wouldn't want to live there, but it's great for a visit.

It is indeed quite dirty and the last time I was there the number of street people seemed to have increased.

I was just reading about this dizzy queen who moved to Paris to live for several months in an AirBnB. Said queen does not speak a word of French, does not have any credit cards or much money at all, and wants to spend her time at the opera. Only eats at Pret franchises and gets coffee at Starbucks. So nutty.

I live in Paris and in the last 10 years the only thing that improved IMO is that there is less dog poo on the sidewalk as people finally got rid of the old paradigm (which was to let the dog poop in the gutter but failed every other time because doggies have their own idea of where it's more appropriate to go) and dog owners now understand that you now have to pick up the poop and dispose of it in the next trash can.

Unfortunately, in certain parts of the city, dog poo has been replaced by human feces. I know, I know, San Francisco, we sympathize very much. The good news for you, is that it only happens in certain popular parts of the city where tourists have no business going.

Speaking of France, have you noticed how Macron always turns into a puddle of sweat the minute he's in company of young black men? I am telling you that this phenomena has BBC written all over it. And I'm sorry that Brigitte's night is going to be cruel and cold without Manu.

one neither wants to deal with the surface nor the depths of it's sociopolitical spheres. . .

but it attracts all sorts of misfits, so you can find a comfortable bubble of your choosing.

just be wary of defenestration

I never knew that General had both a Paris and France in it.

I almost got raped there in 2014.

[quote]R26 I almost got raped there in 2014.

Why didn’t you move there??

They’ve also really improved pedestrian v car spaces and given tonnes of road space over to cycle lanes, the amount of bike usage has skyrocketed in the last decade. It’s great.

Been there five times over the decades... it's changed, and it hasn't changed. It is the capital of Western Civilization. It's Romantic, austere, intellectually rigorous, cartoonish, full of immigrants, Catholic, revolutionary, oppressive, fashionable, decorative, serious, cutting edge, stiflingly traditional, academic, crime-ridden, cinematic.

Because I’m anti-rape, fool! R28

R18 is a troll.

R28 I’m all of those things too.

I like to sing, dance and make romance.

^^r29

R32 Let's review how you are "full of immigrants".... successful liaisons whilst meeting arab men around the Gare du Nord?

I didn’t have anyone nice (like r26’s rapist) to show me around, so I just saw the most obvious stuff, but Paris seemed cold and grey to me. And the people are so greedy and tight-fisted it’s a turnoff; a city of prisspots.

Rome was the exact opposite: warm and easy and sensual, with such an air of antiquity. And the people are so good looking… even if you know they’re godless, slutty cheaters.

I immediately fell in love with Rome, Venice, Florence, the faded old stonework and all the cats in the streets.

I lived in the 7th for 10 years. The only reason I left was for a great opportunity back in the USA.

Like Manhattan, where I lived the next ten years, Paris is easier to live in than visit.

The most polite people, not necessarily the friendliest, in the world. Learn 4 or 5 essential French phrases, and people will go out of their way to help. And they love Americans.

You must love Paris. There is no choice.

R38 .... even if it's amour fou....

I kept reading that it was going to smell like piss in Paris, but when I got there I kept smelling this lavender perfume in the air. It was springtime so maybe it was a flower in bloom. I also smelled bakeries and meat roasting.

Except when I went to the church of St. Sulpice, they had a lot of homeless people hanging out there.

I’ve accepted I just don’t like the French. Even their furniture.

It tries too hard.

I hear there's a place in France where the naked ladies dance-- is it Paris?

Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the mechanics German, the lovers Italian and it’s all organised by the Swiss. Hell is where the chefs are British, the mechanics French, the lovers Swiss, the police German and it’s all organised by the Italians.

I visited Paris twice, thinking I must be missing something, but no. I don't think it's beautiful and I don't care if I ever go back. Obviously it has some incredible museums and other cultural institutions...but in general, it wasn't my vibe at all. If I did ever go back to France, I would explore some of the smaller villages which do look very charming.

France is great, and I have found people are generally friendlier outside of Paris than in it. As with people in almost all extremely large national cultural capitals, people in Paris are usually surly and in a hurry, in my experience.

