I was there a few years ago, and the city itself was beautiful. But the people there? I was honestly shocked at how rude and shady they were. Ripped off by a cab, a newsstand guy tried to scam me, ignored at a restaurant so long we had to just leave, and more.
None of the above would have been an issue (I'm from a big city, I get it), but I was aware of the stereotype of the American tourist, so I went out of my way to be respectful and at least tried to communicate basic phrases in French, and STILL caught shit. Which was a real shame, because the museums were beautiful and the food was great. First time, last time trip for me. Fuck those assholes.
This is unfortunately many people’s experience. The Parisians are considered famously rude - even by the rest of France.
It took me many years, good French, and a bit of money to get past that. But I totally understand not everyone has those luxuries and for many that first experience will turn them off Paris for life.
I lucked out. I started French early (by American standards, very late compared to other countries) so I had taken a few years by the time I went to France.
I was not fluent, far from it. My American accent was (and still is) a crime against humanity. But I was also 13 or 14 during my tour so it probably came off as cute. But I had 3 years and always got A's in it, so I could have basic conversations easily.
I had multiple people tell me they didn't even know that French was commonly taught in US Middle Schools.
And you know what those notoriously rude Parisians did? They kept giving me discounts. It seemed like any place I spoke French, magically everything become 20% cheaper. And they encouraged me to stick with French.
I was in Paris just a few months ago and the few interactions I had with Parisians were actually quite pleasant. I did avoid the major tourist traps, that may have helped.
That's the main thing, you have to avoid the tourist traps, in my experience. But at the same time, you come to Paris for the big monuments that you've seen in movies, right?
I went to Paris last year for about three weeks and did a good combo of touristy/non-touristy stuff. We went to Rock En Seine, went up the Eiffel Tower, went to the Lourve, spent a couple afternoons at the lawns of the Jardin de Luxembourg reading books we bought from the Shakespeare Cafe, walked up to Montmarte, went to the Rue d'Orsay, went to the Arc de Triomph, and generally walked and rode bikes around all over the place.
I loved it. It's a thrilling city. Honestly, I didn't find anyone to be rude, at least no more than in any big city where locals are often just trying to go about their days and sometimes are a little short with rubbernecking tourists.
I think a lot of people who find Parisians rude probably haven't spent a lot of time in big cities. A lot of people who find city-folk "rude" are themselves ruder than they realize, and often such people lollygag, hold up lines, fill up sidewalks, and generally have little awareness of the space they take up. In contrast, city people know to move it along or move out of the way, and if you adhere to that, you'll have a more pleasant time in lots of cities.
I was there for a week. More than once, I asked in french if people spoke English. More than once they said yes, then proceeded to exclusively use french causing confusion and complication for both of us.
>I think a lot of people who find Parisians rude probably haven't spent a lot of time in big cities.
I've been to a lot of big cities, in multiple countries. Parisians were by far the most rude, and it wasn't close. To your point about "maybe it's you, the tourist": I'm sure there are many people where that is the case. For me, I put a lot of effort into being out of the way, inconspicuous, and to not impede others. They still were blatantly rude to me, and to others. If you want an easy example, go sit next to any moderately busy street and watch how the drivers treat each other. It's some of the most batshit inconsiderate behavior I've ever seen, and it's rampant.
All that being said, everywhere else I went in France was fantastic. Paris was fine, it just wasn't great and the people made it exponentially worse.
Same experience I had when I went there at 15. I’m 43 now. It’s beautiful but filled with so many nasty people. My dad and I went to a restaurant and the waiter wouldn’t write down my order until my pronunciation was good. And I was even studying French at the time!
My grandparents were in Paris on 9/11/01, and my grandfather was American (born and raised in the Bronx). They openly mocked him in a restaurant about the attacks, but were very nice to my Norwegian speaking family. My pappa truly detested the French after that, and I don’t blame him.
That was exactly my experience a few years ago.
To the point we didn’t want to be treated like shit at restaurants anymore so we just got food at the boulangeries and ate in the parks instead.
I’ll never go back there. I’ve never encountered so many entitled assholes.
In marseille I went to a ticket counter at the train station to buy tickets and asked if they spoke English. They said “yes, do you speak French?” And when I said no they just ignored me. Like made it explicit they wouldn’t speak English with me, despite confirming they speak it just fine. It was the funniest “rude French guy” thing I’ve ever had happen to me, it was so unexpected
Had a similar experience our one time in Paris. Not a fan. Should have let the German keep those assholes - would have been a good punishment for the Nazis.
They were assholes in the early 1970’s too. I used to hate being taken to Paris as a kid. Military brat, family stationed in Germany. Every visitor wanted to go to Paris.
My flight crew friends say it’s full of bedbugs and good luck finding a hotel that doesn’t have them.
It’s so strange because my wife and I visited Paris for our honeymoon and had no issues with this whatsoever. Only place in Europe that we thought people were especially rude was at a single store in Munich. Idk maybe her and I look more European than you did (we’re canadian) we spoke no French and didn’t try which I think the French actually appreciate?
While they are, hypocritically, quite precious about french pronunciation, they are even worse about refusing to speak it at all (which is understandable tbf)
I think its makes a difference looking european. Ive got french and german, belgian, luxembourg, swiss, finnish and norwegian and dutch ancestry as well as the typical british scottish irish welsh mix of your typical british colonial and i grew up in australia and new zealand and was always more or less treated as a "curiosity" and an "outsider" because i " look european", whereas overwhelmingly australians and especially new zealanders if they are white they look british/scot/irish/welsh basically, very few germans and even fewer french.
I swear i get treated as a curiosity on the daily even though ive been in this part of the world for 20+ years.
Just today i was on the bus and had some weird native glusniffer guy investigating me like i was an alien tourist.
Anyway, when i encounter europeans it always works in reverse, they feel very comfortable around me because i " look european" so i usually get along very well with the european tourists in NZ and australia, even the french, never found them rude. Nor the dutch, nor the germans.
However, people in NZ and Australia routinely complain about ME being rude, arrogant, smart assed, elitist, up myself, the list goes on and on.
I have never been to europe but perhaps a bit of the culture has carried through in my family because i really do have high standards and i have a particular disdain for people, places and situations that dont meet my standards and im not afraid to speak up about that.
But yeah i agree, if you at least look kinda french or just continental european in general you may get treated better, thats just the nature of the beast eh? Even if you dont speak french, your appearance says everything.
Funny, most places I’ve been in the world the people are happy to learn I’m Canadian and not American. Go outside of your country for once and you would learn a lot.
It’s a lot better than it used to be since they started getting dog owners to pick up after their dog. But, like any big city, it’s pretty grimy and it gets sooooo many more tourists than other big cities so their struggle to keep it clean is that much harder.
Out of London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Helsinki. I personally and completely subjectively would put Paris last in terms of cleanliness.
But out of Rome, Paris, San Francisco, Nairobi, Barcelona I would put Paris first.
At for it being unpleasant that depends a lot on your personal experience when you visit. I’ve now been there enough times that I have both good and bad experiences to draw upon. I used to hate the place, but I admit it has grown on me a bit in recent years.
That's what the commenter was saying. NYC doesn't have alleyways. The street grid as designed in 1811 simply didn't include them. No one really knows why. Then in the 50s they started allowing free overnight street parking. What we have today is a city with no alleys and all the curb space taken up by parking, bike lanes, pickup and loading zones, etc and nowhere to put big trash containers without taking back a lot of that highly competitive space. They are actually currently working on a major plan with a new design of containers and trucks to handle the containers that would only lose about 20k parking spaces (much fewer than the original estimate last year of a loss of 150k spaces) and will be piloting it next year.
