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Original poster

I can't undestand all the hatred for Paris on MN

235 replies

2026IsMyYear · 20/04/2026 21:34

Just that really - i just don't recognise the Paris that people post about on here!

I have been many many times & spent a month there not too long ago

I adore it & would happily consider living there.

So much to see & do, so much history & beauty

I am obsessed with modernism & early 20th century literary history. There are amazing museums, galleries & libraries. Love the flea markets & clothes & shoe shops.

Great food & wine!

I've never found it smelly (certainly no worse than major UK cities) & i have never felt intimidated or been followed etc

I am now in my 50s & a v seasoned savvy traveller & I've been visiting Paris since i was 20.

I adore it but often feel like an outlier here!

OP posts:
Thechaseison71 · 22/04/2026 12:15

LettuceAndCarrots · 21/04/2026 22:59

If it's any consolation, I was freaking out about how hard it seemed to be to get tickets for Notre Dame, but in the end we just turned up early (without a ticket) and joined the queue, which moved extremely fast.

I love Paris but found buying metro tickets very frustrating. I wish you could just tap your bank card.

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I didn't need a ticket to go in Notre dame. When did they start this

Missingpate · 22/04/2026 12:13

ErrolTheDragon · 22/04/2026 08:31

If you go on Eurostar, they will sell you an easy card loaded with 2 journeys at the buffet to start you off. We got those, and it turned out to be all we needed as nearly everything we wanted to do was within walking distance of where we were staying (it was lovely weather so walking 30 minutes or so was preferable to using the metro).

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Ooh fab tip! We will do that! Thanks 🤩

Zov · 22/04/2026 11:55

pinboardwizard · 22/04/2026 11:47

Big yourself up much? 🙂

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Maybe that poster/The OP travels with her job? Or maybe she just enjoys travelling....?

My 2 adult DC travel with their jobs. Sometimes abroad. They also go for long weekends quite often with their partner (or a friend) to Paris, Rome, Oslo, Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, and many more.... One of them went to Dublin purely to go to a rock concert some months back. They are childfree young professionals who like to travel, and see the world.

I don't think the OP is 'bigging herself up.'

.

Original poster
2026IsMyYear · 22/04/2026 11:50

FasterMichelin · 22/04/2026 08:44

I’ve never seen hatred either. Personally I found it dirty and grimy but that’s a personal opinion, I feel the same about lots of London and any other capital (with exception of Rome which I thought was stunning).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and this is an opinion based forum.

I'm always curious about posts like these - where were you in the city that was dirty & grimey?

I spent a month there not too long ago, we were based in the 5th & i walked a huge amount of the city & didn't find it filthy at all. I covered a lot of ground in those weeks.

I mostly walked as its such a walkable city but also used the metro & found it really great for zipping around.

Edited to add: i was in Rome last winter, another city i love. It didn't strike me as any cleaner. Or dirtier than Paris (or Dublin)

OP posts:
pinboardwizard · 22/04/2026 11:47

2026IsMyYear · 20/04/2026 21:34

Just that really - i just don't recognise the Paris that people post about on here!

I have been many many times & spent a month there not too long ago

I adore it & would happily consider living there.

So much to see & do, so much history & beauty

I am obsessed with modernism & early 20th century literary history. There are amazing museums, galleries & libraries. Love the flea markets & clothes & shoe shops.

Great food & wine!

I've never found it smelly (certainly no worse than major UK cities) & i have never felt intimidated or been followed etc

I am now in my 50s & a v seasoned savvy traveller & I've been visiting Paris since i was 20.

I adore it but often feel like an outlier here!

Big yourself up much? 🙂

Original poster
2026IsMyYear · 22/04/2026 11:45

southcoastsammy · 22/04/2026 06:48

Have you been recently?? It’s filthy, has a massive drug problem, is SO expensive that locals are priced out of everything, and you’ll hear more American accents than Irish. It’s a dump at the moment, and overpriced dump that desperately needs to be sorted out.

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Yes, i have. If you'd read my post properly you'd see that i go there approx every 6 weeks. I have actually been there 5 times this year - a mix of work & pleasure

I was there to meet friends 2 weeks ago & had a glorious time.

We had dinner in a fabulous restaurant, drinks in two of our favourite bars, saw an incredible production in The Abbey, saw 2 exhibitions - in the national gallery & the douglas hyde. I spent a v pleasant hour in my favourite antiquarian bookshop (& bought a book) & then went around the corner to the fantastic Hodges & Figgis where i spent another hour browsing

It was not filthy & was no more expensive than other cities in Ireland such as Cork which i also visited in March. Cork is not a patch on Dublin though i enjoy being in both

OP posts:
KimberleyClark · 22/04/2026 11:42

Coffeeandbooks88 · 22/04/2026 10:44

So no Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish folk moan about Paris or cause trouble in Paris? Yeah right.

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Well I’m Welsh and love Paris. And the Scots have historically always been quite pally with the French. Mary Queen of Scots was Queen of France before she was Queen of Scotland.

Coffeeandbooks88 · 22/04/2026 10:44

Confuserr · 22/04/2026 00:51

No, otherwise I would have said British. I equally didn't mean Danish.

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So no Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish folk moan about Paris or cause trouble in Paris? Yeah right.

Bokeitup · 22/04/2026 08:50

crackofdoom · 22/04/2026 08:11

Without any doubt, 99 times out of a hundred you could replace the phrase "I felt unsafe in that area" with "There were a lot of young black or brown men hanging around".

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I don't necessarily think that's a fair assumption. I feel unsafe where there's groups of men of any colour (and lone men and men in pairs but that's another thread!).

FasterMichelin · 22/04/2026 08:44

I’ve never seen hatred either. Personally I found it dirty and grimy but that’s a personal opinion, I feel the same about lots of London and any other capital (with exception of Rome which I thought was stunning).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and this is an opinion based forum.

