To love Paris and to think ‘Paris syndrome’ is a myth?

I dont think it's any dirtier than any other busy city and no more expensive than any other tourist city. However, yes Ive experienced a lot of rude people there.

I will counter that though. There are a lot of places where people are rude to tourists. For instance, Ive heard a lot of people say that some areas in Devon are quite rude. The rudest place I've ever been was a place in Wales. They were VERY anti-English. They would be happily speaking in English but then would switch to Welsh as soon as anyone not local was there.

I lived in Wales until I was 10 but dont have the accent anymore. I dont speak Welsh but could understand the odd word people were saying but not all of it and didnt have the confidence to challenge them in case I misunderstood what they had said.

I'm guessing yhat those of you who go often often or spend a long time there speak a least a bit of French? That will make a big difference to your experiences.

I can also see why having to deal with tourists all day gets annoying, particularly if they are being tourists with a capital T.

I never understand the bad reputation Paris has!

We've been many times & have spent uo to 6 weeks there on occasion due to a project my dh was involved in.

We adore it & have plans to go back & stay longer.

Its one of my favourite places as a potential place to spend longer amounts of time. We could easily see thd possibility of building a life there & hope to do so

Paris Syndrome is an extreme form of culture shock experienced by people who feel that Paris doesn't live up to their expectations.

It's most common in Japan, due to Japanese media depictions of Paris (which is very heavily idealised). Compared to Japanese cities, Paris is indeed extremely dirty and unsafe.

It is categorically not a myth, and brief research will confirm this.

So no, YANBU to enjoy Paris, but YABU in the phrasing of your question.

I love Paris and always have a lovely time there. But I also like London and cities in general.

I thought Paris syndrome was more something some people from certain Asian countries get because there is an extremely idealised and romanticised image of Paris in their culture. Like our romanticised image of it but turbo charged.

I mean.. me.

perhaps I was unlucky it was pre olympics and during one of the trash strikes so it did stink

-Notre Dame was still covered in white sheeting and that’s what you saw on our expensive boat tour

-the whole area around the Eiffel Tower was being dug up and fenced off

-we stayed slightly further out of central Paris and our hotel was nice but in a pretty run down rough part of the city

-it took many hours to get through the airport

-it wasn’t as easy as London, Germany or Spain to get around on the metro (more confusing)

-the stupid tiny metro tickets kept stopping working and DD and I kept getting separated at barriers

-it was quite expensive to get into museums etc

-a lot of queues

-smoking absolutely everywhere

-the cafe food didn’t blow my mind, it was all the same and just didn’t find anything that was great… I have been to many Spanish/european food halls/markets and they are always brilliant but didn’t find one

-we went to Montmatre and the view was amazing but DD didn’t really like the surrounding areas and complained it felt unsafe

i had always wanted to go to Versailles it was my bucket list place but it was ok, I just don’t know if it was what I was expecting. I prefer Hampton court 😂

Well, look at the default London loathing on here. (I’m a foreigner to the UK, and lived in London for a decade and loved it, too.)

I agree OP.

Have been a few times now, the most recent time being in the summer. On the whole we found it to be clean, tidy and no more expensive than London (for example). Staff in restaurants etc were incredibly helpful.

The only area we saw lots of litter was at the raised seating area outside of Notre Dame. It stood out - I commented that it was strange that they don’t try to keep such a touristy area cleaner.

I loved spending time in Paris this summer and would go back tomorrow if I could.

It's a city. Some love it, some hate it, many are largely indifferent - just like any other city.

So YANB to fall into any of those camps.

YABU to not understand that whichever camp you are in, other people can quite reasonably be in one of the others.

And YABVU to think that Paris Syndrome is simply 'not liking Paris' rather than a psychiatric breakdown triggered by a combination of physical and mental factors experienced by people coming from a hugely different culture when travel was a quite different experience, with far less ability to research what to expect. Paris may not differ that much from London, but to someone from Japan it is filthy and astoundingly rude - especially when the syndrome was originally described, when the city was far grubbier than it is now.

The nicest parts of Paris are stunning of course, but to me the best food, people and landscapes are found in the rest of France.

It's a bit funny to chide foreigners for not liking Paris when the default attitude among most non-Parisian French people seems to be loathing Paris.

I think they cleaned it up a lot last year for the Olympic - I saw a huge difference between 2023 and 2024. With cost of living increase everywhere I also think it doesn’t feel as expensive as before. I also found people much friendlier the last couple of times I visited .