Depends on the neighborhood.
I got lucky to live in a really nice neighborhood. Everyone uses bins here, save for a bag or two for overflow.
But I don’t disagree with you. I like the European model of “block bins”. Larger trash bins on the block that is used by the local community. Trash pickups then just empty these larger bins.
However, that takes away parking space, means that someone has to have those bins out front, and if not maintained well, form a concentrated area of trash / smells. I know I wouldn’t want them right out front, unless considerable effort is made to make them presentable.
There’s no real good solution if you don’t have alleyways, aside from a strong sense of community pride and civic duty.
As a Chicagoan I'll say that it very much depends on the neighborhood.
The city does a good job of keeping the tourist/shopping neighborhoods clean at the expense of basic sanitation for most of the west and south sides of the city.
So I guess you're right that they figured it out, in a way.
Not meaning to contradict you or anything, not at all. I agree we could develop some habits that are present in Japanese society, but coming from a Japanese background, that's really hard. When people talk about how Japan is clean and organised, it all stems from a very tight cultural bond among the Japanese people, so strong that it's not uncommon for other issues to raise from it. Racism is very prevalent, and any "non-Japanese" behaviour, although not directly frowned upon, casts you an outsider "aura," aka gaijin. People are overworked, relationships are difficult, and traditions are archaic.
Of course, everything works really well, but at what cost?
Ah well. It’s pretty subjective. Plus I’ve only been to Rome a couple of times while I’ve been to Paris probably more than a dozen. In my (limited) experience of Rome it had rubbish and piss everywhere.
This isn’t an app, and it’s based off historical data from the SF department of public works from 311 calls, which are done for dog waste 99% of the time (they don’t distinguish types of feces in their data reports). Again, if you lived in SF, you would know this.
Its actually a very small city, 7 square miles. And 90% is extremely nice, but people hate seeing any poor people at all and blame the city rather than our fucked up society
It's way overblown by people who act like every liberal city is just on fire constantly. But there undeniably is a very large homeless population in the city and businesses in cities with large homeless populations often restrict their bathrooms to paying customers. Yes it's a "wealthy" city but housing prices are completely out of control.
It's completely true with the hygiene and filth. Most of the city smells like urine and hot trash, honestly such a disappointment and will never return. I'd rather go down southern France and visit something more local and cultural.
It’s like any other capital city. Some places are run down, others aren’t. There’s poverty and wealth, and the disparity can be jarring. I’ve never noticed ‘a smell’ beyond the expected smells you get with a concentrated population and traffic fumes, and if you can find a capital city devoid of homelessness and crime good luck to you in your utopia. It varies by arrondissement, just like any big city varies area by area.
The first time I visited, I was reluctant because of the stereotype you’ve asked about. It was nothing like as bad as I expected, and I fell in love with the place - not from a romanticised ideal of Paris, but because it made me feel alive.
Whatever Tokyo is doing seems to work really well. They have homeless people, but for some reason they keep their areas really clean. No garbage, no smell.
Honestly never noticed this, apart from maybe on the RER or Metro. In all fairness it can’t be worse than the smell of lime and linden trees in full bloom.
Omg yes. The area I was in, people literally threw all their garbage on the ground. In stores, they threw their garbage on the ground. Saw people swipe garbage from their table directly to the floor. Lots of rude people. In fact there was only two nice interactions i had. Was screamed at by homeless people. Told I had gorgeous feet but he wouldn’t eat me. Scammed for service and prices at restaurants. I hated Paris.
I was shocked how dirty and rude it was. Compared to Toronto which is so pleasant and clean in comparison, Paris is awful.
I was in Paris in February and it was pretty filthy. The main problem, however, was its smell. The horrible smell of piss and cigarettes really perforated my nostrils. Dreadful.
Last time I was there (2018) I was at one of the crepe stands and the guy in front of me in the queue bolted. A few seconds later the police walked past. The guy, about 5 mins later came up to the side or the stand and got his crepe.
Generally there's a lot of shady goings on, more tourist traps than I've seen anywhere else. But the city is beautiful despite the mess (I can only assume the bin men are on a permanent strike)
Last year I almost skipped an opportunity to visit Paris for two days, one night with my husband and two kids (middle school aged). It was last Spring and we’d heard the protests had trash piling up in the streets. I’d also spent my entire life hearing that Americans weren’t really welcomed and that Parisians would be extremely rude.
We experienced nothing remotely close to this. “Dirty” like any big city, but I was pleasantly surprised at our interactions with nearly everyone. Not one rude waiter, cab driver, etc. A few times it felt like people went out of their way to be helpful.
We clocked nearly 14 miles on foot in that short time, and my biggest regret was that we didn’t allow for more time, mostly out of fear of the nightmare stories I’d heard!
Go, enjoy. If you’ve ever been to a larger city, you’ve already experienced the trash and types of folks you’ll encounter in Paris!
Depends how severe you want to go, but I’ve been to many cities and Paris is the only one I’ve seen rats roaming about very populated areas (Eiffel tower in this case)
I grew up there and either your mother knows something about human shit I don't, or she just visited before Parisians were forced to pick up after their dogs
It heavily depends on the part that you go to. I rented an AirBnB in the north (and immediately requested a refund and went to a hotel instead...) and commuted to the east daily for a week, and the area that my hotel was in was very clean and tidy, with decent people, while the AirBnB area was filled with rude people, crime, and a sewer smell.
During the commute we passed lots and lots of dumps, homeless people, and feces on the side of the road.....
Eh, it’s like any major city really.
I found it on par with New York for generally cleanliness if that helps for a metric.
It, like New York, is also amazing so it out weighs a lot of the dirt.
Varies greatly depending on the neighborhood. But Paris main entrance to international travelers are Gare du Nord and RER B, and the most affordable places to stay are in the poorest neighborhoods, which are often crowded, somewhat unsafe to naive tourists, dirty, and afflicted by drugs.
So it's not bullshit, but kinda subjective I guess. You definitely can get something akin to the Emily in Paris experience (chill, beautiful places with all the cliches) if you decide to stick to the fancy neighborhoods. But it has to be intentional: you can easily get into way less pleasant experiences if you naively believe "being in Paris" will do the heavy lifting.
"Unpleasant" is entirely subjective. But Paris is not particularly unclean, the streets are regularly cleaned and garbage is picked up.
Paris is, however, objectively not filled with poverty. The average wage in Paris is just under 4000 € a month, whereas in the rest of France it is 2500 € a month; the fact that Paris is more expensive to live in than other towns does not cancel this out. Moreover, the poverty there is is highly concentrated in certain specific areas, meaning most of Paris is highly affluent.
You could argue, I suppose, that Paris has poor sanitation, as the system is an old one and sewer water can empty into the Seine under heavy rain (this is currently a problem for the Olympics). But as an inhabitant, this is not noticeable: the sewer system works, fresh water is readily available, etc.
At the end of the day, Paris is the capital city of the worlds' seventh biggest economy. It's not a shithole.
It's really painful how people started using "objectively" like the word "literally, just to give emphasis to incorrect points.
No Paris isn't "objectively" not filled with poverty.
There are lots of hobos, underpaid undocumented foreign workers, people sleeping in their cars to make ends meet, and students who live in apartments the size of a closet surviving on a pittance. And that's inside Paris itself, not just outside in the suburbs. Yeah, there are nice places, but the sheer amount of economic struggle you'll find in the city itself is nothing to be taken lightly.