Htcunya · 22/04/2026 08:41

In real life I only know one person who didn't like Paris. On MN though at least once a year there's a thread about disappointed/hated holidays/places and Paris features frequently.

I spent quite a lot of time there in my younger days, worked there for a bit and had friends there. I loved it. Must go back.

ErrolTheDragon · 22/04/2026 08:31

Missingpate · 22/04/2026 07:19

That’s reassuring! I heard someone say similar for the Eiffel Tower. Seems no way around it for the Catacombs however. We went 25 yrs ago on a whim 😂 As DS should enjoy it I will be poised with laptop and alarm set for 7 days before.
Yes the metro seems to have changed as well, no more paper tickets: I think we’ll do this easy card thing and load up a few journeys.

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If you go on Eurostar, they will sell you an easy card loaded with 2 journeys at the buffet to start you off. We got those, and it turned out to be all we needed as nearly everything we wanted to do was within walking distance of where we were staying (it was lovely weather so walking 30 minutes or so was preferable to using the metro).

AuntChippy · 22/04/2026 08:16

I love Paris. My husband is often there for work, so for years I’ve been going pretty regularly.

We might no longer do much of the regular tourist stuff, but we know the hidden gem restaurants and brasseries, the loveliest walks and parks, the best lookout spots and museums.

We’ve never experienced anything but politeness and courtesy from locals.

crackofdoom · 22/04/2026 08:11

VividPinkTraybake · 22/04/2026 01:12

Racism

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Without any doubt, 99 times out of a hundred you could replace the phrase "I felt unsafe in that area" with "There were a lot of young black or brown men hanging around".

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 22/04/2026 08:03

LunaTheCat · 21/04/2026 23:05

I am off to Paris for 5 days in June .. by myself.
i am incredibly excited.
I just love it! Wandering around the streets, coffee and wine, lovely lunches outside. Beautiful parks and galleries. People watching. The pastries . There is nowhere better.

It’s fine by yourself if you take all the tourist tips. Do as you would in any other big city. I did it in April but met up with friends from USA after the terror bombings. Stayed Eiffel Tower region in a cheap air b n b. Planning on going soon and staying in a hotel next time.

Bokeitup · 22/04/2026 08:01

2026IsMyYear · 20/04/2026 21:34

Just that really - i just don't recognise the Paris that people post about on here!

I have been many many times & spent a month there not too long ago

I adore it & would happily consider living there.

So much to see & do, so much history & beauty

I am obsessed with modernism & early 20th century literary history. There are amazing museums, galleries & libraries. Love the flea markets & clothes & shoe shops.

Great food & wine!

I've never found it smelly (certainly no worse than major UK cities) & i have never felt intimidated or been followed etc

I am now in my 50s & a v seasoned savvy traveller & I've been visiting Paris since i was 20.

I adore it but often feel like an outlier here!

Likewise. I lived there a couple of years ago and it was fabulous. The pavements were hosed with water every morning, every cafe and restaurant was fab, the buildings were the prettiest I've ever seen, I never felt unsafe and used to cycle round a lot and use the metro. It was awesome.

TaranTara · 22/04/2026 07:55

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ArachneArachne · 22/04/2026 07:35

senua · 21/04/2026 10:22

But why is it up to us to say bon jour first? If they are so keen on the bon jour then why don't they say it first?
It's such a weird thing to get pissy about.

For the avoidance of doubt, if I'm out on a country walk I always say hello to people. I don't wait for them to say it first.

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You’re the one entering their space, and not greeting would be as rude as not saying please or thank you.

CinnamonJellyBeans · 22/04/2026 07:25

Beautiful city. Would love to live there.

People rude and public places and public transport have a strong smell of body odour and unwashed clothes

Missingpate · 22/04/2026 07:19

LettuceAndCarrots · 21/04/2026 22:59

If it's any consolation, I was freaking out about how hard it seemed to be to get tickets for Notre Dame, but in the end we just turned up early (without a ticket) and joined the queue, which moved extremely fast.

I love Paris but found buying metro tickets very frustrating. I wish you could just tap your bank card.

Show quote history

That’s reassuring! I heard someone say similar for the Eiffel Tower. Seems no way around it for the Catacombs however. We went 25 yrs ago on a whim 😂 As DS should enjoy it I will be poised with laptop and alarm set for 7 days before.
Yes the metro seems to have changed as well, no more paper tickets: I think we’ll do this easy card thing and load up a few journeys.

TheGoldenOwl · 22/04/2026 07:16

"I suppose just posting to see if any dog behaviour experts could help me understand what went wrong here"

Oh OP! 😅 You'll get dog behaviour experts in AIBU....not all of them qualified, knowledgeable or even fond of dogs though 😂

In all seriousness thiugh this sounded harmless but if your gut feeling was telling you something was up then you were right to listen to it. Sounds like it was bad manners than agression though. I know the feeling of thinking "am I mis reading this situation here?"

wrong thread (how did that happen on a page refresh?!)

but seeing as I'm here now - actually I agree with PPs that Paris is a very far cry from its marketed version that it has somehow enjoyed for decades. I think the scales are falling from people's eyes now

southcoastsammy · 22/04/2026 06:48

2026IsMyYear · 20/04/2026 21:55

I also adore Dublin! I lived there in my 20s & again in my 30s & have a lot of friends there. I'm there about every 6 weeks

Again, i just don't understand the hatred for that beautiful city either!

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Have you been recently?? It’s filthy, has a massive drug problem, is SO expensive that locals are priced out of everything, and you’ll hear more American accents than Irish. It’s a dump at the moment, and overpriced dump that desperately needs to be sorted out.

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