Melissa,
Come and see for yourself, and let us know what you think of it afterwards.
Have a good trip!

Much true in both interpretations. Lrt's say that there is a spectrum of city "pace" represented at one end by New York, at the other end by Charleston (SC) and in the middle by Seattle. Paris is perhaps slightly closer to Seattle than to NYC, but definitely on the other end of the spectrum from Charleston.

Of course, the issue may be the "yardstick"... is it "pace"? or "richness"? or "vibrancy"?

In the end, the comparisons just don't work all that well.

And most importantly of all - - at the risk of stating the obvious - - Paris is FRENCH. They speak French; they eat French food, they wear French fashions and drive French cars. If speaking and hearing French is beautiful to you, than it is clearly more beautiful than either of the three cities mentioned above. If you do not deal well with the language and cultural difference that this represents, it could easily be as intimidating as New York.

Best wishes,

Rex

I don't feel the two cities are even comparable. They are both a different experience. I would also like to hear your thoughts after your return. Bon Voyage!

Hi melissa,

I agree with baldrick.

Paris is smaller and more approachable than New York. IMHO it is more beautiful and more open - the only skyscraper that I can think of in the center city is the Montparnasse Tower. Parts of Paris have a slower pace, parts are fairly busy. While I don't think of New York as intimidating, Paris seems far more approachable to me. I think of New York as a masculine city and Paris as a very feminine city.

melissa19:

I, too, agree with ira and baldrick.

Well, obviously you'll see for yourself, as everyone is saying.

I live in NYC. They're both unique, obviously. I think that Paris, like any other grand European city, has much more of a sense of history. There're quite a number of beautiful and historical buildings and I think that you've fewer of these in New York or in any other American city. Certainly it'd be hard to find something that matches the Louvre Museum in grandeur and in history in America. Or a place like Notre Dame, for example, whose foundations date back several hundred years, before America was even founded. The Place des Vosges (Marais) is also a few hundred years old.

On the other hand, the grand boulevards and L'Etoile probably date back just a little over a hundred years (correct me if I'm wrong) -- a result of Hausmann's modernization programs. Other interesting buildings like The Eiffel Tower and Pompidou and Opera Garnier are also fairly recent in the scheme of things.

On the other hand, I'm getting the impression that cities are becoming more and more alike everywhere -- it's a sign of globalization and homogenization. There're some American chains which are present in Paris, and there're French chains which will remind you very much of American chains. So in that sense, Paris and NYC are not very different. And NYC is full of faux bistros that consciously imitate the Parisian bistro (think Pastis, Balthazar, Les Halles, etc.). NYC also has a number of patisseries (think Ceci-Cela, Payard). Fauchon even has two (?) branches in NYC. So in that sense the two cities are similar.

Gee, you guys are sweet. Of course, I will go, make my own impressions, and report back. Just trying to get a feel for what I'm about to experience. Urban jungle, or beautiful, stroll-able city? I assume more Greenwich Village (which I like) than midtown Manhattan?

Paris is definitely not an urban jungle! Comparing it to Greenwich Village is a good start.

Paris, like NYC, is a huge city, with many neighborhoods that are built centuries apart, as 111op says. So, you should just go walk around as many parts as possible to get what Paris is really like.

If you have to compare to NYC, then Marais or Latin Quarter will be comparable to Greenwich Village or East Village. Department stores along Haussman would be like mid-town. Champs Elysee is wider than any avenues in NYC, so there's no comparison. If you want to see new skyscrapers like NYC's Financial District, go out to La Defense.

To me, the two are nothing alike, except that they are both cities. Paris is simply SO much older, with SO much more history, that the architecture alone sets them vastly apart. And unlike New York, large parts of Paris were "designed and laid out" by Haussman, giving you all those grand boulevards and gorgeous parks. Not that New York doesn't have green space - but Paris is both grander and more intimate, with something appealing to the eye and other senses wherever you find yourself - a building facade, a fountain, a doorway, a courtyard - whereas in New York you can walk for blocks without seeing anything I'd call beautiful. There's also the Seine, which in many respects dominates the landscape of the city. I think a city built up around a river is very different in orientation from one that's not.

