Is there really any allure of going to Paris?

[18358414]

If someone was to offer you a free trip to Paris, would you go?  Is there actually any point in going?  If you're a single person by yourself, does the whole 'most romantic city in france' thing lose any meaning? 

 

Maybe it would be more fun to buy a new GPU?

[spwath]

I went with my family, it's nice.

Free trip I would go for sure

[18358414]

Well this is just a hypothetical; Valentino day is approaching and a bunch of friends posting about going here and there and I'm all like "man, that's great for y'all, but I probably wouldn't go even if it was free".  But why I wouldn't go I don't quite understand, so I ask. 

[Guest]

Well... The french gal speaking ^o^ : Paris is a nice city for a tourist.  Lots of places to visit, great history, great food if you know where to go.

If it's just for a trip and it's free? Without even a second of hesitation: GO!

 

If it's for Valentine's Day? Frankly never understood all the stuff Paris = Romantism. French people tend to go to other places for Valentine's Day than Paris.

Valentine's Day is a "mood", an "atmosphere", certainly not a city and even less Paris

[Tristerin]

If you go I highly highly recommend seeing Lake Annecy and the surrounding mountains filled with castles and old farm communities.

[Bombastinator]

3 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

If someone was to offer you a free trip to Paris, would you go?  Is there actually any point in going?  If you're a single person by yourself, does the whole 'most romantic city in france' thing lose any meaning? 

 

Maybe it would be more fun to buy a new GPU?

It’s one of the biggest cities in the world.  It’s also very old.  They’ve still got stuff left over from the Roman Empire there.  Paris has a fantastically rich history.  There is a lot of interesting stuff there.  Yes I would go.  I would also just as happily also go to NewYork city, or any of a dozen or so  other big cities in the world.  Paris may have special romantic capacity.  I don’t know.  It’s still pretty cool ignoring that bit though.

[Canoe]

It would be you and ______ other tourists.

Google articles on 'too many toursits'.

So make as many side trips as you can? To less overwhelmed places.

Everything is so close to everything else too. When I lived in Germany, I used to ride my bike to France and back on a Saturday.

 

[kokakolia]

5 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

If someone was to offer you a free trip to Paris, would you go?  Is there actually any point in going?  If you're a single person by yourself, does the whole 'most romantic city in france' thing lose any meaning? 

 

Maybe it would be more fun to buy a new GPU?

I just moved to Paris because I couldn’t find a good dependable job in Canada working in the oil field. As a single broke person I was overwhelmed by the availability of construction jobs in Paris. You see, the train network is getting overhauled because of the Olympics (in 2025?). Entire slum cities around Paris like   Saint - Denis, Aubervilliers etc... are being rebuilt. Rent is high for a tiny apartment, and I’m not earning as much as in Canada (when there’s work). But at least I know that I’m gonna have a paycheck at the end of the month. 
 

Living in Paris, I would say that most places smell like trash and urine and are overcrowded. There are too many people. But the main tourist spots like Hôtel de Ville are beautiful. And there’s always a golden statue or fountain at every major junction. And then you have cool hidden spots under passageways or elevated gardens overlooking the city. 
 

Meeting people in Paris and hooking up is a breeze with the Meetup app. You’ll most likely meet tourists and a few French people wanting to learn English. I suppose that’s the advantage of Paris over smaller, cleaner prettier cities like Strasbourg. That and jobs. 
 

Last month I would have told you to steer clear from Paris because of the endless public transit strike ruining everything. People were trampling each other to hop into the trains. You couldn’t get anywhere fast. Now the strike is less severe. So why not?

[Guest]

Not going to lie French women 

[Bananasplit_00]

I don't think I'd not go if it was free but I'm definitely not paying to go there. It's all dirty and smells like cigs

[kokakolia]

51 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

I don't think I'd not go if it was free but I'm definitely not paying to go there. It's all dirty and smells like cigs

In the summer it's really nice to go to the parks and chill. There are so many nice parks around Paris, even though most streets are very crowded and dirty. 

[WereCatf]

11 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

If someone was to offer you a free trip to Paris, would you go?  Is there actually any point in going?  If you're a single person by yourself, does the whole 'most romantic city in france' thing lose any meaning?

Nah, I wouldn't bother. Even if someone offered a free trip back-and-forth both for me and my hubby, I still wouldn't want to do it; I don't want to deal with the hassle of flying, I don't want to deal with the ugly language Frenchies use and I just ain't interested in Paris or France in the least. There's nothing there that I have any hankering to see or experience. I also see nothing romantic about the place -- it's just a city in a country and no more or less romantic than any other city in any other country.

 

The places I'd be much more interested in visiting are Iceland, Ireland, China's Zhenzen - market and Japan.