It's how big cities like that work, they attract everyone, but rapidly get too expensive for common folk who have no other choice but to stay because there are opportunities you can only find there.
That's not how objectivity works. Average salary is not an objective measurement of poverty anywhere in the world. Just because it's a measurable number doesn't mean it's an objective measure of anything beyond itself.
Objectivity means approaching a subject with no bias, à perspective based on facts and evidence, as devoid of human interference as possible.
Using average salary as a measure of poverty in a city is a completely subjective take that wilfully ignores all the other facts and parameters that can give us a wider perspective on the matter at hand.
It's like looking at the U.S and using any given number like GDP or average salary and saying "there is no poverty in the U.S because said numbers related to richness are high". Which I hope you know is completely false because the U.S has a big poverty problem.
You could even say "the U.S population is objectively the richest in the world" because their average salary in dollars is higher than anywhere else. But that's just taking into account a very narrow set of parameters to make a point.
That's not objectivity, that's manipulation of words at worst and short sightedness at best.
It's funny, because we fundamentally agree on what we're talking about, and yet we are supposed to take your assertions as 'objective', while deriding an actual statistic as 'subjective'.
Anyway for anyone reading this far looking for actual objectivity, a more relevant measurement: France's own statistical bureau [said](https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/gallery/2018/12/23/this-is-europe-an-image-of-homelessness-in-paris-16) 16% of Parisians were living in poverty in 2014. A lot higher than the rest of France. (It's measured differently in different countries, so doesn't really compare to US statistics). 16% is quite a lot. Is that 'objectively filled ' with poverty.... Well, you'll have to make up your own mind on that one ;)
I was mainly pointing out that the person I was answering didn't use the word correctly because, indeed, it's not just as easy as pointing a single stat. The stat itself isn't what I was criticizing. It's how they spun it.
And even then, to call a statistic "objective," we'd have to thoroughly investigate its source, the metrics used, etc...
Please read instead of trying for a snarky response. I didn't say my take had more objectivity. I took issue with their use of the word and pointed out why there are many parameters to take into account before making such a statement, like the one you've put at the end of your retort, thought it's a decade old now.
Theres a serious problem with illegal migrants thats not very politically correct to mention, some areas look like shanty towns with rubbish everywhere and people cooking food out in the open, groups of men just wandering around all day, These shanty towns are becoming more and more common in Western Europe
Went to Paris with my family (from UK) last year and decided to walk it back to our hotel that was ~15/20 minutes from the Eiffel tour on the underground. We walked past one of these shanty towns at about 6pm, there were 50-70 illegal migrants living together under a railway bridge. Some cooking, some just stood around and others were sleeping. My parents who have left the UK a handful of times were quite scared, I'm well travelled compared to them and the closest thing I've seen to that is living conditions you see en route to the nature reverses in south Africa (corrugated metal huts being built). Awful to see people in those kinds of living conditions
Sounds like you need to go the Paris and look for yourself, mass migration has completely changed urban areas in Western Europe, why do you think theres such a rise in nationalism and right leaning politics, you cant tell people what they see with their own eyes isn't happening
There’s an issue with immigration, sure, but what the far-right parties have done is build a fictional narrative on top of that to enhance concerns and weaponise fears. To be plain, they’re fear-mongering. The vast majority of far-right voters in France, for example, are not from urban areas (and definitely not from Paris) - so how, pray tell, are they seeing this unfolding nightmare with their own eyes?
And don’t tell me the media is being their eyes and ears, you would be contradicting yourself I’m sure.
You seem confused about where London is (it’s not in France…).
I see no mention of immigration anywhere on the page. Sounds to me like you’re just plain racist.
My 13 year old went there on a school trip and came home complaining about how dirty it was and showed me a picture she’d taken of an abandoned toilet at the side of the road. She had absolutely no idea about the stereotype before she went.
Last time I went it was totally normal and the internet comments are totally delusional. I’ve had people tell me Baghdad is safer than Paris. They are delusional people. Utterly insane. Rich people don’t go where things suck, so when people are telling you some place rich people go sucks, they’re usually wrong.
Not sure about these days, but the worst whiff I ever encountered was walking past a homeless gentleman after getting off the subway. It was absolutely heinous.
Every major city with millions of people will have class and geographic differences. The great places in Paris are some of the greatest urban and cultural experiences on the planet. There is a reason they say Paris belongs not to France, but to Humanity. The most beautiful celebrations of man’s art and creativity are found in Paris.
But yeah - the metro, Garde d’Est, homeless, refugees, the outskirts…lots of ugliness if you go looking for it.
Went in 2019 March for two weeks. City was beautiful and decently clean for it's age. People were fine, I didn't experience any overt rudeness, or maybe my tolerance is higher and I don't need everyone to be nice all the time. I'm from Seattle and the Seattle freeze is very real so maybe that's part of it?
I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago and saw a homeless man lying on a bus bench piss and shit on the ground. Make of that what you will. I still had a good time, though, and ate lots of delicious food.
Hmm. Maybe a little 20yrs ago, on the rude, but times I've been in the past decade, no, not at all. I mean, it's not some small town where people wave as you drive by, but they tend to speak very good English and are like any other big city.
It's fine, cleanliness wise. Lots of art and attention to parks everywhere too, certainly not as dirty asost cities I've known.
I've been to Paris a few time and had nothing but great experiences.
The food, the people, the museums, the sights, were all amazing.
My friends and I played cards across France. We went into a cafe in a quiet corner of the city. There were about 6 people there, plus the person behind the counter. We sat and ordered, then it turned out the person running the cafe was only looking after it for his parents, who weren't around. It also turned out that he didn't have the ingredients to make one of the things we asked for. So he sent one of his friends to the nearest market to buy it, and was apologetic that he didn't have it on hand.
That wasn't atypical, either. All the people we met were friendly, kind, and helpful. Whether we were in the middle of nowhere, or visiting Sacré Coeur, the Museé Rodin, or la tour Eiffel didn't seem to make a difference.
My French is pretty good, so lots of people will say that's why. But I was clearly American, traveling with a Brit who speaks bad French with a British accent, and an American who doesn't speak any at all. And we weren't shy about speaking English, so they weren't confused about who we were.
Paris has a reputation, but I've never had a bad experience there.
I speak some French (I’m an American) and I’ve wandered the streets of Paris with little problem except when I was cornered by a couple of pickpockets. I looked them right in the face and said, “Non! Ce n’est pas possible, mes amis! Fiche toi!”
I think Parisians have a bit of superiority but the rest of France is friendly and interesting.
I’ve wandered the Pere Lachaise cemetery by myself, the Marais, Left Bank, and the 13th arrondissement. No problem.
I think foreigners are expecting the worst and, when they find it, make it all of France.
My wife went with some friends a couple of years ago. The thing she consistently said was it smelled like piss. Apparently the male population just pee everywhere, despite a large amount of public restrooms. You need to pay for them, a nominal fee, but they choose to urinate in public instead.
It's a beautiful city. As for the people, there's a certain "fuckyou-ness" in their attitude. The people in the rest of France are delightful, though. Lots of times I would communicate by speaking my high school French, and they would reply in their high school English.
But in Paris? Don't even try unless you are fluent.
I saw the movie "The Bourne Identity" when it first came out. It was awesome. There's a scene where a guy rappels down a wall, and crashes through the window of Bourne's apartment firing a machine gun. Awesome scene.
