Paris, France, a dream city or...
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I don’t know of one single person who is not enamored with Paris or the idea of it, as well as the French people, and after visiting it, I seriously wonder why.
Paris is a city that has been romanticized by people worldwide... very smart of the French to craft such an image as I have to admit that our first impressions have not been so great.
When we planned our 4-month trip through Europe, we chose countries and cities that we were interested in visiting for various reasons. We didn’t select places just for showcasing on Instagram, or even my blog; we chose them based on our curiosity and interest. We wanted to experience life and culture abroad to the extent allowed by our short stay in each of these places. This for us meant walking everywhere as much as possible, using public transportation whenever possible or convenient, venturing further than the tourist spots as much as we could, and observing the people, their behavior, and overall culture. We decided to add Paris to the list because I really wanted to experience it for myself, for the reasons listed above.
There’s so much talk about Paris, and the things you hear make it seem like the dream city, full of love, romance, and dreamy places. It is considered a place for beautiful arts, fashion, and so on. I don’t deny that Paris has many beautiful and world-known landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre-Dame to name a few, and a nice city center. Some of its architecture also comes with plenty of opulent gold details that catch the eye and suggest luxury, but apart from the tourist spots, there isn’t much to see, in my unpopular opinion.
Pont Alexandre III, Paris
Unlike London, off-the-main streets in Paris seemed bland. Sure, there are cute cafes and building facades almost everywhere, but the truth is that I couldn’t get past the dirty streets and seemingly unkempt sidewalks once we got off the main streets. Maybe this is because France is preparing to host the Summer Olympics in 2024, and there is a lot of construction all over the city. Still, to me, the cleanliness and organization of a city, or any place for that matter, speaks of the country and people as a whole.
I have to say though that to us, Paris felt overpopulated and overcrowded, as well as not very tourist-friendly as directions and writing are mostly in French.
Traffic in Paris is a whole other issue. Don’t expect drivers to stop at crosswalks for you, as some will go even if it’s your turn to cross, or while you’re already crossing. For that reason, always be on the lookout. Traffic overall is very aggressive, and driving is seemingly without any rules; add the people on bicycles coming from all directions, and you have a mess… It didn’t help when we saw a van going over a border to get in the bus lane to block a wailing ambulance from crossing. We were not sure if it was done in spite or by mistake, but we didn’t see the same “respect” given to emergency vehicles as in the U.S., for example.
We decided not to drive on this trip, and we haven’t regretted the choice. In Paris (and generally in Europe), street names are small and often hidden, as well as they quickly change into some other: you think you’re on a certain street and the next thing you know it’s a completely different one. Unless you follow directions to a T, there are chances you will be getting lost.
I have touched upon scammers targeting tourists in many places in Europe. While we did not experience anything like that in the UK, in France, and going forward on our trip, we spotted them frequently, especially in tourist attractions.
We try to always be aware of our surroundings and keep an eye on the people around us. When visiting Sacre Couer in Paris, at the main entrance (near the carousel), we noticed a group of men, aggressively approaching people. They all had colored threads in their hands (red, white, and blue) and were somewhat easy to spot if you were paying attention. When we were passing by quickly, we saw them hovering over their victim: a guy with his wallet out, going through it.
What these scammers do, is try to initiate a conversation with you, either by complimenting or trying to somehow appeal to you by offering or even aggressively tying a “friendship bracelet” on your wrist or arm and after, demanding money to let you go. Or they might walk away, while another comes and demands payment. And they don’t accept just “any” money. Please read here, here, here, and here for other people’s experiences, and if you’re unconcerned about being accosted, think that you are possibly funding terrorism and/or human trafficking and slavery by giving these people money.
I would not, in any way, try to engage with them: don’t stop and be super-firm with them if approached. If you can, get mixed with a group of tourists, or just about run from them, and if possible, notify the police (not that they do anything about it). There are groups of these scammers, and they are very intimidating in Paris (they have different approaches for different cities, it seems).
The view of the city from Sacre Coeur, Paris
Needless to say, our experience at Sacre Couer was ruined as we had to watch ourselves and our surroundings constantly. We left through another gate, not before making sure there weren’t any more of these criminals.
Another thing to keep in mind about Paris… Eating in restaurants and cafes comes with more than you see on the menu, price-wise. You might be charged a fee for eating in. There is also a service charge included in your bill, which is not necessarily a tip for your server, plus, up to 20% VAT tax, which sometimes is already included in the prices, and sometimes is added to your bill. We were wary as we never knew exactly how much we’d end up spending eating out. When trying to stay on a budget, that can be an issue. For that reason, we mostly had take-out or ate in our hotel restaurant.
However, many local cafes offer a “formula” for a set price for lunch, which usually includes a sandwich, dessert plus a drink, which is a better price than buying separately - just look for more local places, aka away from the tourist attractions.
On our last day, while nice out, we bought one of those formulas each and had an impromptu picnic by the Seine. That was my favorite moment about our stay in Paris - having this quiet, unrushed break by the river.
And yes, it is totally true - the food in Paris is heavy on cheese, pastries, and even meat, and it made me miss my veggies too much.
I will share in another post about the things we enjoyed and are worth visiting at least once, especially if you find yourself in Paris, so stay tuned. But I can’t help but wonder, am I the only one who doesn’t really find Paris that appealing?
