Things you love about Paris

Oh, where to start...
Being able to walk from historic to modern in a mater of minutes

Poulet roti

The architecture - impressive but on a human scale

Ease of getting around

Boulangeries - any culture that finds a way to incorporate chocolate into breakfast is great in my book

Watching the Eiffel Tower light up at dusk

and

the smell of the Metro

Having a croissant and cafe creme at Deux Magots, soon after arriving, knowing that it is touristy, over-priced, not-so-great food, but so wonderful to sit there and watch the world walk by.

Walking along the Seine,
sitting at a café to watch the passing parade of people,
Visitig all the interesting museums,
the hidden gardens,
Th food! boulangeries, chocolatiers, patiseries, Restos Brassseries, cafés, food stands, markets.
The unique boutiques,
th many art galleries that fit one'staste
looking up at buildings to see the details, on can go on and on but it's late here, so I'll dream of Paris.

I could never say : " I have been there, let's see some other city "

My 20 + plus visit coming up in 3 weeks!

Exactly right Danon,, "when you are bored of Paris you are bored of life" LOL

The food, I love the food.
The wine, I love the wine.
The museums, there are over 250 museums in Paris, you could never see them all, plus some you must return to again and again,, ( like the Louvre, I love the Louvre) .
The general beauty of the older parts of town, the narrow streets, the stones, the alleys, the doorways that lead to mysterious courtyards, the bridges,, they are gorgeous.
The "cafe culture" most other cities seem to lack this, I like London too, but it just lacks the cafe culture, so it is not warm, not a ancient living being like I imagine my Paris to be .

Oh, London's an ancient living being, it's just more of a grumpy old bag lady than Paris

The Seine at twilight. Falling leaves in November. The trees on the Champs Elysee dressed for Christmas. The flower market a few weeks before Christmas. A concert in magical Ste Chappelle. Sitting in any cafe at any time and watching the constant parade. Hearing the bells of Notre Dame. Pont Alexandre. Watching fishermen on the quais. Turning a corner on a small street and seeing a lovely surprise -- maybe a small park or a beautiful old building. Having a picnic lunch in a park and hearing playing children laugh. The opportunity to see great art -- pick a museum, any museum.
French people who go out of their way to help a lost tourist, like the young couple who walked my friend several blocks to our hotel when she approached them to ask directions or the young gendarme who wouldn't give up until he knew my daughter and I understood his directions.

I could go on but I'm getting too homesick for my favorite city and won't be going back for a while.

Everyone has great things to say about Paris. I will add a very atypical one.....we have had the best margaritas ever in Paris. And lest one think this was a fluke, they were in 2 different locations separated by years. The first at Zuni---Rue de Sabot--and the second at Indiana Cafe--Blvd St Germain--(half price at happy hour!) Apparently the French excel in all manner of food and drink! Those margaritas are the standard by which we compare all others.

Just returned, trying to get back with JUST husband and no kids. (shhh don't tell them) Sick of hearing that French are unfriendly- they were totally wonderful everywhere. Paris is so green, so many lovely little side streets and unexpected pleasures. Best place to watch people in the world, sitting at a cafe sipping Burgundy. Now, if they could ever get people to pick up after their doggies. Yep, I did step in it.

Looking out of my 4th floor hotel window and watching the building across the street turn rosy color in the rising sun and noting all the little wrought iron balconies and geranium pots that one couldn't see well from the street below.

And, yes, the flower market, the Seine at night, the bells of Notre Dame.

I love the macarons! I try new flavors and differnt bakeries. I always come back to pistachio at Laduree though. In May, the standouts were - gingerbread, lemon creme, cassis with violet. I can't wait to go back!

I also love just wandering and discovering new (to me) places to shop, eat, relax, and soak it all in!

Everything!!

For over 20 years, my wife and I have been in love with Impressionist painters, particularly Monet. As you can imagine, Paris for us was like Hershey PA for chocolate lovers.

I will add that anyone who still thinks Parisians are rude and surly to tourists, hasn't been to Paris.

I'm so in love with Paris. It's like that last segment in the movie Paris, J'taime where a single American woman traveling in Paris alone suddenly found of felt love that she never felt before. It's how I feel about that wonderful city of lights. I'm choking up thinking about it. <sniff>

I love the eclairs and the chocolate macaroons...and of course the entire city.

