Paris, France

I would never rate a place based on 2 or 3 weeks of experience as a tourist. That being said, I have much experience with Paris, having lived on its outskirts for 12 years. Here is an objective review of what you might want to know about Paris, including pros, cons and misconceptions. PROS: - Culture, culture, culture: It is an international epicenter of culture, ranging from a wide variety of museums to musical festivals to architectural marvels and monuments. If you are reseaching for places of culture to visit, Paris should be near (or at the top) of your list. - Gastronomy: The food is excellent, ranging from traditional French cuisine to some of the world's best pastries. You can also find a fast food or small international restaurants every couple blocks if French cooking doesn't cut it for you. There is an enormous variety. - Fun and romantic city: Great for couples. There is always something to do in Paris, always something open. Visit the catacombs, take a stroll near ... Read more

i do want to visit there.

So much to do, so much to see, it's almost overwhelming. Paris is amazing. And Parisians, for the most part, are not mean towards foreigners, contrary to popular belief. The public transit system is remarkably efficient. And the museums are some of the best I've ever been to.

Beautiful but overrated city, and impossible people. It seems that they wake up bad every day.

Excellent city, amazing food & culture. Regularly visit Paris whenever in France. Eiffel Tower is simply stunning.

On the face of it Paris has a lot going for it but for me it lacks the X factor. It has to be said that the food is hugely overpriced. As for the people, they're no better or worse than you'd find in any major world city. All big cities are generally pretty anonymous and when they're heaving with tourists why should they be expected to be all smiles and open arms to strangers. The architecture in the old parts is undeniably spectacular but the housing projects are as grim as anything you'd find in the run down parts of Bratislava or Bucharest.

dont go there. the food is crap... though the chicks are ok-ish.

There is only eiffel tower and Monparnasse tower ! the rest is old building .Have a good trip!

France is very beutifull but overrated. There is more to see in spain or italy. I also agree with mcspongeicus, american people get offended when someone talks a foreign language around them but if they go outside the USA they get mad if you don't know english. Being born in Venezuela, I have gotten rude comments for speaking spanish with friends.

I was in Washington DC last year for a few months and worked in a bar. Two French people came in and ignorantly aoutomatically began to ask for food 'in French!' Now this seemed quite shocking to me and everyone was automatically rude to them, for not speaking the local language, english. Now flip that around, if you go to Paris and automatically begin to speak English to Shopkeepers, train fare people etc, you WILL NOT get a good reception, its natural, its obvious!! Ive seen it in france myself, usually its from Americans, running straight up to the counter and saying 'hey i want a ticket for Paris please' straight away in English, with no attempt at speaking French, its plain rude!! Learn a few phrases in French and youll find you are treated reasonably and able to enjoy Paris as it is, one of the most amazing places in the world.

Beautiful. I was prepared to hate it based on all of the negative stuff I heard, but I love it. It's the greatest city I've ever been too (including NYC). The people are not Mickey Mouse- they live here. I would be rude too after seeing the awful behavior by fat rude americans towards the locals.

My first visit to 'Le Cite' was partly involuntary - As part of a party tour largely comprised of Americains like myself along with a peppering of Aussies and Canucks. My initial response to France as a forthcoming destination (we went directly to Paris after an easy border crossing) was basically one of reservation not because I'm one of those conditioned Americans who have a negative perception of anything Française because they've been told they should but because I hadn't been particularly intrigued by French culture. I was aware that Paris was a wonderful haven for free thinking American expats even before the Beat era but I dismissed that as old news. However, as it turned out, Paris was perhaps the highlight of that trip. Not only was it an overwhelming and quite interesting city but I had a blast there with lots of fine, humorous memories in tow after my departure. Paris has real character - a rare trait among North American cities. My second visit was definitely more down to ... Read more

i find it funny that Americans are calling French people rude. Talk about your basic pot calling the kettle black scenario. Paris is a fantastic city and the people are no more or less rude than people in New York, Boston or Philadelphia, even Chicago really. I suspect you people are speaking broken or no French, and are behaving like Americans typically behave, like we own the world, so some French probably take offense. But the sights to see have been mostly mentioned already: the Louvre, Seine River, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower,etc. Paris, along with New York,Washington, London, Tokyo, Moscow and Rome, should be on your list of cities to visit before you die.

Paris is one of the great walking cities. For those who consider the French rude, you just have to interact according to their customs instead of your own. The French are not just Americans who speak French. They interact on a much more formal level. Walk up to a French person and ask them a question and you can expect a rude answer. You've just insulted him. Instead, go up to a French person and say hello, ask for help, and then ask your question and you'll probably get a very polite answer. He won't however treat you like some lost brother and greet you as a great friend. Why should he? He isn't afterall.