Do not go in April!!! It is still cold and damp, just as NYC is.

I love it, darling.

But don't come to Paris and expect a Wal-mart! Or a full size fridge! We go to the street markets every day. Don't be gauche!

^^But, I love Paris in the Springtime!

Stayed not that far from the center and was really shocked at the brazeness of the drug dealing in front of the local Metro station. Try to be open-minded, but it sure makes you feel unsafe.

Once you move outside historical Paris the city is third world.

The joys of mass immigration from 3rd world countries. You wanted it, you got it.

I was so expecting to be let down by Paris....thought it was going to end up being way overhyped. Nope. It was somehow better than I was told. I could give or take Parisians though.

I wouldnt call Paris glamorous though. Someone/something that is glamorous is trying to hard. Parisians wouldn't be caught dead doing that.

As a former drag queen, I watch a lot of femmey videos on makeup, etc. SO SUE ME!

Lately I’ve been watching ones on French style.

Those people are fucked up.

London and New York of course

That was for r13

Paris is still gorgeous but oddly globalism has hit it in an unfortunate way. It’s tough to find traditional French food at restaurants. Burgers are the new big thing and they are everywhere—bleah!

The quaint neighborhood bakeries have all become chains.

Throwaway clothing chains like Zara and H&M are everywhere, even littering the once posh Champs Elysee

R58 not untrue but it still seems lile a less "generic" city to me than London or NYC.

For the French speakers: Does she seem nice, or just like the typical Frog Bitch?

Emily in Paris did Paris some damage.

Paris has a lot of immigrants from all over the world, however it is still very French. It has grey skies for most of the year, it’s a tough, fast-paced place with lots of hard-faced and socially inept people. Americans are enchanted by it, Europeans who have more access to the rest of the country know that the beauty of France lies far away from its capital.

My friend, who moved from Paris to California, said that the weather in Paris was always gray.

I’m really into Paris fashions. I fly there every couple of years during fashion week to take in shows.

Je eughhaux

r58 there's still plenty of traditional restaurants. Chez Denise and Aux Crus de Bourgogne were 2 I wanted to eat at but they were packed. I went to Brasserie Lipp where they have a sign saying "no shorts allowed". The old men waiters graciously allowed me to come in anyway. I had pate en croute and duck confit. Le Quincy is another one I want to go to, it's still run by the same old man.

OP, manage your expectations and you will learn to love Paris on your own terms. The windy, Medieval streets are still charming and the Eiffel Tower is still awe-inspiring upon first sight. Having said that, it’s completely surrounded by fencing now due to terrorism fears and yes, there are poor immigrants selling gewgaws all over the grounds, which is heartbreaking and annoying at the same time.

Still, it’s a lovely, resilient city with beautiful parks and charming neighborhoods. Make sure you go off the beaten path!

Another nice place I stumbled upon was Cafe Dante in the Latin Quarter. I had a duck shepherd's pie, a small salad, a glass of wine and bread for 20 euros. Service was nice too, there was hardly anyone there. They also had beef tongue as the special of the night. Still plenty of organs being consumed in Paris.

Paris is beautiful. Watch out for the gypsies. Crime has hurt tourism over the years. Macron tried to crack down and throw illegals out. Not sure if it did much good. Time will tell.

France is beautiful, Paris is beautiful. THe French...not so much.

Oof. I meant to write WINDING streets.

it exceeds expectations.

I spent 3 months in Paris studying french. It was spring time, that then became summer. Occasionally we would get together and go out and do something with my fellow classmates (one of whom was filthy rich and who invited us to his penthouse where we could see the Eifel tower shimmer and sparkle like it does when midnight strikes while we drank his very expensive wines and cheeses and saucison) but for the most part, I was alone....completely alone, no other friends or family. And I've never been more thankful to have that time by myself. I don't think I would have enjoyed the city half as much had I had too many other people distract me from it. It was just me and Paris. I'll never forget it.

Oooh la la!

I lived there for three years and return two or three times each (non-pandemic) year. It is (or course) amazing for food and film and also if you’re in a phase in life where you enjoy finding things for your home, you can still do that. My place in NYC has some really nice quality things I bought when living in Paris and moved back.