Street vendors, cafe au lait, the history, the beautiful language.

The fact that everyone agrees that Paris is a place to visit whether you have 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years. Some may argue over the length of your visit, but they still offer suggestions and that says A LOT about a city and what it has to offer!

I currently am in a serious coffee and brioche breakfast withdrawal this morning. I need to fly out to Paris, stat!

What a lovely thread. I love absolutely everything about Paris. We haven't been for two years and will return in September. I will return to this thread often to help me get in the very best Paris frame of mind.

The bistros, cafes, street markets, architecture, people and their animals, shopping, churches, gardens...pretty much everything.

What I really miss though is walking aroung the corner from my hotel to view the Eiffel Tower.

I want to move!

Agree with everyone! I also love reading about others’ experiences in the city. Finally, I love that unexpected Parisian moment - I can never anticipate what it will be - that delights me, and makes me eager for my next visit.

Like many others, I love wandering aimlessly around, discovering unexpected points of interests and spots of beauty.
I love picnics by the Seine, watching the boats sail by. I love sitting in cafes, nursing a café crême. I love wandering through the markets or the boutiques in Saint Germain. I love the very formal French spoken by an elderly gentleman I met in the park, as well as the slangy French of the young people I have to struggle to understand.
I have visited many times, sometimes just passing through for a couple days, most recently for 5 weeks last spring. I have never ever been bored in Paris, not for one moment. And I never had a planned itinerary before arriving - I could never run out of places to see in Paris.

Paris sera toujours Paris !
La plus belle ville du monde
Malgré l'obscurité profonde
Son éclat ne peut être assombri
Paris sera toujours Paris !
Plus on réduit son éclairage
Plus on voit briller son courage
Plus on voit briller son esprit
Paris sera toujours Paris !

Here are a few visual things...

http://tinyurl.com/4mxt47

-foie gras (yes!)
-outdoor cafes
-dog lovers walking and dining w/ their dogs
-street vendors on the Seine

You all made me miss that city even more!

One of my favorites was walking around under the chestnut trees and kicking the fallen chestnuts.....on our way to Angelina's for hot chocolate.

Standing in front of ecole militare at 7am looking at the tower....through the misty fog.

Standing behind Notre Dame with my husband at 5 mins to midnight watching this magnificent building all lit up and glowing, listening to a man on the pont St Louis playing his accordian.

Then at precisely 12 the lights on Notre Dame go out and we're left to walk back to our Marais apartment alone in the still night, not passing a single person. Paris felt like it was only ours that night.

Also walking along through the Tuileries at sunset watching the fountains, the obelisk at place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triumphe all line up against the incredible flourescent pink sky.

The sun's last rays glinting off the pont Alexandre III.

Patiseries full of chocolate croissants (among other chocolate stuff) and the twinkling Eiffel Tower.

the memories that you keep once you are gone...

ALL of the above..

Turning any corner and finding a fresh view to love.

The people...warm and wonderful....and elegantly charming.

The parks. The food. The cafes.

The art. The music. The museums.

This is the first time Fodor's has made me cry! We are just home from Paris (two weeks ago) and missing it already, plus it's so far from Sydney that it costs a fortune to go ($4,000 for two airfares).

I miss apple tarts from Poilane, I miss the Rue Mouffetard market, goats cheese, bagette sandwiches for lunch, tiny fresh green beans from Kenya that we cooked for all of 30 seconds, roasted chickens and potatoes from rotisseries outside the butchers, and absolutely divine raspberries and peaches.

Ok, so it's not all about the food, I miss our tiny apartment opposite the Jardin du Luxembourg, the gorgeous twilight, oh everything really, I can't sort out the jumble of thought scrambling to leap onto the page!

Thanks for all the wonderful responses. I'll be reading this thread now and then until I go back to Paris next year. My dh couldn't understand why I wouldn't want to see another city in our next vacation. It's really hard to explain to him my reasons, but the responses here pretty much helped me sort them out.

Basically the things I love about Paris:
The attitude
The food
The history
The pride of the people the live there
The romance
The wine
The gardens
The festivals

It's a city like no other!