The best city in Europe. Gorgeous & romantic. Wonderful food, wonderful people, wonderful shopping, wonderful wine. The most amazing architecture, fascinating history, so many well dressed people. Truly a change from the US. I'd move there if I could.

Hands down, my favorite city in Europe. There's just something glamorous about the place that nowhere else (even NYC) can match. Sure, relations between the French and Americans aren't the best right now, but learn just a handful of French phrases and you'll find the locals' reputation for rudeness to be slightly overrated.

Paris is a very beautiful city full of rude, arrogant and creepy people, and this certainly takes away most of the city's charm.

Smells like piss and there's dog crap everywhere, but I got engaged there, so its not so bad.

Full of stuff to do, but the people are by far some of the rudest on the planet, they hate everybody, Rome is much nicer!

Magic, charming, captivating, memorable! I've spent there 5 and a half months and I still discovered new things to do every single day. Certainly planning to go back one day.

It is a fine city but the people are all hung up and indifferent to visitors.

nothing special to be honest plus french people think are great ...and i find them rude and ignorant...and their manners are evern worse. I find their dressing pathetic

Paris is the most beautiful city in Europe, and possibly the most beautiful city on the planet. The people who rated it 'terrible' must be blind-or more likely have never even been there. Whether you're a poor student or a millionaire, you can have a great time here-if you come prepared. Paris isn't perfect, and it's worth noting its downsides-in a fair and objective manner. Parisian ARE unusually rude-to strangers. The flip side of this is that if you stay around and make friends, they will treat you like their long lost brother, ready to give you advice or help you out with anything you need, let you stay with them, loan you money, and generally treat you like a member of their own family. I find this a nice change from the robotic, undiscriminating, and often phony friendliness most Americans take for granted (as 'Lactose' notes below). Adjusting to a different culture, like adjusting to a different climate, takes time. If you only visit a few days you'll have to put up with ... Read more

Paris is THE best city in all of Europe. No town combines great food, history, art, and architectural beauty better than Paris. Parisians are not rude as long as you respect their privacy; they generally don't respond to the phony, have-a-nice-day mentality in the USA. I have never found Paris to be expensive. There are plenty of clean, cheap, centrally located B&Bs; to choose from (like on Rue Cler). The Metro is easy and cheap to navigate. Stay at a B&B;, use the Metro, prepare a picnic lunch each day and only splurge on dinner, and Paris will be no threat to your budget. Also, get a museum pass that gets you into almost every museum in town. It will pay for itself in about 3 museums and you avoid the long lines, especially at the Louvre.

Parisians are even ruder than Londoners. Overpriced. Overrated but has more interesting things to see and do than in London. Further to my original post I suggest that if you're limited for time you avoid Paris and try out less touristy but more beautiful areas like La Rochelle, the Alps, the Dordogne, the Auvergne, Champagne and the Loire Valley.

The RER and Metro train networks are great. Not the cleanest or the safest place in the world. Attractions are great, and are best seen from the river Seine. Louvre is probably the best museum in the world and looks great. People do NOT resent English speakers, though they prefer French, not their fault, is it!

The most beautiful city in the world. Thankfully, it wasn't destroyed during WWII beacuse it was declared an open city at the beginning of the war and Hitler's orders for its destruction were not carried out at the end of the war. I didn't find Parisians rude. If you consider Paris a cute France-based theme park where everyone should beg for your tourist dollars instead of an historic city of 4 million, I hear there's a version in Las Vegas that might suit you better.

The Eiffel tower is an amazing tourist site. The cafes are nice and well-designed. There are a lot of shops and a LOT of perfume stores. Overall, Paris is a fun place to visit.

crap !

It is amazing how obsessed many Americans have become with insulting anything French, even if that anything happens to be the number one tourist destination on the planet. Admittedly I haven't been to Paris so I can't rate it - but it seems to me that there must be a reason why Paris is so popular. Why, then is it, pray tell, that many Americans loathe this city? The truth is they don't - they loathe the French government and an unfortunately large number of Americans think that if you like or dislike a government you must like or dislike every single element of the country in question. Thus we have a situation where Americans seem to think that not supporting their president is unpatriotic and disliking their president is 'anti-American'. Or for that matter that liking something French is anti-American. Please, people, be reasonable and express your political beliefs in the politics section and not the travel section (and, yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy of that statement). The ratin... Read more

Q: Why are the streets of Paris lined with trees? A: So the Germans can march in the shade.

Are the Parisians nasty to all non-French-speaking visitors, or do they single out Americans for special nastiness?

The most beautifull city I've ever been to. Definetly the cultural capital of the world.

If a city is a collection of buildings, Paris is among the world's finest. However, if a city is evaluated on the basis of its inhabitants, Paris is a miserable failure (at least from the American perspective).