One of the biggest differences for me (other than the obvious things like language) is the scale of the architecture. When I think of midtown Manhattan, I think of skyscrapers on streets that are actually a bit narrow to hold them, forming that wind tunnel effect and casting so much into shadow.

You have none of that in Paris. Where the streets are narrow, the buildings aren't very tall. The combination of broad boulevards and a dearth of skyscapers brightens up the city.

I've found Paris neighborhoods that remind me of the Upper West Side and of Greenwich Village, but the closest I came to feeling like I was in midtown Manhattan was in a throng of people on the rue de Rivoli, near the Samaritaine department store.

Hi melissa,

The point is that parts of Paris are like NY, but other parts are like Baltimore, or Cleveland or New Orleans.

While I continue to agree with most of what people have posted here, I'm going to give you some more examples as to how Paris is similar to New York (or how the great cities are similar in general).

Consider art exhibitions:

Matisse/Picasso showed in Pompidou and also in MoMA. The Gauguin exhibition in Paris last year is showing in Boston right now. The El Greco exhibition at the Met last year is now showing in London's National Gallery.

(Classical) music events:

Top performers will tend to perform everywhere. Maurizio Pollini, for example, will play the piano in both Paris and Carnegie Hall.

Restaurants:

Alain Ducasse has a restaurant in New York. Taillevent has a branch in Tokyo. Nobu has branches in London and New York.

Designer stores:

Everywhere, of course.

So the actual buildings aside, you'll be surprised by how similar the cities are. It's surprisingly common to hear French being spoken in NYC, as well, by the way.

Paris is far prettier. It's one of the most beautifully designed cities in the world. Skyscrapers are few and far between. Paris is much older than NYC, therefore the architecture and the history can't begin to compare.

Paris can be intimidating but this always depends on your own personality and life experience.

I love NYC for many reasons but, darling, this is not Paris.

I felt comfortable in Paris right away, I always felt that being a New Yorker, we dressed similarly, Paris is easier for me to get around by train or bus, Paris is very beautiful in a different way from NYC, but the big city feeling is there. But then, London is like that to me too.
The age of everything in Paris sets it apart, the green spaces, the cafes and wandering the small streets..that is similar but not really anything like the Village in NYC.
We are used to good restaurants so going out in Paris is familiar, nothing in Paris was intimidating to me but that first cab ride from the Gare du Nord when the cab driver pretended he could not read numbers..other than that..I agree with baldrick, you have to see it yourself and let us know what you think.
Have a Fabulous time!

Nor is Paris New York. New York is a vibrant, exciting, cosmopolitan, new and ever changing city. In case no one has noticed, it is between two rivers, the East River and the North River. The South Street Sea Port is a fun place to go. The view of Manhattan from the Triborough Bridge is a fantastic vista. The Circle Line Tour around Manhattan is one of the great boat rides of the world. Every city in the world has its own character. You can love both New York and Paris, but you can never compare them.

One thing I don't think ayone has mentined is that French parcs are not parks like Central Park or gardens in the English sense. They are very formal nd structured with tons of gravel paths ad fountains - and nut much in the way of greenery - much more formal than parks in the us or england.

Suddenly I have an urge to go to Paris.

I love both cities as well. And, given the chance would live in either.
New York is a LOT of "worldly energy" to me...
Paris is a lot of history and grace and STILL a living breathing city where people work, raise their children, live downtown...lots of different cultures residing side by side (both have to put up with tourists...<grin
Wonderful but different (What is your favorite? Steak or lobster? both great but different!)

At the risk of the great derision to follow, I suggest that Paris may actually be more like Philadelphia. Here's a passage from the author of a book called "Philadelphia: An American Paris":

>>. . ."In my walks around the city I have often marveled at how similar the scenery along the banks of the Schuylkill is to that on the banks of the Seine. And, upon reflection, there is good reason for this.

>>>At the time of the Revolution and into the 19th century, Philadelphia was our country's largest city. Her resources and her close connections with Europe, especially France, have endowed her with a French flavor which is everywhere.