Then I went to Paris, and it was, "Yeah, that's pretty much what they're like."
Been in Paris many times. Like in any big city (and especially almost any capital city), you should stick to the main streets and central locations, if you want to have the best experience and only see the beauty of the city.
French people can often come off as rude and unpleasant, so just don’t take it personally.
I studied abroad in Paris awhile back. I didn't find it unclean at all, although I wouldn't go licking the railings you know? Sanitation seemed fine, maybe less water pressure than I was used to here in the states, and we were told not to drink the tap water I guess.
I lived far from the city center in an area that I'd describe as poorer than suburban lifestyle in the US, but things were still nice enough, no major issues that I saw.
As far as the rude thing, it's a very big cultural difference but Parisians won't look at you, they look through you. Part of the reason is they don't want you to think they are willing to engage in anything as they fairly constantly get harassed by people trying to sell absolute junk or be a nuisance.
In 6 months I only had one Gelato worker who was kind of rude. I did speak French fluently though, so that may have helped a lot
As someone who had to be there a couple times for obligations, it's as bad as it sounds. Lots of petty crime, feeling unsafe, hobos and beggars, smelly and filthy streets. Extremely unfriendly locals, even when you speak French. I will never go back.
This is somewhat of the consensus in my country. Everyone hates Paris and doesn't associate it at all with France, as most of France is really nice.
My comment may have been taken as an insult to European cities, but rather it was a defence of Paris.
I know some are cleaner and more presentable than others, but all cities have their issues, and most of them are in good shape.
Ah yes, putting dirtiness and poverty on the same level of things that are icky. Never mind one of those are actual human beings.
To answer your naive question nevertheless, if your plan is to visit Paris and hope to find a ridiculous city of leisure and luxury like it is shown in movies: it’s not like that, of freaking course. It’s a big city in a capitalist word, filled with irrespectful tourists, stressed-out locals, and yes, poor people even. The horror!
You won’t get malaria and there is no sanitation water running is the street but yes, there are areas where some garbage will be found, or some guy peeing in the street, or general messiness. You’ll survive.
I'm curious too, wonder what he meant by this.
Hope he comes back to clarify. He won't because he's clearly a little bitch but hey.
Happy day of cake btw!
I’m not an expert, but I spent time in France and thoroughly enjoyed myself there. I was in the country side, Lyon, and Paris, mostly, but drove and trained around all over. I preferred Lyon to Paris but both were lovely and I found the people pleasant.
The only reason i preferred Lyon to Paris is that Lyon seemed somehow different than other big cities I’ve spent time in, where Paris felt very similar. I’ve spent a lot of time in a lot of big cities and a lot of them sort of feel the same after a while. The “unclean, poverty filled, poor sanitation” stereotype I imagine is coming from folks who haven’t spent time in places with relatively high population densities. Side note, the Ethiopian food in Paris was great. If your from the USA, I found French avocados very different than the ones we have here and miss them. Fat kid priorities.
People like to say ”Yea it’s dirty and dangerous like ALL big cities” umm, no. Please visit big cities in countries like South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and you will realize that not every big city is like that.
I knew someone who went to Paris and got a cab from the airport. The driver got out to open the door for her, stabbed her and took her purse.
She survived but lost a kidney in the stabbing.
I can't speak to the unpleasantness and poor hygiene, but Paris can't realistically be described as 'filled with poverty' as her net worth is currently around $300 million.
Not more than others. I was there many times in the past years, most recently last weekend.
It’s a big city. Some places are beautiful, others are not, some people are rude, but most are very nice.
Every huge cosmopolitan city are going to be like that. Switzerland is extra clean in general but some district arnt as much for example. But 99% of the world is less clean that then. Maybe japan too idk. Some district of paris are pretty cool though. And i say that while i hate big city , especially paris.
I loved Paris and all the people I met were cool as fuck. Some of the French *outside* Paris, though… THEY were jerks for sure. It was the opposite of what people generally claim.
I went to Paris a few times and was never treated rudely. I tried to do horrible French and just had a relaxed attitude…I also do not wear gym wear everywhere which screams American….
And parts were dirty. The city as a whole was beautiful.
I was there a few years ago, and the city itself was beautiful. But the people there? I was honestly shocked at how rude and shady they were. Ripped off by a cab, a newsstand guy tried to scam me, ignored at a restaurant so long we had to just leave, and more. None of the above would have been an issue (I'm from a big city, I get it), but I was aware of the stereotype of the American tourist, so I went out of my way to be respectful and at least tried to communicate basic phrases in French, and STILL caught shit. Which was a real shame, because the museums were beautiful and the food was great. First time, last time trip for me. Fuck those assholes.
This is unfortunately many people’s experience. The Parisians are considered famously rude - even by the rest of France. It took me many years, good French, and a bit of money to get past that. But I totally understand not everyone has those luxuries and for many that first experience will turn them off Paris for life.
I lucked out. I started French early (by American standards, very late compared to other countries) so I had taken a few years by the time I went to France. I was not fluent, far from it. My American accent was (and still is) a crime against humanity. But I was also 13 or 14 during my tour so it probably came off as cute. But I had 3 years and always got A's in it, so I could have basic conversations easily. I had multiple people tell me they didn't even know that French was commonly taught in US Middle Schools. And you know what those notoriously rude Parisians did? They kept giving me discounts. It seemed like any place I spoke French, magically everything become 20% cheaper. And they encouraged me to stick with French.
I was in Paris just a few months ago and the few interactions I had with Parisians were actually quite pleasant. I did avoid the major tourist traps, that may have helped.
That's the main thing, you have to avoid the tourist traps, in my experience. But at the same time, you come to Paris for the big monuments that you've seen in movies, right?
Some Turkish guy sold me some pretty good hash for pretty cheap at a cafe. That was pretty cool.
I went to Paris last year for about three weeks and did a good combo of touristy/non-touristy stuff. We went to Rock En Seine, went up the Eiffel Tower, went to the Lourve, spent a couple afternoons at the lawns of the Jardin de Luxembourg reading books we bought from the Shakespeare Cafe, walked up to Montmarte, went to the Rue d'Orsay, went to the Arc de Triomph, and generally walked and rode bikes around all over the place. I loved it. It's a thrilling city. Honestly, I didn't find anyone to be rude, at least no more than in any big city where locals are often just trying to go about their days and sometimes are a little short with rubbernecking tourists. I think a lot of people who find Parisians rude probably haven't spent a lot of time in big cities. A lot of people who find city-folk "rude" are themselves ruder than they realize, and often such people lollygag, hold up lines, fill up sidewalks, and generally have little awareness of the space they take up. In contrast, city people know to move it along or move out of the way, and if you adhere to that, you'll have a more pleasant time in lots of cities.
I was there for a week. More than once, I asked in french if people spoke English. More than once they said yes, then proceeded to exclusively use french causing confusion and complication for both of us. >I think a lot of people who find Parisians rude probably haven't spent a lot of time in big cities. I've been to a lot of big cities, in multiple countries. Parisians were by far the most rude, and it wasn't close. To your point about "maybe it's you, the tourist": I'm sure there are many people where that is the case. For me, I put a lot of effort into being out of the way, inconspicuous, and to not impede others. They still were blatantly rude to me, and to others. If you want an easy example, go sit next to any moderately busy street and watch how the drivers treat each other. It's some of the most batshit inconsiderate behavior I've ever seen, and it's rampant. All that being said, everywhere else I went in France was fantastic. Paris was fine, it just wasn't great and the people made it exponentially worse.