I have a small cadre of close friends there and we stay close. Some expats lived pretty American lives in Paris because English is spoken fairly commonly there. I settled in Montmartre and made myself speak French, and that was helpful.

I found some US expats are pretty irritating (jealous, competitive, loud). I found that Parisians choose their friends pretty carefully. They notice everything about your appearance, and staring at you is considered flattery. A lot of straight men flirted with me, and my a French male friends got closer to me faster than American males.

The plumbing and heating was pretty badly engineered in general. I had to bleed and burp the radiators in my “luxury” apartment to keep them working. Driving was easy in the mornings, hard in the afternoon. My commute took 20 min to my office yet an hour to return home in the evenings.

I miss the excellent frozen food at a chain called Picard. When you first arrive in Paris, everything tastes amazing, but your tastes adapt and become more refined in a few months. Some things like picture framing are cheaper there, but some things like paint are really expensive. There was much less “convenience” infrastructure like 24 markets, but that is changing some. Groceries were less expensive and better quality than I experienced in NYC.

I've always loved Paris and France. I've been to France probably 6 or 7 times and always had a good trip. I had the opportunity to work in Paris and I turned it down. I'm happy with how things turned out, but I've always wondered how life would be different if I had accepted that offer.

I tell this story every now and then and it really gets people riled up. When I visit Paris I walk probably at least 8-10 miles a day. By late afternoon, after the museums and churches, I can get tired and need to sit and relax. Where do I go? To a McDonald's. Hear me out: By 4:00 in the afternoon I have had more than enough coffee so I go to McDonald's for a Coke. It has the requisite amount of sugar and caffeine to give me a boost, there's always outdoor seating, and it's usually a madhouse. You will hear and need to know "real" French, not the dictionary French you've read, because the staff and customers are mostly young people. And they always have, because of their market, great WiFi. Also, a Coke at McD's is like 3 euros, while in a cafe it's closer to 6 or 7 euros. Cafes, also, are for sitting for long periods of time with friends.

Bizarrely enough, people who have never been to Paris (or don't travel) are the ones who are most horrified by this. A McDonald's in any country is usually packed with natives, so you can get the "real" Japan or Egypt or Canada.

Watching a great documentary about Merce Cunningham on French TV right now in Paris.

R77 I remember one at Place Clichy was always packed. There was another chain called Quick near Gare Saint-Lazare. I was told by an expat friend that their burgers contained horse meat. I think Olive Garden is called Bistro Romain, also near Saint-Lazard.

Moi, je prefere Paris, Texas

[quote] A McDonald's in any country is usually packed with natives, so you can get the "real" Japan or Egypt or Canada.

This is true. Same with Starbucks…

r95, as a makeup artist that is around an advanced beginner level French student, she's not bitchy at all. Up until the popularity of the Kardashians, the French beauty ideal was terrific skin and very little makeup. You'll see the Middle Eastern ladies or young trendies go for the Instagram/Kardashian look, but most of the women eschew obvious makeup, with the exception of a strong lip on occasion. I'm surprised that she uses MAC/Fenty/Tilbury instead of Make Up For Ever (which is a French line).

r73, what a school or program did you goto? Where did you live? I'm flirting with the idea of doing what you did.

R73 I just rented an airbnb ( in the banlieu, the outside of Paris, cuz I ain't rich) and went to a french language school (not college or anything), "L'atelier 9" ..an intensive course, 3/4 hours a day every day. But there are many others.

I'm not one to usually have the money to just fly off for 3 months to a country to learn it's language, but my very dear godmother left me a small inheritance when she passed, and I said fuck it. It had always been my dream. Now I just want to go back!

Probably my favorite city. It’s as I’d always imagined it would be. And Parisians are lovely.

On a practical note, the Metro is very easy to use to get around the city.

I visited France in April of 2019. In Paris the wisteria was in bloom all over the place. It was glorious.

I had read about the Paris Flea Market and was determined to go (open only on weekends). It didn't disappoint. In fact, at 17 hectares, it's so huge, you can spend an entire day and still not see it all.

At sunset, I wandered over to the Eiffel Tower and watched the light show that happens every hour. The tower literally sparkles.