>>From the fascination of Franklin and Jefferson with French art and culture and the strength of our first great ally in the fight for independence, to the elegant Empire style of Napoléon, which greatly stimulated the Greek Revival in American arts and architecture, to the lavish use of the mansard roof and the modified classicism of the Second Empire of Napoléon III and the subsequent, pervasive influence of the École des Beaux Arts, France has truly been an inspiration to the arts in America, and most especially, in Philadelphia. This is why I think of Philadelphia as an American Paris."

It's worth noting that the Crillon Hotel in Paris was modeled after a Philadelphia structure--the early 19th-century Fairmount Waterworks. Also, Philadelphia is home to the largest collection of impressionist art outside of France.

<<<ducking while people throw daggers at my beloved City of Brotherly Love>>

I agree with St. Cirq. While New York, where I live, is surrounded by rivers, Paris has the charm of a river running through it.

New York City has delightful neighborhoods, e.g. Soho, Greenwich Village. Paris's neighborhoods seem more numerous and exude so many different charms. New York has Olmstead's lovely Central Park but paris has so many more.

Paris, perhaps because of its layout, tends less to homogenization than New York. Paris architecture is splendid. New York has its moments but tall square stone or glass boxes come first to mind. New York's 212 miles subway system is more extensive but less easy to navigate than the younger Metro. Generally, Frenchmen take pride in Paris--France spends vast amounts on keeping it beautiful. New York is still wrestling with elemental things like basic garbage disposal.

Stating all that they are both great cities. I love to visit Paris but would live nowhere else but in New York City for reasons that are just instinctual and largely inexplicable to an outsider.

Well, as I happen to live in Philadelphia (!), I was thinking that perhaps the Olde City feel was akin to Paris. Hooray!

Thank you all for the great information. I've been doing so much reading about Paris, and I think that the impressions I've formed just from that seem right on. Whew!

So many here have been so eleoquent answering your question, I'll just add that many people who don't usually like cities often love Paris from what I've read here. There's one particular recent thread that I can't find in which someone asks for itinerary advice on a trip to France. They only want to go to Paris "to say we've been" & then spend most of their time in the country. It surprised me how many people responded saying they thought they wouldn't like Paris & wound up loving it.

Hi Powell -- re NYC subway vs. Paris Metro:

According to
http://www.nycsubway.org/
the first NYC subway line went into service on Oct. 27, 1904.

According to
http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Paris_metro.shtml
the first Paris Metro line was completed on July 19, 1900.

So actually the Paris Metro is older -- but I'd agree that it seems newer and is better maintained.

As people have mentioned, NYC does exude energy, but I think that it's also losing a lot of its character. I also remember reading an article written by a French woman who straddles both cities a while back in the Sunday Times (Style Section?). She, if I remember correctly, makes the interesting comment that Paris seems more staid. Things remain more or less the same. Another point she mentions, I believe, is that in Paris, she'd know the name of her butcher, who would call her if she hasn't bought meat from him in a couple of days (think the stories in Mayle's "Year in Provence," for example). Another point she mentions is that there's no "Last Metro" in NYC -- and she mentions feeling constrained in Paris in the sense that people just don't have the "can do" attitude of New Yorkers. But she concedes that she loves both equally and can't bring herself to give one up for the other.

Anyway, I've the article saved somewhere since much of what she wrote rang true. I found it a really thoughtful article written by someone who has obviously thought a lot about these things.

Anyway, I no longer think of Paris as particularly cutting edge. I think that much of the cultural focus has shifted elsewhere. Much of the development in contemporary art, for example, happened in New York City, and started in the 1950s.

It'd be interesting to see if the equation further shifts in twenty years, say. When I was Vienna for a very brief visit, I felt that it was rather staid -- a prime example of a place that saw its heyday a century ago, say. Admittedly, if I had spent more time there, I might feel differently though.