[Fasauceome]

 if I even was gonna go on a trip with my partner, it wouldn't be to France unless she really wants to go. It's not a place I have any interest in, and to be honest the only place in Europe I'd love to go back to is Italy.

[IdlePX]

Yes it's worth going. Free world travel is always worth taking for the new experiences. One of my biggest regrets is I never travelled when I was young and fit enough to really enjoy it.So, explore a city with different architecture. Take in the cliche, but still fantastic view from the Eiffel. Take a hop on and off boat trip up the Seine. Visit the Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle and the Luxembourg gardens. Go explore. 

[minibois]

I've been there once, it was nice. Although some parts of the city were kind of.. Run over with annoying people (like the 'merchants' at the Sacré-Cœur and Centre Pompidou).

It's not all about the romantic stuff, there is still a lot to do and a lot to see.

 

But in this hypothetical situation of someone offering me a trip to the city; would I take up the offer?

Depends.. I am not really interested in going to Paris. I would rather go to a different city, even in France. Or even go to visit the large stores in France.

[Princess Luna]

13 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

Maybe it would be more fun to buy a new GPU?

Is it free or not?

 

Free? then sure... now paid? nope... Paris is one of the worse tourism destinations in Europe.

[Lorant]

13 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

Well this is just a hypothetical; Valentino day is approaching and a bunch of friends posting about going here and there and I'm all like "man, that's great for y'all, but I probably wouldn't go even if it was free".  But why I wouldn't go I don't quite understand, so I ask. 

There's a bit more to Paris than just a romantic city (and I'd argue there are better cities for lovers, ie Santorini, Greece).

 

Enjoy a new city, if you haven't been.  You are European so it may not be different enough from your current location, but for Americans it is mostly.

[RonnieOP]

Tbh going to Paris alone wouldnt interest me in the slightest.

 

Now taking my family id be interested.

 

But alone.....nah. 

 

 

[Lorant]

14 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

Well this is just a hypothetical; Valentino day is approaching and a bunch of friends posting about going here and there and I'm all like "man, that's great for y'all, but I probably wouldn't go even if it was free".  But why I wouldn't go I don't quite understand, so I ask. 

Odd statement, only you can know why you wouldn't go.

 

Asking us to  justify your feelings... not how you should go about things.

2 minutes ago, RonnieOP said:

Tbh going to Paris alone wouldnt interest me in the slightest.

 

Now taking my family id be interested.

 

But alone.....nah. 

 

 

He's going with friends potentially, not alone.  He added more info later.

[Commodus]

14 hours ago, 7he404guy said:

Well this is just a hypothetical; Valentino day is approaching and a bunch of friends posting about going here and there and I'm all like "man, that's great for y'all, but I probably wouldn't go even if it was free".  But why I wouldn't go I don't quite understand, so I ask. 

If you've never been, you have the opportunity and you can afford it, go.  You have one life to live -- even if it's imperfect, you'll know what Paris is like.  You don't want to be looking back 20 or 30 years later wishing you'd gone.  And if you do have a partner later, you can go back if you like while knowing where to go and what to avoid.

[Teddy07]

Not interested in cities and I hate shopping

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, Teddy07 said:

Not interested in cities and I hate shopping

The phrase “not interested in cities” can be vague.  If it means “do not find being in a populous area pleasant” then yeah.  Paris isn’t just a city, it’s a gigantic very old one.  It’s not just populous it’s really populous.

[greenhorn]

If it's free or heavily discounted, go for it. It is a nice city, I have been there several times and enjoyed my time there. Depending on what you are looking for, there are nicer destinations within France. I particularly like the Côte d'Azur, which has some truly beautiful places (especially if you avoid tourist hotspots).

The problem with Paris is the high expectations some people have before going there for the first time (all that stuff about the romantic atmosphere). Some Japanese tourists have been known to have been disappointed so badly they developed various health problems attributed to the so-called "Paris syndrome" (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome).

I guess sometimes the joke "The French are so hardcore: they have *pain* for breakfast" is not too far from the truth

[spartaman64]

free trip ofc i would go. though it wouldnt be my first choice and ive heard that the locals are not that nice to tourists

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

free trip ofc i would go. though it wouldnt be my first choice and ive heard that the locals are not that nice to tourists

It’s not that they aren’t nice...exactly. 

I understand there are two issues.  One is that the city is even bigger and older than NewYork and thus there is a somewhat similar attitude amongst locals.  The other is a peculiarity of the construction and use of French and English.  In English the phrase “excuse me, where is the bathroom?” is a request for directions to the bathroom, whereas in French it is sort of a weird trivia question such as “what state is abequaerky the capital of”. If it is phrased as “I have a problem, I need to find the bathroom but do not know where it is will you please help me?” An entirely different reaction might be found.