I stayed at a high-end hotel in the Marais district, which I highly recommend. It boasts the Place des Vosges, the oldest public square in Paris. The Marais also boasts several gay-friendly establishments.

I also spent some time roaming the countryside of north-central France. But the highlight of my visit was an excursion to Normandy and Mont-Saint-Michel. The abbey complex atop a mount is extraordinary. And there are several good restaurants in the vicinity.

The city of Avranches is the repository of many artifacts from Mont-Saint-Michel that were spirited away from the abbey for protection during the Great War. The museum there is not well-known, but offers a well-curated history of the area, as well as exquisite illustrated manuscripts.

This has GOT to be illegal--what I feel! Trés gai! Trés chic! Trés magnifique! C'est moi! C'est vous! C'est grand!

C'est "too-too"! It's too GOOD to be true! All the things we can do... you do THINGS to my POINT of view!

R85 - I spent several days in Normandy region back in 2012 - I loved it. Rouen was a stop, spent two nights in Bayeux... the D-Day beaches and Mont Saint-Michel! Ah, Mont Saint-Michel extraordinary.

J’adore la ville lumiere

I’ve been to Paris a couple times but it’s a bit intimidating and I don’t speak much French. OTOH, I’ve traveled all around the countryside, usually staying in small cities and villages and I absolutely love it. So many beautiful, interesting places.

R63...Paris is pretty rainy.

I miss the simple little sandwiches of baguette, butter, ham and emmental cheese with light mayonnaise. I could eat these like a wood chipper buzzes through brush, so good. I also miss a certain chocolate cake at Le Notre, one with giant curls of chocolate shaved onto the top like blades of a fan.

I really miss the little clocks that tell you how many minutes before the next metro or bus comes, so handy.

I miss the Roissybus that was is cheap to get from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Opera, fast and easy. I wish they offered that service (direct, fast, comfortable ) from jfk to Grand Central.

I will return there in retirement but it won’t be the same as my years living there. I will be and look older, so I will need to stay fit and look tidy, and I will expect less flirtation and maybe fewer smiles. It’s ok.

I went last summer after not having gone in 20 years. I was surprised that everyone spoke English well, unlike my experience decades ago. I've never actually found the French rude (unlike what others say) and this time, they still weren't rude; actually they were helpful

R77, I can relate. My last time there, we walked all day and were so dirty and dusty by the end of the day that all I wanted was fries and a milkshake before falling into bed. The McDonald's near our outer district hotel didn't have milkshakes, so I bought a bag of chips and ice cream bars from the Indian grocery next door. We ate on a bench on a small square next to a church, under a kitschy street lamp and a crescent moon. One of my best Paris memories.

R92 I never got the accusation that parisians are rude. The 3 months I spent there I had zero problems, I also found them polite and helpful. Of course I always tried speaking french with them politely and tried not to seem like a tourist, so that helped. They aren't the warmest, friendliest people, but they also ardn't rude.

I was going out for a day on the town. My eyes have two very different lens prescriptions, so if I put my contacts in the wrong way everything's a blurry mess. And it was. I was making a feeble effort to switch lenses in a RER(?) station, and a tiny older lady walked up and quietly handed me a small bottle of saline. I thanked her profusely (the only French I have).

Waiters are interesting. Not rude, just...very businesslike. Not there to be your instant bestie.

I was somewhat broke the first time I visited so street crepes were my daily food - cheap and delicious.

And yes, a great city to just wander & get lost in.

I actually prefer Montreal.

I think the French are (or have been, I sense this is changing with the new "Franco hip-hop" culture) very formal. That formality does not include overly friendly speech or tone. I think in decades past Americans may have interpreted this formality as rudeness.

I remember on a trip back in the 80s I had a conversation with a young French guy in a bar about these mutual perceptions: he was quite articulate about the French impression that Americans were falsely friendly: constantly smiling and acting like you were their friend, but superficial and false. He didn't trust Americans.

I’m not proud to have seen this Kate Hudson movie… but the book was quite good. It really exposed the disgustingly mercenary character of the French people.