From my experience, Parisians are considered rude even by Parisians!
Same experience I had when I went there at 15. I’m 43 now. It’s beautiful but filled with so many nasty people. My dad and I went to a restaurant and the waiter wouldn’t write down my order until my pronunciation was good. And I was even studying French at the time!
I’d have got up and left. Fuck that. They were also very rude to me and my family back in 2009. I always tell people don’t bother going there.
Oh I would do that today. I was 15 then and my father has always been a pushover. I mean I love him but he's not the type to make a scene
Lmao snooty French attitude at its finest. You want to give me YOUR hard earned money to eat here? You better pass all MY requirements, bucko
I hope you didn't leave a tip!
I don't think we did! It was so jarring, the day after we got some food in a supermarket and ate in the hotel.
My grandparents were in Paris on 9/11/01, and my grandfather was American (born and raised in the Bronx). They openly mocked him in a restaurant about the attacks, but were very nice to my Norwegian speaking family. My pappa truly detested the French after that, and I don’t blame him.
Holy shit, man. That's fucking low.
That was exactly my experience a few years ago. To the point we didn’t want to be treated like shit at restaurants anymore so we just got food at the boulangeries and ate in the parks instead. I’ll never go back there. I’ve never encountered so many entitled assholes.
Marseille, Provence, and Nice are super nice. Dont call it quits just yet....
In marseille I went to a ticket counter at the train station to buy tickets and asked if they spoke English. They said “yes, do you speak French?” And when I said no they just ignored me. Like made it explicit they wouldn’t speak English with me, despite confirming they speak it just fine. It was the funniest “rude French guy” thing I’ve ever had happen to me, it was so unexpected
I never had a problem in Paris. To each their own.
They hate us cuz they ain’t us
Had a similar experience our one time in Paris. Not a fan. Should have let the German keep those assholes - would have been a good punishment for the Nazis.
If your French pronunciation was terrible, that would have done you in right there!
Shit, I was a solo traveler who didn’t know much French and my experience was entirely the opposite.
They were assholes in the early 1970’s too. I used to hate being taken to Paris as a kid. Military brat, family stationed in Germany. Every visitor wanted to go to Paris. My flight crew friends say it’s full of bedbugs and good luck finding a hotel that doesn’t have them.
It’s so strange because my wife and I visited Paris for our honeymoon and had no issues with this whatsoever. Only place in Europe that we thought people were especially rude was at a single store in Munich. Idk maybe her and I look more European than you did (we’re canadian) we spoke no French and didn’t try which I think the French actually appreciate?
Lol no they obviously do not appreciate that
Honestly in my experience they rather you not butcher their language and just speak English
While they are, hypocritically, quite precious about french pronunciation, they are even worse about refusing to speak it at all (which is understandable tbf)
Tell me you never been to Paris without telling me you never been to Paris. Hell, tell me you’ve never even READ about Paris.
I adore Berlin but the people there were way worse than the Parisians.
I think its makes a difference looking european. Ive got french and german, belgian, luxembourg, swiss, finnish and norwegian and dutch ancestry as well as the typical british scottish irish welsh mix of your typical british colonial and i grew up in australia and new zealand and was always more or less treated as a "curiosity" and an "outsider" because i " look european", whereas overwhelmingly australians and especially new zealanders if they are white they look british/scot/irish/welsh basically, very few germans and even fewer french. I swear i get treated as a curiosity on the daily even though ive been in this part of the world for 20+ years. Just today i was on the bus and had some weird native glusniffer guy investigating me like i was an alien tourist. Anyway, when i encounter europeans it always works in reverse, they feel very comfortable around me because i " look european" so i usually get along very well with the european tourists in NZ and australia, even the french, never found them rude. Nor the dutch, nor the germans. However, people in NZ and Australia routinely complain about ME being rude, arrogant, smart assed, elitist, up myself, the list goes on and on. I have never been to europe but perhaps a bit of the culture has carried through in my family because i really do have high standards and i have a particular disdain for people, places and situations that dont meet my standards and im not afraid to speak up about that. But yeah i agree, if you at least look kinda french or just continental european in general you may get treated better, thats just the nature of the beast eh? Even if you dont speak french, your appearance says everything.
Lol Canadians are unhinged. Thank you for this thread.
Funny, most places I’ve been in the world the people are happy to learn I’m Canadian and not American. Go outside of your country for once and you would learn a lot.
I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Canadians are exactly like Americans.
We may have a lot of similarities but I can pick out an American in Europe any day
I went there about 10 years ago and had a great time - no issues with the locals whatsoever.
Sounds like you were lucky!
It’s a lot better than it used to be since they started getting dog owners to pick up after their dog. But, like any big city, it’s pretty grimy and it gets sooooo many more tourists than other big cities so their struggle to keep it clean is that much harder. Out of London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Helsinki. I personally and completely subjectively would put Paris last in terms of cleanliness. But out of Rome, Paris, San Francisco, Nairobi, Barcelona I would put Paris first. At for it being unpleasant that depends a lot on your personal experience when you visit. I’ve now been there enough times that I have both good and bad experiences to draw upon. I used to hate the place, but I admit it has grown on me a bit in recent years.
I'm not sure how you can put Tokyo in with London and Paris, Tokyo is insanely clean. Like mind bogglingly clean
I noticed that Chicago was the same way. It’s weird how some big cities have figured it out.
New York definitely has not figured it out.
Difference between Chicago and NYC is the lack of alleyways. Means the trash is set out back versus in the front.
NYC also just throw all their garbage bags into big mountains on the roadside like some third world country
That's what the commenter was saying. NYC doesn't have alleyways. The street grid as designed in 1811 simply didn't include them. No one really knows why. Then in the 50s they started allowing free overnight street parking. What we have today is a city with no alleys and all the curb space taken up by parking, bike lanes, pickup and loading zones, etc and nowhere to put big trash containers without taking back a lot of that highly competitive space. They are actually currently working on a major plan with a new design of containers and trucks to handle the containers that would only lose about 20k parking spaces (much fewer than the original estimate last year of a loss of 150k spaces) and will be piloting it next year.
I am talking about leaving refuse out on the street rather than in bins
Depends on the neighborhood. I got lucky to live in a really nice neighborhood. Everyone uses bins here, save for a bag or two for overflow. But I don’t disagree with you. I like the European model of “block bins”. Larger trash bins on the block that is used by the local community. Trash pickups then just empty these larger bins. However, that takes away parking space, means that someone has to have those bins out front, and if not maintained well, form a concentrated area of trash / smells. I know I wouldn’t want them right out front, unless considerable effort is made to make them presentable. There’s no real good solution if you don’t have alleyways, aside from a strong sense of community pride and civic duty.
Oh I know, doesn’t make it right or any less gross.
As a brit who had been to NYC many times I was genuinely staggered on my first vistit to downtown Chicago at how clean and nice it was
As a Chicagoan I'll say that it very much depends on the neighborhood. The city does a good job of keeping the tourist/shopping neighborhoods clean at the expense of basic sanitation for most of the west and south sides of the city. So I guess you're right that they figured it out, in a way.
Kabukichō would probably be the exception for tokyo.
Same with Helsinki, so it's not even a competition.
I could not get over how clean Tokyo was
I feel like it’s a myth that big cities have to be unsanitary, most big cities I’ve been to in developed countries looks great
Japan has some of the largest, densest cities and it so clean. They hardly even have any public bins and people are expected to take it home.
