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

@Thechaseison71 gare du Nord !
Four of us and 4 small small suitcases.

Nothing against Paris itself...

But my God, I wish they'd invest in upgrading the Gare du Nord. It's a horrible entry to the city.. I feel really proud of St Pancras International in comparison!

Is it a Gallic two-fingers to UK visitors, I wonder? 😂

🤣

Les vacs

Well one day in Jonzac the station worker at the station deliberately told us wrong info so we missed our train to Bordeaux. Long time to wait for another one. Was with my mum and she was furious! So rudeness anywhere and e everywhere ime. Thank god wasn’t on our return journey to the airport.

Don’t think anyone is trying to convince you.

Tbh, I thought it was considered polite and the standard in most cultures to greet the shop owner when you enter their business. You may be a customer, but you’re still
coming into and onto their property.

From where? I paid about €14 from cdg

Same as london then

I'm polite but if they want my custom then they need to be pleasant back. It is they who miss out if I take my trade elsewhere, which is what I meant by my inequality of vendors/buyers.
But I'm done; nobody on here has convinced me that I ought to return to Paris any time soon.

No, no one. Just this woman in Paris apparently.

And nobody shows their underwear on purpose in the UK?

They do seem remarkably angry about the expectation that customers observe basics customs of politeness towards staff.

What on earth do you mean about queuers being equal but vendors/ buyers aren’t? I hope I’ve misunderstood but that sounds like an attitude of superiority towards people serving you.

Yeah - August in France - stuff is going to be shut. It is just the way it is.

Not doing it is like not observing queue etiquette in the UK.
I get your point but the equivalence doesn't stack up. Queuers are equal but vendors/buyers are not.
They can stand on their customs if they want, it's their country after all, but to get pissy with tourists is not great customer service. Someone mentioned up above above a hotel being shut at lunchtime. We've had similar: after years of holidaying in France in August (peak season / school hols) and finding the place SHUT we gave up and now go to places that are happy to see us and are open.
<gallic shrug>

@senua It is just a really ingrained thing in France - you say Bonjour/Bonsoir whenever you enter a shop/bar/hotel/bus even if you are just browsing or passing through. If they say it first you always respond. If you don't observe that you will be regarded as really rude.

Not doing it is like not observing queue etiquette in the UK.

@2026IsMyYear I love Paris too and interestingly I also love modernism and 20th century literary history - maybe there's a connection there for how we perceive it! I think if you love architecture, art, history, cities generally (lots of people just don't like cities) then Paris is a great place to visit.

Agree. There are plenty of quiet towns and villages to go to to suit their desires. Maybe they like wasting their money to moan and cement their views.

As for the famous Parisian rudeness, I’ve also never experienced it.

Same. When I was in Paris, people helped me carry a stroller up stairs. Shop owners smiled at me and greeted me warmly. I greeted and spoke French even though I’m still learning and was nervous and they were kind about it.

Saying that, I did research culture and etiquette beforehand because I had heard they were and found it no different than being in another major city which I don’t find rude and know what to expect.

I do think some are acting as if there aren’t rude people here when there are plenty. There are rude people everywhere.

Non-Parisian French people often find Parisians rude - at least that’s been my experience. In the area we most often visit, not far from Dijon, people are usually extremely pleasant and polite.

I have more than once met Parisians on holiday - perfectly pleasant to me and dh but revealing extreme snobbery as regards others, and in which arrondisement (sp?) aka Paris postcode, they lived.

Another was when we were on a very small (2 cabs) tour of part of Syria (ages ago) where the only others were a middle aged Parisian lady, and two other middle-aged French women, who were great fun, but who I can only really describe as the French equivalent of a pair of Blackpool landladies out on a spree.

Madame Parisienne would have nothing to do with them! She clearly thought them utterly common, and always made a point of getting into the cab with me and dh, rather than with them! Needless to say, dh and I were (quietly) highly amused.

It’s just based on each persons experience. It’s like anything in life.

My first time in Paris was awful. We were followed by older, scary men, barked and hissed at, asked if we were prostitutes, my friend was groped whilst waiting for a train. I found it to be quite a cold , unfriendly place in general. Naturally, my opinion of the city wasn’t favourable. Why would it be!?

I visited again for work many years later and thankfully didn’t have to put up with creeps following me around. I saw through fresh eyes, some lovely buildings and coffee shops but other than that, I’m not really bothered about it, it’s not somewhere I think about.

I’m pretty sure that on entering cafes or paying for groceries there was a good chance they’d say Bon jour first. 🤷‍♀️

From gare de nord? Are you sure it was a proper taxi (G7)? We went to and from gare de nord to more or less the left bank side of the Pont Neuf for under €20 a trip inc tip.

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.

Me too. I think some people just aren’t happy unless they can find something to criticise or moan about.