I love Paris and think it's mostly as romantic as the stories say it is.

Stepping out of Gare du Nord is always a bit grim though! I imagine it's many people's first view of Paris - not the finest introduction...

I like parts of Paris but the food standards have declined I think and the dog mess everywhere really is a nuisance.

I love Paris and when I was there earlier this year I met three separate people who particularly went out of their way to help me and DC. They were so lovely and kind.

But it's like anywhere isn't it - some people have good experiences and others bad. I know someone who was stabbed in Barcelona and had their luggage nicked, and others who absolutely loved it. And people who hate Morocco because they were hassled too much, and others who have moved their permanently! Etc.

I would love to have someone currently experiencing Paris Syndrome in front of me so I could ask them proper questions about their expectations and what exactly was so horrifying about the reality. I used to live there years ago, and then had to choose between a job in London and a Paris job and chose London, I think rightly — but I still visit often, have lots of friends there and still find it beautiful and engaging and fascinating.

YABU not to explain Paris syndrome.

I absolutely adore Paris, we arrived on Monday and staying until Saturday. Everyone has been so helpful and friendly going out of their way to help. The restaurants have been really good, prices similar to uk restaurants.
We have found the streets clean and tidy.
It still has the magic I remember each time we visit.
I totally agree with OP. 🇫🇷🌺

I like Paris but I find the cigarette smoking in all outside seating just awful.
and the traditional cafes serve pretty bad food. Nice restaurants are fantastic as are some modern eateries but the street lined cafes full of smoking Parisians are not great

I was really disappointed by Paris. I expected to love it and I didn’t. I did really love Berlin though and I also loved Amsterdam.

I love London as I know it so well and it feels like part of my identity but in terms of enjoyment, Cambridge is nicer. Paris to me was just.. like any other city

Yes! ❤️

I really think to “get” Paris, you should go in the summer when it’s warm. Taking a night boat trip on the Seine, seeing the Paralympic opening ceremony from the river, the Eiffel Tower lit up, and everyone just out having a good time, no drunkenness or rowdiness like you get in London, but just people dancing to music by the river, hanging out chatting and having a drink and waving to the bateaux-mouches. The Seine has been cleaned up to the extent that people were being allowed to swim from the river beaches. It’s just so nice to spend time there now!

I was quite surprised as I used to travel to Paris a lot for work, but not for at least ten years or more, so the way it looked during the Olympics was completely new to me.

My sister lived in Paris for a decade so visited it many times both pre and post kids.
there are many things I love about Paris but I would never rush back. Having been subjected to a violent attempt robbery with the perp spraying all of us including kids with pepper spray and the police being less than indifferent was the final straw.
my sister was subjected to sexual assault and racist abuse for being British on multiple occasions whilst living there and in different areas across the city.

I Personally prefer other cities across Europe as PP have said

I adore Paris and have lived there twice! Wonderful wonderful city. Beautiful and clean.
However I can’t agree that the Parisians aren’t rude 🤣 I remember on more than one occasion some really rude staff in shops and hairdressers etc, huffing and puffing and generally being difficult and not wanting to help me, the customer. This is obviously generalising though as some are lovely, including many I worked with and became friends with…. Although these were mostly people from elsewhere in France or Europe who had moved to Paris!

The first time I visited it felt magical. I went to the Louvre, up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, shopped on the Champs-Elysees, visited Versailles, went on a boat ride along the river, saw Notre Dame (wish I had gone in now!), went on the metro, saw plenty of protests and had a great time.

Second time I went was good too, I went for a concert so didn't go to a lot of the main landmarks but I did go past the Elysee Palace and had all the police watching me 😂went to some of the high-end shops too but didn't buy. The second time I felt it was a bit more run down but I think they were having a bin strike and riots at the time. I almost walked into a flaming mattress in the street!! I think it is a great city, I'm not in any rush to go back just because I've been twice now and fairly recently, but I will go again one day.

I lived in France and the French complained about the Parisians being rude, personally I did not find that to be the case despite being a tourist, really I think as long as you are polite to them then they will be polite back.

Agree. I have been many times though now live in Australia. Last month I was in Paris and London, I found Paris significantly cleaner, cheaper and friendlier.

Totally agree, OP!

I don’t find it particularly dirty, or think the people are any ruder than anywhere else. But I’m not a massive fan. It’s fine, but I think it is more loved than it deserves. I don’t think it’s so much nicer than other European capitals that it warrants the kind of particular attention it gets.