Simply put, Paris is the love of my life. Never have I been somewhere so inspiring, so beautiful and charming. A mid-day stroll will carry you over the Seinne and through centuries of history. You have your pick from any corner bistro you like as you meander about the streets, with quaint shops beckoning and, in spring, flowers blossoming. You pop in for a quick coffee and pastry but your mouth waters over the language as you overhear the locals speaking to one another, clad in chic clothing...then they quickly walk away or whisk off on their bike.

Aloofness is sexy, clothing is appealing, people are sophisticated and, what most people probably equate to rudeness is simply pride in their own country. I don't blame them. But that doesn't stop them from helping the local tourist, or smiling to say "Bonjour" as you pass by in the narrow crowded cobble-stoned sidewalk. You have no personal space when you are in Europe, so you have intimate encounters on a regular basis, never knowing who you may meet.

The Champs Elysees is a magical place, and you can never get enough of the Eiffel Tower. You can walk for miles and miles wondering where this fairytale ends....it doesn't.

You smell strong perfume, see lovers kissing and salivate over the cuisine. The energy fills you like a storm and you want more. Even if you are not an artist, you feel like one in Paris. The Moulin Rouge captures the feeling that Europeans have and Americans covet: true love and appreciate for the naked body.

As you glance out any window, people are closeby, doing something exciting. Streets are clean and food is fresh. People are intriguing and beautiful. Like so many others, I can't imagine not going back.

The roof lines and the chimneys. We once were there with a total dolt who asked "who's the guy with his hand in his jacket?" and tried to get into a private club by saying "but you don't understand, we're Americans" but even he looked up at one point and commented on how interesting the roofs and chimneys were.

Walking endlessly from café to café, the restaurants, the museums, the Parisians, rue Montorgueil, the smells, the photography potential everywhere, the Métro, the Haussmann buildings, the Eiffel tower at night, the macarons at Ladurée, the luxury shops, the Eurostar to London, the TGV to Provence, etc...

Easy to get around transportation wise, a large handbag selection, Poilane bread, nice walkability, and Guenmai vegetarian/Vegan restaurant in the 6th...an no I have no part in the restaurant. I took this nickname very long ago and for other reasons. Happy Travels!

What is not to love about Paris? I had the great pleasure of showing my favorite city to my 18YO sister last summer and it was almost more fun to watch her fall in love with the city than it was to show it to her!

I have to say that getting up early and strolling the streets as the city wakes up is always a favorite pastime of DH and mine. We love watching everyone get ready for the day-it’s like being privy to some ritual that’s been going on for centuries and we never get tired of it!

I love this post. My friends often ask me why I love Paris so much. And I tell them the ambiance, the architecture, being able to walk into a shop and make a simple inquiry in French (and being understood) the croissants, the chocolate croissants, the almond croissants...Where was I? Oh yeah, the bread, the chocolate shops and the many flavors available, the pastry shops with so many choices I usually end up getting two things.

I love the food in general, but especially the easy availability of rabbit and duck. The same items occasionally appear on menus here, but are usually more expensive. The history is fascinating, the museums and the ease of getting around.

I have only been 4 times, but I made myself go some place different this year. I have two weeks planned for Italy in October, which I am really excited about, but I'm already planning my trip to Paris for next year.

who's the guy with his hand in his jacket?

oh my

Reading all the replies to this brilliant thread I have to tell you all about this book I found at my bookstore last week - LA VIE PARISIENNE ( Looking for love and the perfect lingerie) by Janelle McCulloch.

It is simply wonderful! You will read descriptions of Paris that bring you to tears.

Paris, they say, is the city that changes least. After an absence of twenty or thirty years, one still recognises it.

I loved reading this thread, and will do so many times. Sometimes I feel reincarnated and that somewhere in the past I lived there. Why else could I feel so comfortable anywhere in the city.

After five trips, my favorite time was in an apartment on Ile St. Louis, getting bread and pastry at the bakery and walking up 67 steps to our home away from home.

The best times are the quiet times walking along the Seine, sitting in a beautiful park, or just sipping Cafe Creme at a cafe in the rain.

Let's hear more!!!

I was just whining the other day about how much I NEED to see Paris...people just don't understand that NEED.