I think San Francisco is more like Paris, but of course with more hills
New York always feels much bigger. Paris is more on a personal scale. I walk a lot in both cities. Greenwich Village is probably the one part of NY that is like Paris to my mind. Bryant Park in NYC is somewhat like a Paris park. In Paris, the buildings are mostly about 5 stories tall. Pierre L'Enfant designed Washington, DC to be somewhat like Paris -- but our streets are much bigger. There is a more residential/commercial mix in Paris. Walk around a Paris neighborhood and you'll find a butcher shop, a bakery, a drug store, a tabac on nearly every block, and lots of small shops along with small apartment buildings, restaurants and cafes. You'll see kids all walking to school (I don't recall seeing school buses, at all.) And, of course, churches. Oh, yes, and the markets that travel up and down the boulevards during the week where you can buy fresh produce, meats, fish, household goods, clothing...you name it. And there are bridges just about every 5 blocks so that you can get back and forth across the river easily. Yes, I thik it is far less chaotic (but stay away from Montmartre on a weekend...chaos is easy to find there!)

Thanks, 111op re the ages of the twosubways.

One postscript for Melissa19. There is a great book: "The Seven Ages of Paris" by Alistair Horn. It is so interesting and easy to read. I have read many books about New York City but none comes close to giving such a charming look at the evolution of a great city.

NYC has great energy, but Paris is a much more pretty and romantic city.

Also, in Paris, I really enjoy the outdoor cafe chairs facing the street for people- watching. I wish the restaurants in NYC would set up their outdoor seating like this.

I suspect most people would find Paris a bit less intense, or chaotic, than NYC (especially Manhattan.) But another huge difference is in the look. Paris is not only, overall, much older of course, but it also has only one skyscraper within the city limits, the Tour Montparnasse. Most buildings are a uniform height of about five or six stories which, IMO, creates a pleasing aesthetic harmony -- as well as a more people-friendly feel -- to the beautiful City of Light.

I think New York is like London - and Paris is like no other place on earth - enjoy every moment of your trip

Amen, Donna!

Powell, thanks for the book recommendation. I never thought I'd find the Middle Ages so interesting. It's like "Medieval World!"

they are of course very different.
but when i was a few years ago in NY, on the upper east side , walking in those quite streets, lined with trees, little coffee shops and nice little shops, i did feel a bit like walking in Saint Germain.
i was of course a tourist in both.
have a great trip. Paris is wonderfull.

Paris is probably more like Washington, D.C. than any other U. S. city, as DC was designed by Pierre L'Enfant, who modeled his new creation on Paris.

Good comparison, Underhill. As a fan and student of good urban design, I've always felt we're very fortunate that Washington, D.C. was designed by L'Enfant. Another similarity between D.C. and Paris is that they are not full of skyscrapers like so many other (especially American) cities.

Noticed this forum as I was thinking about our first trip to Paris last spring. I was immediately comfortable in the city and amazed how much it reminded me of various places in NY, not just Manhattan. Our hotel was in the 16e, which reminded me of the neighborhoods off the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, where I grew up. Walking back from the Eiffel Tower along the Right Bank reminded me of the Upper West Side along the highway. And yes, some Left Bank neighborhoods reminded me of the Village. Wonderful experience, and can't wait to return!

Really odd, though, to bring up a thread that is 9 years old!

I am from Los Angeles, who loves NYC and Paris. For someone who has to drive everywhere, the two cities allow me to walk, and stroll at my own pace when I am there, which means I must be an out of towner.... Both cities have amazing cultural activities, museum, theatre, food, events, and everything money can buy and everything money does not buy, like people watching, the shop windows, the little boutiques. Great transportation system.

New York has less line for the museums, but everything else in 10 times scales of Paris (my opinion) I lived in Neuilly in Paris for 2 years and never lived in MYC, but have families. January was the last time I was in Paris and I am now in NY.

I am bias towards to Paris, although I love the vibrancy and just sheer energy of the city. Also because I know that each mayor of Paris needs to make an architectural mark on the city to beautify more. If you go to the top of the Tour Eiffel, you can see how the building were built in line to others. You have Tour Eiffel in the middle, La Defense to the West and La Villette to the East, then the Musee du Monde Arabe etc. it is just so harmonious. New York, if you go to the Empire State Building is more of skyscraper's jungle. I guess that would be the main difference for me. Both are my favorites, but comparing them would be like comparing two incomparable work of art. The best thing is to plan ahead and buy the tickets to the museums and attrataction on line and printed them out to avoid the lines. Yes, in Paris expect long lines, no matter when, and principally on Spring and Summer and Bon Voyage
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