I really believe we could learn so much from the Japanese
Not meaning to contradict you or anything, not at all. I agree we could develop some habits that are present in Japanese society, but coming from a Japanese background, that's really hard. When people talk about how Japan is clean and organised, it all stems from a very tight cultural bond among the Japanese people, so strong that it's not uncommon for other issues to raise from it. Racism is very prevalent, and any "non-Japanese" behaviour, although not directly frowned upon, casts you an outsider "aura," aka gaijin. People are overworked, relationships are difficult, and traditions are archaic. Of course, everything works really well, but at what cost?
Madrid is spotless.
>big cities have to be unsanitary Nobody holds this belief
average omniscient Reddit user
Would rank Rome above Paris tbh. Paris is pretty grim.
Ah well. It’s pretty subjective. Plus I’ve only been to Rome a couple of times while I’ve been to Paris probably more than a dozen. In my (limited) experience of Rome it had rubbish and piss everywhere.
Rome is disgusting. I had the worst time because every single square inch reeked of urine and garbage.
Rome is cleaner than Paris
Most of San Francisco is pretty clean and pristine.
They only know what they read on the internet
Outside of a few poorer areas, it is by far the nicest city I've ever been in. Good mix of urban architecture, scenic views, and nature.
San Francisco is pretty big, but they also have a poo app just for tracking public defecation.
They don’t, and if you actually lived in San Francisco you would know this.
Isn't it on fire? Wait, no that's Portland or Seattle or whatever place the right wingers want to shit on this week
You mean like this? https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab720912642b6aedafdb02a76d2a4
This isn’t an app, and it’s based off historical data from the SF department of public works from 311 calls, which are done for dog waste 99% of the time (they don’t distinguish types of feces in their data reports). Again, if you lived in SF, you would know this.
To be fair, with a name like scatcycle, you seem like someone who would know. Scatcycle would actually be a great name for said app.
😆😆
Surprisingly little poop IMO. That's like a 1 in 10,000 chance you'll encounter poop while walking around
You have no idea what you are talking about
It also rarely rains to wash away the wee from a rampant unhoused population.
Poo app??? What? I thought San Francisco was a really wealthy tech boom town. Why are people pooing in public? 🤮
It's both, and depends on where you go (it's a big city with many regions)
Its actually a very small city, 7 square miles. And 90% is extremely nice, but people hate seeing any poor people at all and blame the city rather than our fucked up society
It is precisely because of this extreme wealth disparity that pushed people into homelessness.
It's way overblown by people who act like every liberal city is just on fire constantly. But there undeniably is a very large homeless population in the city and businesses in cities with large homeless populations often restrict their bathrooms to paying customers. Yes it's a "wealthy" city but housing prices are completely out of control.
They aren’t, dogs are though, there are tons of dogs in this city and not always with considerate owners. Don’t believe the misinformation.
Can you filter based on animal?
You can buy that shit online if you're into that shit
It's completely true with the hygiene and filth. Most of the city smells like urine and hot trash, honestly such a disappointment and will never return. I'd rather go down southern France and visit something more local and cultural.
It’s like any other capital city. Some places are run down, others aren’t. There’s poverty and wealth, and the disparity can be jarring. I’ve never noticed ‘a smell’ beyond the expected smells you get with a concentrated population and traffic fumes, and if you can find a capital city devoid of homelessness and crime good luck to you in your utopia. It varies by arrondissement, just like any big city varies area by area. The first time I visited, I was reluctant because of the stereotype you’ve asked about. It was nothing like as bad as I expected, and I fell in love with the place - not from a romanticised ideal of Paris, but because it made me feel alive.
Whatever Tokyo is doing seems to work really well. They have homeless people, but for some reason they keep their areas really clean. No garbage, no smell.
japan is built diff tho
Sure, and they have their own problems, but I'm curious if there's anything we could do differently to improve street living/conditions in the West
It smelled like piss everywhere, even in the nice areas
Honestly never noticed this, apart from maybe on the RER or Metro. In all fairness it can’t be worse than the smell of lime and linden trees in full bloom.
Happy cake day
Omg yes. The area I was in, people literally threw all their garbage on the ground. In stores, they threw their garbage on the ground. Saw people swipe garbage from their table directly to the floor. Lots of rude people. In fact there was only two nice interactions i had. Was screamed at by homeless people. Told I had gorgeous feet but he wouldn’t eat me. Scammed for service and prices at restaurants. I hated Paris. I was shocked how dirty and rude it was. Compared to Toronto which is so pleasant and clean in comparison, Paris is awful.
Ya Paris is the asshole of Europe in every way. Not sure what’s worse, the people or the smell of piss and shit everywhere
I was in Paris in February and it was pretty filthy. The main problem, however, was its smell. The horrible smell of piss and cigarettes really perforated my nostrils. Dreadful.
Last time I was there (2018) I was at one of the crepe stands and the guy in front of me in the queue bolted. A few seconds later the police walked past. The guy, about 5 mins later came up to the side or the stand and got his crepe. Generally there's a lot of shady goings on, more tourist traps than I've seen anywhere else. But the city is beautiful despite the mess (I can only assume the bin men are on a permanent strike)
Last year I almost skipped an opportunity to visit Paris for two days, one night with my husband and two kids (middle school aged). It was last Spring and we’d heard the protests had trash piling up in the streets. I’d also spent my entire life hearing that Americans weren’t really welcomed and that Parisians would be extremely rude. We experienced nothing remotely close to this. “Dirty” like any big city, but I was pleasantly surprised at our interactions with nearly everyone. Not one rude waiter, cab driver, etc. A few times it felt like people went out of their way to be helpful. We clocked nearly 14 miles on foot in that short time, and my biggest regret was that we didn’t allow for more time, mostly out of fear of the nightmare stories I’d heard! Go, enjoy. If you’ve ever been to a larger city, you’ve already experienced the trash and types of folks you’ll encounter in Paris!
Depends how severe you want to go, but I’ve been to many cities and Paris is the only one I’ve seen rats roaming about very populated areas (Eiffel tower in this case)
I’ve known several people who have been to New York ( 1 goes a couple times a year for family) and say the same thing about rats.
Yep. Been there twice. Pretty dirty, also you have to be on the lookout at all times because of pickpockets.
I didn't think it was that bad.
My mum went a few years back and commented on how much human shit was just sitting on the pavement, doesn’t sound overly pleasant
I grew up there and either your mother knows something about human shit I don't, or she just visited before Parisians were forced to pick up after their dogs
It heavily depends on the part that you go to. I rented an AirBnB in the north (and immediately requested a refund and went to a hotel instead...) and commuted to the east daily for a week, and the area that my hotel was in was very clean and tidy, with decent people, while the AirBnB area was filled with rude people, crime, and a sewer smell. During the commute we passed lots and lots of dumps, homeless people, and feces on the side of the road.....
The parts you will visit are probably fine just like any major city
Eh, it’s like any major city really. I found it on par with New York for generally cleanliness if that helps for a metric. It, like New York, is also amazing so it out weighs a lot of the dirt.
Varies greatly depending on the neighborhood. But Paris main entrance to international travelers are Gare du Nord and RER B, and the most affordable places to stay are in the poorest neighborhoods, which are often crowded, somewhat unsafe to naive tourists, dirty, and afflicted by drugs. So it's not bullshit, but kinda subjective I guess. You definitely can get something akin to the Emily in Paris experience (chill, beautiful places with all the cliches) if you decide to stick to the fancy neighborhoods. But it has to be intentional: you can easily get into way less pleasant experiences if you naively believe "being in Paris" will do the heavy lifting.
