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!

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 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!).

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

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.

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

Big yourself up much? 🙂

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)

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.'

.

Ooh fab tip! We will do that! Thanks 🤩

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

When they reopened after the fire. They are free and basically just give you a time slot to avoid the queue. It's not compulsory.

Thanks for info. I will be there in a couple of months

There are often threads on here along the lines of ‘where have you visited that didn’t live up to expectations/hype’ and Paris always comes up on these threads. And until last week I was one of them. We visited for the day from DLP more than 15 years ago and I was really not impressed, busy, dusty, no charm, rude people. We just went to the wrong places (Champs Elysee, Eiffel Tower).

DH has aways wanted to return so eventually I have in, agreeing it deserved a second chance and we went for a few days last week. I absolutely loved it. We stayed in the area near the Louvre, so many beautiful buildings, and everybody seemed friendly and polite. We went Wednesday to Sunday, and if I went again we would choose Monday-Friday and avoid the weekend.

Re Notre Dame - we visited on Thursday, just joined the standard queue early afternoon. The queue moved very quickly but the queue continued /was very busy all the way round inside and a timed entry slot wouldn’t help with that.

I would say though that in certain cities you have ghettos. We were warned when in Bordeaux (had to go a lot via airport to holiday home there) there were areas to be avoided. My ex colleague Yannick however, his grandparents lived in a suburb of Bordeaux and he had no fears whatsoever about anywhere there. The main thing which freaked me out was mostly black guys just staring at me or trying to chat me up. Happened twice. My French is ok but not fluent. And I don’t know many swear words! So I couldn’t say much to them, they were very persistent. I do a little bit now! I was there with my mum for the day it was as humid as hell, and hot, and Bordeaux is very spread out so we were a bit lost! Luckily we found a nice cafe and I calmed down and had some Pernod with water. 😋

My experience was in Bordeaux btw not Paris!

And this happened in the streets there. Took me by surprise.

Well DM can’t walk far! I’m only going on what they told me. I don’t travel internally via rail in France much. Unless certain cities to others. Bordeaux to Toulouse, to Saintes, La Rochelle etc.

I've seen plenty. And I agree, Paris is a wonderful place.

Yes I know that (love history). Just a bit weird to insist only the English cause issues.

I think people just have high hopes for Paris and expect some grand European city but in reality it is nothing like that anymore,

Again, i just don't understand how it's not a 'grand European city' - of course it is!

Even if people go expecting an Emily in Paris experience (as mentioned already on this thread), that's entirely possible! Place de l'Estrapade is in the 5th arrondisement & just around the corner from where i last stayed & it is exctly as it appears in the show. Its a beautiful, romantic little square.

Presumably you took out a mortgage to pay for all that! Or work paid…

@southcoastsammy of course work didn't pay for my weekend with friends, don't be silly!

I work, i'm in my 50s & i am now senior in my role & earn the means to travel etc

Having said that - The Abbey has a range of tickets at different prices including a reduced price for Arts Workers which i'm sure is v welcome.

The rest (drinks, meal & a book) were no more expensive than what i paid in Cork last month.

Galleries were free entry

How is it not?