Paris, France, invaded by Nazi's... liberated by America, now in hatred of America. The French need to learn the definition of loyalty. Disagreeing with the war is one thing, but trying every way possible to prevent what the US thinks is right is outrageous. They just didn't disagree with us- they went completely against us. 55% of French citizens wanted Americans to lose the fight in Iraq. They also said that they would come help us if Saddam used weapons of mass destruction, weapons that would have the names of French companies all over them. Idiots.

Paris is a beautiful city of exceptional character, culture and cuisine that is badly marred by the overwhelming presence of French people.

Paris isn't unattractive and would be a perfectly nice place to visit if it weren't for the Parisians.

i guess my experience was overshadowed by being in the St. Michel metro station when a bomb went off in July of 1995. (Put there by an Algerian terrorist) I was only twenty, by myself, hung-over from all the free amaretto sours on the flight over and being harrassed by an ugly Parisian who couldn't take a hint. My baggage was missing at Orly and I just wanted to get to the Gare de Lyon to get to Vichy. It does help to know French in this city, that way you can respond to natives when they say something rude, thinking you don't understand. I did enjoy Notre Dame and Les Halles, though. I thought that area and the Latin Quarter were the most charming. I probably would have had a better experience if I hadn't been in that station that day. I thought one of the trains derailed or exploded. Scared me to death.

The rudeness of the people and the dog poo on the sidewalks overshadow the excellent food and the Louvre!

A dream come true!Paris is the most amzaing and wonderful I have been. I do speak french so I'll admit the French will treat you better when you speak their language. I would suggest staying in the Chamo-Elyees district. It is close to everything. The Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Palais and Pont Alexandre III. It is romantic, but it is also a place to just have fun. From the Moulin Rouge to Versailles the things to do are endless. And please please please visit Montmartre.Sacre Coueur is breathtaking! Montmartre os the highest point in Paris and you can see everything from here. It is a beatnik kind of place. Artists live in the area and you can buy some beautiful art vor pretty cheap. Visit Paris whenever you can!

The most beautiful city in the world with a style and history that reveals itself around every corner.

They're pretty liberal there- walking through the train station I passed a guy just rolling up a joint. Don't worry about the French, Americans. Most that I came in contact with are very nice. Notre Dame, the Garnier Opera House (spoooky) and the Louvre are great attractions. The Eiffel Tower wasn't as I had pictured it but nothing in Europe really was. Another favorite city.

I had the great fortune of touring Paris with someone who was basically fluent in French. As a result, I had a completely different experience of the city compared to what would have happened had I tried to go it alone. People were friendly and courteous, we got good deals on great food, and the city was as most people who dream about Paris believe it to be.

Numerous must-see tourist sites:Arc de Triomphe,the Champs Elysees,Eiffel Tower,Notre Dame,Montmartre,The Louvre,Versailles,the Pompidou Centre,the "bateaux mouches" boat-trips on the Seine(like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in "Charade"), and the beautiful Sacre Coeur.Perhaps not the cleanest of cities,but i didn't find it any dirtier than London and the Metro is superior to London's.The weather's also better.The "queues" for taxis i found chaotic compared to what i'm used to in Britain,took a while to realise it's every man and woman for him/her self,no quarter given.The people i found no more or less friendly than others,though it's probably an advantage to speak the language( the French tend to be less at ease with English than most European nationalities.)Sitting outside on the terrace cafes is pleasant.My wife was delighted with the shopping,agrees with me it's quite a romantic city.Beware the prices at the artists' quarter at Montmartre- i fell for this as a teenager and had to ... Read more

you can't describe the city in one paragraph. my own experience though not exhaustive, was enough to conclude one thing: a lot of the french are snobs and not afraid to show it. They seem to be ok with that flaw. Too bad such a beautiful city is populated by such collection of arrogant monkeys. (you can tell it was not such a sweet experience)

wow! what a vacation. we ache for Paris and would return in a heartbeat. I did not find the city dirty or the people rude. We found it totally charmant! the only thing we found was that hotels that supposedly include breakfast feed you like an inmate from alcatraz. loved it all though!

I know Paris gets a lot of knocks against it but I really love that city. I went there first when I was 16 oe so and toured all over for 5 or 6 days and there was so much to see. There was so much to do there also. I went back 6 or 7 years later and loved re-visiting some of the museums and sites in Paris. People are a little difficult, but I find that to be generally true wherever you trabel. I speak French to a degree, so that might have helped out a little bit. So many things to see - some must seees include Versailles, the Louvre, Pompidou Center and Quaetier Latin. There are also a lot of 1 hour excursions outside of the city that are worthwhile.

Paris has some of the worlds' finest museums, monuments and palaces. But, the city is shockingly dirty, noisy, polluted and dangerous. And the cliche about the rudeness of the citizens is real! Believe it.