Where shall I start? Walking down the street, looking up and there's the Eiffel Tower off in the distance (I know I'm in Paris at that moment)...watching the Eiffel Tower twinkle...Fromage Moufffetard studded with raisins...Poulet Roti...duck or rabbit or lamb on any menu anytime...Chocolat Chaud avec un Mont Blanc at Angelina...walking from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe...sitting on the stairs at Sacre Coeur and watching the sunset...a pear tart...ice cream from Berthillon...walking for hours in any direction...concerts in La Sainte Chappelle...Monet...Au Pied de Cochon...moules...huitres...scallops with the roe still attached...speaking French...listening to French spoken...museums...parks...everything!

I need to feed my addiction soon.

The international side (as pointed out to me by Fodorites such as Kerouac):

Cheap, incredible Lebanese food in the 5th

Falafel on Rue de Rosiers in the 3rd

Hearty mint tea at the Café de La Mosque in the 5th

Eating smashed coconuts at the festival of Ganesh in the Indian part of town.

Sitting windowside in a cafe on a rainy evening, eating creme brulee and people watching.

Standing in a chocolate shop trying to choose a gift for my dad, with the shop owner asking all sorts of questions and then she chooses an assortment of chocolates, wraps it beautifully, and also gives my friend and I several samples. (My dad loved it and wouldn't even share.) All as if she had all the time in the world, even though there were other customers.

Walking along the Seine enjoying the fall colors.

The architecture.

The food.

The people.

Napoleon

Baguettes. I've had much, much better meals in cities other than Paris, but I have never had a piece of bread better than a really good baguette.

Especially when buttered with that wonderful French butter!

In just one word .
Everything!!!!

I don't know anywhere else in the world where I feel so comfortable walking into a very good restaurant and eating 'tout seul'. Dining alone in Paris, sometimes, just feels good and when I look around, I often spot other woman diners just there to enjoy the great food and a glass a wine at lunch, what a luxury!

You are all "my kind of people".

Paris, ahh Paris.

Where to start..here, with obvoious bias and rose coloured glasses, some ramblings...

I like walking in Paris, both the busy streets and the little side streets.

It may mean coming across small store in the 6th that only sells items related to Le Petit Prince, or that nondescript street in the 4th that surprises you when you look across and see what remains of an ancient noblemans's house is only the entranceway with large wooden doors and mantel..now incorporated into a "newer building".

The cobblestone alleyways of Village St Paul..wide enough for one horse and carriage, the walks along the Seine, looking at the bouquiniste's old magazines...the windows of the Grands Magasins with their xmas animations and the enthralled look of the children (old and young)...

The history. so much happened here and so many of the greats spent time....this is where Napoleon ruled and is buried, here where Louis XV1 was beheaded and over there thown in a ditch near Marie Antoinette , and where this plaque commemorates a soldier shot in 1944 liberating Paris...the Procope where Ben Franklin and Robespierre ate...sitting in the arene de Lutece and wondering what the Romans did here so long ago.

The attention to beauty and style. Where you buy flowers of chocolates and they box it up like a little jewel...or ask if it is to be a gift and spend extra time adding those little touches that are never seen at home.

The women (I had to say it!) Their style, seeing a sense of style in the young and old, how they "put themselves together" with their scarves and accessories, and of course the accents, gallic shrugs and "ooofs" that as a male I find attractive.

The architecture...from the minimal number of high-rises in the core and the elegance of the Haussman buildings, the incorporation of the old and the new, to walking in the 4th and seeing chunks of the old city walls..

The museums...the large, the small...the lilies of Monet at the Marmottan, the grandeur of the Louvre, the praying child sculpture by Camille Claudel at the Rodin...and the gargoyles of Notre Dame at the Cluny.


The overwhelming array of colours as the sun hits the windows at St Chapelle making you see the timeless beauty of the work.

The food, always an attraction. To go into a restaurant and feel that pride has been taken to prepare the meal,with interesting and fresh ingredients. I like that they have appelations for so many items, like poulet de Bresse..who knew that chickens from Bresse were special. The waiter leaves you alone, I don't know his name, and he is efficient.

I even like the street cleaners in their green vests...there is something nice about having people going around trying to keep things tidy (strange, I know)

I can go to a street market and the vendor will share recipes, and ask when I will be eating a certain vegetable, and picks them out based on my answer.The cheese shop where the owner will give you a story on the cheeses, how they should be served and stored..and a sample.