R96 My experiences with Québécois were not very friendly. I think they’re more rude with non-native speakers than actual French people. My French may be limited, but I had generally more pleasurable interactions in France than in French Canada.

The only 2 European cities I could imagine living are Paris and Vienna. Visited both numerous times, and I just adore them!

my heart belongs to paris

I am headed to "gay Paris!" for two weeks this June. Just a vacation, but I wanted to spend enough time in Paris to feel like I really "lived there" for a bit. I do think it's the most romantic, glamorous global city.

Less nauseatingly commercial than NYC. And I find nothing charming about London or the English generally. Los Angeles is equally as "unique" but has a much more apparent, and dramatic, "dark side."

The funny thing about Paris is that I don't find it very gay. It's VERY conservative - even more than Madrid or Milan. Everyone is so buttoned up emotionally, and kind of curtly polite. Everyone is all dressed in grey... And for such a cosmopolitan city, there's not very much mixing of the races...

I find French women to be PURE CLASS. Soooo poised and handsome and understated. The men on the other hand are kind of smarmy looking on average. Pale, skinny, and odd looking compared to Italians. Not good in bed either.

Also, worried about the options for a vegetarian in Paris. Everything is duck this and beef that....

I'd love to go to Paris, again. Can anyone who has recently been there comment on the price of accommodations? I'm not the youth hostel type, but I don't need to be in a luxury setting, either.

r103 you can find some cheap airbnbs, which I would prefer to a cheap hotel. This is where I stayed last year but he's completely booked up this year. It has an elevator with a view of Notre Dame as you go up, the view from the windows is amazing. I could see the Eiffel tower glittering at night and hear men singing the song of their football team in the bars below. Because it's slightly higher than other buildings I caught some nice breezes up there. Great location in the Latin Quarter too. On airbnb there's a setting you can turn on to show you the full price with fees included. Later on I stayed at the cheapest hotel I could find, Hotel Tiquetonne, in a noisy neighborhood. There was no hot water and a public toilet. I think it was 65 euros.

forgot the link

Very close to what r29 said, except that I did not encounter any crime. Also got to see a silly side of French people because I had some very silly friends who lived or were from there or some I met along the way (many of whom ended up in San Francisco where I live). Have traveled all over France for either work or pleasure or both on five trips over the decades since 1988, when I was 25. Have probably spent over 4 months of my life in France. Loved it -- including Paris. Big cities and remote villages, mountains and seasides. With a partner and on my own. I think it's magical, but I sort of "get" the French. And I drank lots of wine and smoked weed that I managed pack safely, but then I do that no matter where in the world I am.

In the 1980's, it seems that no one spoke English. I got by using my 6th-12th grade French, which was extremely helpful and it opened doors. Last time I was there (2008?) was shocked to find so many people speaking English. It was easier, but less fun.

OP, you must go. If you don't speak French, at least learn some polite greetings, please and thank you, and learn in French how to apologize that you don't speak it and to ask if one speaks English. This is true of ANY country you may visit. Do as much research as possible about where to stay, eat, and how to get around in advance. Do not visit France in August. Avoid Summer travel there in general. Too hot and packed with tourists, including locals. Bad A/C. For a more authentic experience, avoid the major tourist traps, like the Louvre, Champs Elysees, Tour Eiffel, etc., with their crowds; you've already seen them a million times on TV, anyway. But do visit Musee d'Orsay. l'Orangerie, Rodin, etc.. Walk around residential neighborhoods, go to random cafes, bakeries, and markets. Have traditional 2-hour, multi-course lunches. Buy wine and bread and fruit and cheeses to take back to your hotel room for dinner.

I prefer London. And Budapest. And Bucharest.

I'll never get tired of Paris. It's like NYC in the sense that you never run out of things to see or do. The Metro makes it very easy and cheap to travel around the city. I'm struggling to think of one bad thing to say about it. I guess it is a little dirty.

metro is very crowded at rush hour

Montreal is hella expensive, even with the exchange rate. London is greyer than Paris. And the rudest French person that I have met was in a French restaurant in London, who said to our faces how she hated Americans. In Paris, no one was rude. Amsterdammers seem ruder because of their curtness.