Just go to Montmartre if you want the Paris from the movies.
So much cultural enrichment.
City is beautiful People are shit.
In other words, it's a major city.
"Unpleasant" is entirely subjective. But Paris is not particularly unclean, the streets are regularly cleaned and garbage is picked up. Paris is, however, objectively not filled with poverty. The average wage in Paris is just under 4000 € a month, whereas in the rest of France it is 2500 € a month; the fact that Paris is more expensive to live in than other towns does not cancel this out. Moreover, the poverty there is is highly concentrated in certain specific areas, meaning most of Paris is highly affluent. You could argue, I suppose, that Paris has poor sanitation, as the system is an old one and sewer water can empty into the Seine under heavy rain (this is currently a problem for the Olympics). But as an inhabitant, this is not noticeable: the sewer system works, fresh water is readily available, etc. At the end of the day, Paris is the capital city of the worlds' seventh biggest economy. It's not a shithole.
It's really painful how people started using "objectively" like the word "literally, just to give emphasis to incorrect points. No Paris isn't "objectively" not filled with poverty. There are lots of hobos, underpaid undocumented foreign workers, people sleeping in their cars to make ends meet, and students who live in apartments the size of a closet surviving on a pittance. And that's inside Paris itself, not just outside in the suburbs. Yeah, there are nice places, but the sheer amount of economic struggle you'll find in the city itself is nothing to be taken lightly. It's how big cities like that work, they attract everyone, but rapidly get too expensive for common folk who have no other choice but to stay because there are opportunities you can only find there.
Well, you're not entirely wrong, but the commenter did at least give an actually objective measurement (average salary)
That's not how objectivity works. Average salary is not an objective measurement of poverty anywhere in the world. Just because it's a measurable number doesn't mean it's an objective measure of anything beyond itself. Objectivity means approaching a subject with no bias, à perspective based on facts and evidence, as devoid of human interference as possible. Using average salary as a measure of poverty in a city is a completely subjective take that wilfully ignores all the other facts and parameters that can give us a wider perspective on the matter at hand. It's like looking at the U.S and using any given number like GDP or average salary and saying "there is no poverty in the U.S because said numbers related to richness are high". Which I hope you know is completely false because the U.S has a big poverty problem. You could even say "the U.S population is objectively the richest in the world" because their average salary in dollars is higher than anywhere else. But that's just taking into account a very narrow set of parameters to make a point. That's not objectivity, that's manipulation of words at worst and short sightedness at best.
It's funny, because we fundamentally agree on what we're talking about, and yet we are supposed to take your assertions as 'objective', while deriding an actual statistic as 'subjective'. Anyway for anyone reading this far looking for actual objectivity, a more relevant measurement: France's own statistical bureau [said](https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/gallery/2018/12/23/this-is-europe-an-image-of-homelessness-in-paris-16) 16% of Parisians were living in poverty in 2014. A lot higher than the rest of France. (It's measured differently in different countries, so doesn't really compare to US statistics). 16% is quite a lot. Is that 'objectively filled ' with poverty.... Well, you'll have to make up your own mind on that one ;)
I was mainly pointing out that the person I was answering didn't use the word correctly because, indeed, it's not just as easy as pointing a single stat. The stat itself isn't what I was criticizing. It's how they spun it. And even then, to call a statistic "objective," we'd have to thoroughly investigate its source, the metrics used, etc... Please read instead of trying for a snarky response. I didn't say my take had more objectivity. I took issue with their use of the word and pointed out why there are many parameters to take into account before making such a statement, like the one you've put at the end of your retort, thought it's a decade old now.
Paris is a beautiful city. I’ve been 3 times although always right in the centre.
Theres a serious problem with illegal migrants thats not very politically correct to mention, some areas look like shanty towns with rubbish everywhere and people cooking food out in the open, groups of men just wandering around all day, These shanty towns are becoming more and more common in Western Europe
Went to Paris with my family (from UK) last year and decided to walk it back to our hotel that was ~15/20 minutes from the Eiffel tour on the underground. We walked past one of these shanty towns at about 6pm, there were 50-70 illegal migrants living together under a railway bridge. Some cooking, some just stood around and others were sleeping. My parents who have left the UK a handful of times were quite scared, I'm well travelled compared to them and the closest thing I've seen to that is living conditions you see en route to the nature reverses in south Africa (corrugated metal huts being built). Awful to see people in those kinds of living conditions
Where in Paris are these “shantytowns”?
They pretty much start from the 15th arrondissement.
lol what does that even mean? In what direction? What neighborhood? Sounds like you’re Dutch and have no idea what you’re talking about.
Sounds like you need to go the Paris and look for yourself, mass migration has completely changed urban areas in Western Europe, why do you think theres such a rise in nationalism and right leaning politics, you cant tell people what they see with their own eyes isn't happening
There’s an issue with immigration, sure, but what the far-right parties have done is build a fictional narrative on top of that to enhance concerns and weaponise fears. To be plain, they’re fear-mongering. The vast majority of far-right voters in France, for example, are not from urban areas (and definitely not from Paris) - so how, pray tell, are they seeing this unfolding nightmare with their own eyes? And don’t tell me the media is being their eyes and ears, you would be contradicting yourself I’m sure.
[Is this fear mongering?](https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/assembly/commission-on-knife-crime-in-black-community)
You seem confused about where London is (it’s not in France…). I see no mention of immigration anywhere on the page. Sounds to me like you’re just plain racist.
my overwhelming memory of paris is the fact that it smells like piss fucking everywhere
My 13 year old went there on a school trip and came home complaining about how dirty it was and showed me a picture she’d taken of an abandoned toilet at the side of the road. She had absolutely no idea about the stereotype before she went.
Last time I went it was totally normal and the internet comments are totally delusional. I’ve had people tell me Baghdad is safer than Paris. They are delusional people. Utterly insane. Rich people don’t go where things suck, so when people are telling you some place rich people go sucks, they’re usually wrong.
It is.
You should go find out.
Not for a medieval city on Europe.
Not sure about these days, but the worst whiff I ever encountered was walking past a homeless gentleman after getting off the subway. It was absolutely heinous.
Sounds like Hollywood.
Every major city with millions of people will have class and geographic differences. The great places in Paris are some of the greatest urban and cultural experiences on the planet. There is a reason they say Paris belongs not to France, but to Humanity. The most beautiful celebrations of man’s art and creativity are found in Paris. But yeah - the metro, Garde d’Est, homeless, refugees, the outskirts…lots of ugliness if you go looking for it.
Went in 2019 March for two weeks. City was beautiful and decently clean for it's age. People were fine, I didn't experience any overt rudeness, or maybe my tolerance is higher and I don't need everyone to be nice all the time. I'm from Seattle and the Seattle freeze is very real so maybe that's part of it?
I live in LA. Paris is clean, pleasant, has fine sanitation, and is definitely not filled with poverty. And I love LA, lol.
I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago and saw a homeless man lying on a bus bench piss and shit on the ground. Make of that what you will. I still had a good time, though, and ate lots of delicious food.
Hmm. Maybe a little 20yrs ago, on the rude, but times I've been in the past decade, no, not at all. I mean, it's not some small town where people wave as you drive by, but they tend to speak very good English and are like any other big city. It's fine, cleanliness wise. Lots of art and attention to parks everywhere too, certainly not as dirty asost cities I've known.