The chocolate shops, the patisseries...no need to say more about these.

The flower shops everywhere with magnificent colours...

The sheer beauty of Place des Vosges, the Luxembourg Gardens, Palais Royal...

But mostly, it is those things that cannot be put into words (although some of you have done quite well!) , what I'd call the atmosphere.

One small tradition I like is on one of the last nights of a visit, standing on a bridge between Ile de la Cite and the Right Bank... looking at the Eiffel Tower in the distance, following the arc of light from the bateaux mouches as they illuminate the shores and bridges, lovers strolling along the banks of the river, the red neon sign of the Right Bank cafe on the street along the Seine...and realizing that this comes quite close to a vision of perfection.

We recently returned from our 40th wedding anniversay trip to Europe including one week of "April in Paris". It was my wife's first trip to Europe, and my first return to Paris in 50 years, after spending 3 years there as a teenage American military dependent. Just as beautiful as I remembered it from the '50's and the Metro as efficient and economical as it was then. And a lot of my French came back as we immersed ourselves in the culture.

Just like citrouille, the starter of this thread, we found Parisians exceptionally helpful and polite (with the exception of a couple of waiters). But hey, your Paris experience is not complete without a rude waiter encounter!

Some highlights: a 4 hour Paris tour on Segways (highly recommended!), an impromptu singalong with a Japanese bachelor party on the Metro, and a fractured French conversation about culture and life with the Spanish owner of a Parisian laundromat while waiting for our clothes to dry. Il fait bon vivre!

I could only repeat what was written above.

All I know is, that from the first moment I set foot in Paris, my heart sang "Ahhhh....I'm home."

I love the sky. Someone told me once that Paris had great clouds...on the days when it is one big gray cloud it's not as appealing, but there are times when the sky forms such a perfect backdrop to whatever you're looking at that it makes me wish I could paint.

The walking, anywhere and everywhere.

The unexpected encounters and random kindnesses (this is something I love about cities in general).

The springtime, when the marronniers (sp?) and other trees are in bloom. I remember walking through the little park at La Muette one year and having blossoms float down gently all around me like confetti.

The general availability of bread, and the fact that being a boulanger is still a profession by itself.

Sigh. I just made my first trip back in over ten years, and it was not enough. But I have a milestone birthday coming up in a couple of years, and my husband is on notice of what will be required...

Reading all of this makes me smile and tear up. I miss Paris so much.

I agree with all that has been said. One of the things that I love about Paris is how I feel when I'm there. I feel more alive. There is something about the city that energizes me in a way that I've not yet encountered when I'm at home. It could be that when I'm in Paris, I'm on vacation and being home is associated with work. Who knows?

One year I traveled from the south of France to Paris. As soon as I got off the train at the station, I felt as if a huge weight had lifted off my shoulders. I knew I was "home." I've never had that happen since that moment, but it was nice. I felt as if I could breathe easier and I did.

TR

Even when it rains, and the stores are closed, Paris' charms remain, if not heightened.

There's a ferris wheel in front of a grand museum.

The history.

The potential shopping opportunities.

Most everything listed above by other posters.

This thread is making me Paris so very much.

I love everything about Paris, except maybe the taxi drivers, they scare me.

I love the food, the wine, the language, the gardens, the streets, the cafes, the museums, the shopping.

I love all the unexpected treasures and pleasures.

And the men.

I've been 10 times. I can't imagine going to Europe without going to Paris. That seems almost a crime!

I've been to Paris on about ten vacations. It was our favorite city in Europe ... until we arrived in Berlin. More diverse, cleaner, easier access, Berlin is now our destination for vacations.

Why would you EVER drag this thread up to tell us all that you prefer Berlin to Paris?

DAFT!!! DAFT!!! DAFT!!!


Thin is dreaming of Paris and will be there in Novemeber.

He will have some macaroons from Lauduree. He will go shopping at Hediard and Deyrolles.

He will ask the Countess de Billy if she wants to go shopping for tube socks at Tati.

He will scour the streets looking for tiny French Bulldogs who look like his beloved Jackie O.

He will drink wine and suze and Pastis and fall into the gutter.

More Bollinger, s'il vous plait!

Thingorjus