Bucharest??!! I lived there for 3 months for a job, it's okay, but would I go back on my own dime? Nope.

I love Parisians and Paris. If i could live another life I'd learn French and live there.

Same here

It doesn't disappoint. It is one of those places where as soon as you arrive, it looks like you imagined. And I found even the cheapest meal was quite good.

lots of meat

I see London, I see France I can see your underpants!!

I think the ideal place to be and live was Paris, 1956-1963. I wanted to live forever in the Paris of Godard's "À bout de souffle'

R116 nah...for me it has to the Belle Epoque years....imagine Paris but with horse carriages, kerosene street lamps , women with bustles and trains and flowery hats on some handsome man's arm in some garden...**sigh*...mais ouis

R117 I think the magic is that all of that Belle Epoque ambience would be still there... the architecture, the gardens, the handsome men... without the horseshit... but also all the modern movements (surrealism, dadaism, le jazz hot) and Chanel, not bustles, Citroen CV6, not carriages....

Or even said another way: one of Paris's qualities is that all history is present NOW.

If you want to see belle epoche buildings go to Bucharest. They are all over the place.

Recall they filmed Evita there in part because the architecture evoked Buenos Aires of the 20s 30s 40s.

Most of the Belle Epoque houses and buildings in Bucharest are in disrepair, as are the Brutalist communist buildings. Sometimes you'll see the beautiful shell glass awnings (I don't know the correct term) above the front doors on some of the houses. I did see one well preserved residence, but it was well protected by intimidating gates. There is a tiny little area with a few streets that do evoke Paris, as well as the older part of the city with grand buildings, but it is very touristy. I would imagine Prague to have more well preserved building than Bucharest.

Paris, Texas, and France Nguyen?

Hate the former, LOVE the latter.

Dolt.

Prague is lovely but it really its like a theme park. Bucharest evoked a Parisianesque time capsule for me. Even café dining on a patio on a side street could have been a long-ago Paris.

Been there 10 or 11 times. Love Paris

I really need to go back as I’m missing the city of lights. The architecture is the best part.

Paris is still recognmzbly the city of that weirdo Napoleon III. But many of the provincial cities are underrated.

My sister is there now for the second time. She sent me this text when she finally got to her hotel. "I forgot how the people here are all such assholes. Luckily I'm only in Paris for a day and then onto the Rhone Valley. Not sure why they are even having the Olympics here. The French only care about themselves."

Avoiding this summer becuaenof the Olympics.

I love Paris for many reasons but it has a very specific smell. IFKYK. It’s on the street and I smell it every time I’m there.

Metro line 14 a brothers smell musty from cutting through the 19th century sewage pipes.

Parisians are assholes in the same way as New Yorkers are assholes. They have to live in a densely populated city. They've seen it all. They're in a hurry and don't have time to coddle you. They're amazed at how unprepared and ignorant tourists can be. Unless they work in the travel industry, it's not their job to stop what they're doing to help needy you. If you came to their country and didn't bother to learn a few polite phrases in their language and maybe some local customs, they have no use for you. You'll be gone in a few days and there will be more impossible idiots like you to deal with.

I speak enough French to have basic conversations and have found a wide range of Parisians, ranging from kind, practical, depressed, sarcastic, silly, bitchy, excited, flirtatious, dismissive, pretentious, and/or boring. The bureaucracy of getting anything done is epic.

Outside of Paris is a whole other world. People are more engaging, and they are SLOW. It feels more like Small Town America to me. It is still necessary to be polite and patient and learn a few French phrases and greetings. It will go a long way. I've met many people in the provinces who hate Parisians and mock their pretentions.

I usually go to Paris a couple times a year, always short trips of a few days, for an exhibit. or to see friends, or to tag along sometimes when my partner works on a project there. It's a fantastic, beautiful city, always with tons of things to do. And I like the French very much, they definitely have some ways of their own but they are admirable, affable sorts.

Paris is a 4-hour flight and often around €100 for a return trip so it doesn't require much planning.

I adore paris, despite the detractors

I hope one day to go to the annual Salon de l’agriculture and look at all the beautiful barnyard animals.

Paris truly lives up to the hype. Beauty everywhere.