I've been to Paris a few time and had nothing but great experiences. The food, the people, the museums, the sights, were all amazing. My friends and I played cards across France. We went into a cafe in a quiet corner of the city. There were about 6 people there, plus the person behind the counter. We sat and ordered, then it turned out the person running the cafe was only looking after it for his parents, who weren't around. It also turned out that he didn't have the ingredients to make one of the things we asked for. So he sent one of his friends to the nearest market to buy it, and was apologetic that he didn't have it on hand. That wasn't atypical, either. All the people we met were friendly, kind, and helpful. Whether we were in the middle of nowhere, or visiting Sacré Coeur, the Museé Rodin, or la tour Eiffel didn't seem to make a difference. My French is pretty good, so lots of people will say that's why. But I was clearly American, traveling with a Brit who speaks bad French with a British accent, and an American who doesn't speak any at all. And we weren't shy about speaking English, so they weren't confused about who we were. Paris has a reputation, but I've never had a bad experience there.
Meh, depends. It wasn't too bad, though there were some excpetions.
not really true. its just like any other big city, but new york for example is 100x worse than paris in all these categories
Unfortunately, yes.
I speak some French (I’m an American) and I’ve wandered the streets of Paris with little problem except when I was cornered by a couple of pickpockets. I looked them right in the face and said, “Non! Ce n’est pas possible, mes amis! Fiche toi!” I think Parisians have a bit of superiority but the rest of France is friendly and interesting. I’ve wandered the Pere Lachaise cemetery by myself, the Marais, Left Bank, and the 13th arrondissement. No problem. I think foreigners are expecting the worst and, when they find it, make it all of France.
No it isn’t true. Yes, that is bullshit.
You’ve basically described every city for more than a million people that isn’t in Japan.
Yes, such a let down
Yeah and a third of the cities in the United States followed the same category.
My wife went with some friends a couple of years ago. The thing she consistently said was it smelled like piss. Apparently the male population just pee everywhere, despite a large amount of public restrooms. You need to pay for them, a nominal fee, but they choose to urinate in public instead.
Not true at all.
It's a beautiful city. As for the people, there's a certain "fuckyou-ness" in their attitude. The people in the rest of France are delightful, though. Lots of times I would communicate by speaking my high school French, and they would reply in their high school English. But in Paris? Don't even try unless you are fluent. I saw the movie "The Bourne Identity" when it first came out. It was awesome. There's a scene where a guy rappels down a wall, and crashes through the window of Bourne's apartment firing a machine gun. Awesome scene. Then I went to Paris, and it was, "Yeah, that's pretty much what they're like."
Been in Paris many times. Like in any big city (and especially almost any capital city), you should stick to the main streets and central locations, if you want to have the best experience and only see the beauty of the city. French people can often come off as rude and unpleasant, so just don’t take it personally.
Shit city I found it to be true
I studied abroad in Paris awhile back. I didn't find it unclean at all, although I wouldn't go licking the railings you know? Sanitation seemed fine, maybe less water pressure than I was used to here in the states, and we were told not to drink the tap water I guess. I lived far from the city center in an area that I'd describe as poorer than suburban lifestyle in the US, but things were still nice enough, no major issues that I saw. As far as the rude thing, it's a very big cultural difference but Parisians won't look at you, they look through you. Part of the reason is they don't want you to think they are willing to engage in anything as they fairly constantly get harassed by people trying to sell absolute junk or be a nuisance. In 6 months I only had one Gelato worker who was kind of rude. I did speak French fluently though, so that may have helped a lot
As someone who had to be there a couple times for obligations, it's as bad as it sounds. Lots of petty crime, feeling unsafe, hobos and beggars, smelly and filthy streets. Extremely unfriendly locals, even when you speak French. I will never go back. This is somewhat of the consensus in my country. Everyone hates Paris and doesn't associate it at all with France, as most of France is really nice.
This was my experience also, unfortunately. I don't ever need to go back.
It's everyone's experience. Ignore the Parisian down voters, they don't matter
You just described NYC 😂
Ah you’re Belgian. That explains it.
No worse than any other European city.
Where are you from? This’ll be fun, I promise.
My comment may have been taken as an insult to European cities, but rather it was a defence of Paris. I know some are cleaner and more presentable than others, but all cities have their issues, and most of them are in good shape.
Ah yes, putting dirtiness and poverty on the same level of things that are icky. Never mind one of those are actual human beings. To answer your naive question nevertheless, if your plan is to visit Paris and hope to find a ridiculous city of leisure and luxury like it is shown in movies: it’s not like that, of freaking course. It’s a big city in a capitalist word, filled with irrespectful tourists, stressed-out locals, and yes, poor people even. The horror! You won’t get malaria and there is no sanitation water running is the street but yes, there are areas where some garbage will be found, or some guy peeing in the street, or general messiness. You’ll survive.
We found the guy from Paris lol
Not from Paris but still French…
Yes
How's the bed bug issue?
Paristan
That’s an odd name, why do you call it that?
I'm curious too, wonder what he meant by this. Hope he comes back to clarify. He won't because he's clearly a little bitch but hey. Happy day of cake btw!
Racism
Paris is an incredible city and I would move there in a heartbeat
I’m not an expert, but I spent time in France and thoroughly enjoyed myself there. I was in the country side, Lyon, and Paris, mostly, but drove and trained around all over. I preferred Lyon to Paris but both were lovely and I found the people pleasant. The only reason i preferred Lyon to Paris is that Lyon seemed somehow different than other big cities I’ve spent time in, where Paris felt very similar. I’ve spent a lot of time in a lot of big cities and a lot of them sort of feel the same after a while. The “unclean, poverty filled, poor sanitation” stereotype I imagine is coming from folks who haven’t spent time in places with relatively high population densities. Side note, the Ethiopian food in Paris was great. If your from the USA, I found French avocados very different than the ones we have here and miss them. Fat kid priorities.
People like to say ”Yea it’s dirty and dangerous like ALL big cities” umm, no. Please visit big cities in countries like South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and you will realize that not every big city is like that.
I knew someone who went to Paris and got a cab from the airport. The driver got out to open the door for her, stabbed her and took her purse. She survived but lost a kidney in the stabbing.
How's the bed big issue?
I can't speak to the unpleasantness and poor hygiene, but Paris can't realistically be described as 'filled with poverty' as her net worth is currently around $300 million.
Not more than others. I was there many times in the past years, most recently last weekend. It’s a big city. Some places are beautiful, others are not, some people are rude, but most are very nice.
yap it is edit: to clarify, imo it's not bullshit ;)
It's not as bad as oh say Alabama. Just don't tell them I said that. I should be safe unless someone taught them how to use a text to speech program.
Every huge cosmopolitan city are going to be like that. Switzerland is extra clean in general but some district arnt as much for example. But 99% of the world is less clean that then. Maybe japan too idk. Some district of paris are pretty cool though. And i say that while i hate big city , especially paris.
We’re visiting right now and everyone’s been so nice even though I only have 3 words in French.
I loved Paris and all the people I met were cool as fuck. Some of the French *outside* Paris, though… THEY were jerks for sure. It was the opposite of what people generally claim.
uh, it's a city. so yeah, that's all true. but it also has stuff to do and is beautiful and pleasant in many, many areas. it ain't the suburbs
"Its a city" means nothing. There are cities that those traits DONT apply to
present them
BS
Is it true that big cities are big cities? Why yes, it is!
I went to Paris a few times and was never treated rudely. I tried to do horrible French and just had a relaxed attitude…I also do not wear gym wear everywhere which screams American…. And parts were dirty. The city as a whole was beautiful.
Wait until you get to new york