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

[2026IsMyYear]

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!

So it's us that is the problem, not the Parisians?

I mean, yes? If you know you don’t like big cities, dont travel to one?

I came her to say the same. I waft around London, enjoying exhibitions, shops and cafés. My OH has to commute there for work (Holborn), and only notices the beggars, armed Police and grime.

Its my least favorite city, and thats saying a lot. There are bits of it that are lovely, but overall, I was glad to leave.

I think you either get it it you don’t. I love London. I couldn’t live there because I was raised by the sea and I can’t imagine not seeing it everyday, but I adore the city. Similarly I have loved Rome, Oslo, Copenhagen, Madrid, Barcelona. My parents hate London and cannot stand travelling to a city. It’s all just what you like or don’t like

They’re bad enough from a distance.
Must be awful to actually be mixing among them. 🤮.

I don't hate it but I don't love it either, I think there are just cities I have liked a lot more so I'd probably never go back.

It wasn't an amazing experience and I think people hype Paris up A LOT so the reality is very different from the expectation.

The only way in which I found it ‘dirtier’ is their fondness for gardens mainly consisting of trees (lovely and shady in April, leaves well out before the U.K.) and pale dusty gravel rather than much usable grass or surfaced paths. (The Jardin des Plantes was lovely though).

In the dim and distant path loos in cafes might be a matter of trepidation but they all seemed fine nowadays that we saw.

Disappointmen with Paris on MN is real:
current thread on MN: Things that are supposed to be enjoyable...
(sorry, no idea how to link)
In the first post of this current thread the OP mentions Paris.
As the thread progresses, some agree and some disagree but it's no surprise to see Paris on the OPs list of overrated things/activities.

(personally, I'm pro-Paris and France in general. I've always had a great time and never noticed the downsides that so many see.)

London is wonderful too - we stay somewhere we can walk a lot through the parks and it’s great being able to drop into so many world class museums and art galleries for free - I did miss in Paris that you can’t visit, then think later that you really want to take a longer look at something and wander back in. I guess if you’re local you can get a membership.
And London is much improved by the congestion and ulez charges, the air is much cleaner and less traffic.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Exactement.

French teenagers are another breed!

same!

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

@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.

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).