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

The problem is that they are allowed to breed.
😉😁.

I love Paris, lived in France for a year in my late teens and then again a few years later, visited often. A lot of French people where I lived hated Paris though too!

Loved Dublin when I visited a few years back.

Also really enjoy my trips to London, thought Venice was breathtaking, rarely if ever have I been somewhere I outright hated.

Maybe I'm easily pleased, though I tend to go to places open to being pleased too!

Quite. Saying hello in whatever language is basic civility surely?! Maybe these people experiencing rudeness are the unaware ones meting it out…

You mean British?

@ErrolTheDragon 80 euros we were charged to get to Notre dam

It has never occurred to me that saying ‘bon jour’ might be considered an effort or impressive! It’s normal in any language or country to use some sort of pleasantry. I’m pretty sure my interactions were equally civil whether I started with Bon jour or hello.

Paris is fine as a city, there's beautiful bits and not so nice bits just like any big city. The problem is it's always romanticised to the max on TV as being the epitome of fashion, quaint cobbled streets, that stereotypical french accordion music etc. So inevitably people go there expecting that and are disappointed when it's mostly just a normal European city!

Ah well yes, ‘French teenage school group chicken’ is a bit of a tougher game than ‘patriarchy chicken’ tbf😂

Yes, and this isn’t a new thing — in What Katy Did Next (1886), Katy notices the formal greetings of the hotel employees by French people on her first day in France. (Though Katy is with many Mners in disliking Paris!)

If you try to be friendly and polite they are the same. If you do not make an effort they think you’re rude.
I think this is the problem. They seem to come from a mind-set that it's up to you to impress them. Most other people come from a mind-set that most individuals are OK, unless/until they prove otherwise.

We used G7 taxis a couple of times inc from Gare du Nord - they were fine and seemed less expensive than a comparable length journey in London. Like London cabs they benefit from being able to use bus/taxi lanes.

(the place we did get ripped off for a taxi outside the station was Amsterdam - which is otherwise also a very enjoyable city).

@ArachneArachne Exactly that - the French can be very formal compared to some nations and get frosty if ritual politenesses are not respected.

We stayed at a small family run hotel in the deep South of France a couple of summers ago. We ran in to an american couple who were also staying who complained that the staff were rude. We had found them perfectly friendly and helpful.

Over the next few days we saw they did not observe the compulsory "bonjour" "bon soir" every time you entered or exited the reception areas and once we saw them ringing the reception bell during the two hour lunch siesta (when there was a clear sign saying reception was closed from 12pm - 2pm.

I spent last week in Paris and it was my second trip there. Yes there are grotty parts of Paris like there are in a lot of major cities, but my god - there is beauty there. I adore it, and the minute I leave I can't wait to return.

Last time we did the Louve and the Eiffel Tower etc, whereas this time we spent ages just walking down the river and eating in little cafes and exploring the parks. The weather was 22 degrees last week with the sun shining, and it was bliss.

My husband is French and we lived in Paris for a couple of years when we were first together. Neither of us liked it very much. I found a lot of the men there very creepy. It is dirty but then so are a lot of other cities. I can speak French and still found the people rude.

We both like Dublin, we’ve always found the people to be very friendly and I felt a lot safer there than in Paris.

Some of it is literally just obvious stuff like greeting with a ‘Bon jour’ before asking for something in a shop. I once observed a standoff between an American tourist and an employee in a supermarket in a suburb of Paris. The tourist had walked up to him and said ‘Where is the mayonnaise?’ The employee looked at him and said ‘Bon soir!’ The tourist said ‘Where is the MAYONNAISE?’ Whereupon the employee said, prompting him, ‘Bon soir!’ Whereupon the tourist said, raising his voice, ‘WHERE IS THE MAYONNAISE???’

I can’t actually remember whether I intervened or what happened. But both of them will have left that encounter thinking the other one was rude.

Yes there’s been loads of Paris bashing on MN, and a lot of racial hating too. I also love Paris, got caught in a terrorist attack at notre dam a few years back before the fire and a Parisian said to us this is what happens when u let millions of immigrants into your country. Lots of racial tension. I love Paris and would happily move there for same reason as op. (Unfortunately could not afford to live in the style I would like haha).

I find some big cities are OK, some are better-than-OK But I'm not sure I've come across a city where I felt so unwelcome as Paris.

But, as they say, you do you. You go to Paris and I'll happily go elsewhere.

same!

French teenagers are another breed!

Exactement.

Also my family are direct French German on mum’s side so grandad (born in Luxembourg brought up in Germany) was continental. And fluent in Dutch, German, French and english. Especially after he moved here in his 20s.

Not all French are like this! If you try to be friendly and polite they are the same. If you do not make an effort they think you’re rude. Understandably.

My parents had a holiday home in France for years and had many French friends including one half French half English. So I know all about interaction with the French. They’re people like you and me.

Of course you get some people who try to take advantage (builders) eg if you don’t know correct words, but you get people like that anywhere.

Well, I lived in London for over a decade, and certainly noticed the crime and grime (DH got mugged at knifepoint on our street), but I still loved it and was sorry to leave.

How odd, we encountered no such issues whatever - I am also speaking from experience, very recent!

My point is that it’s strange not to understand why people like different things.

Anyway, I love Paris and have no issues w Parisians. That is why I go every year.