Help! How is Paris?!
 

Hi All,
I am going to Paris for the first time in a few weeks. I am a nervous flyer and nervous about world affairs (my friend talked me into going with him to Paris)! So I was wondering if anyone can calm me down and tell me great things about Paris and about the safety of Americans there. Also how is Lyon? We were thinking of taking a few days to see another part of France that is easy to get to from Paris. So it would be 6 days in Paris and 4 days somewhere else. Do you have any suggesstions on where to spend those days? Thanks to anyone with advice!

Type in Paris in that search box up there and I think you'll find pretty much unanimous agreement that the French are not changing the names of any foods, do not have the guns and knives at the ready, and the guillotine has not been set back up for Americans. I'm leaving for France and environs in less than two weeks and I don;t think you have a thing to worry about other than perhaps having enough money to spend during your absolutely fabulous trip.

Lyon is awesome. But honestly, if it were my first trip, I would go to Lyon first and then Paris. Lyon is great in it's own right but you don't want to see it after you've become saturated by churches, squares, monuments, rivers and other French wonders.

Grasshopper, I know you've always talked about how wonderful Lyon is, and I've heard that from a number of other sources as well.

Yesterday, I was flipping through a travel magazine (can't recall which one) and noticed a brief article about Lyon which talked about its "bouchons."

I'm sure you know what they are, but for those who don't, here's a different article I just found about them...

"The Bouchon of Lyons" by Martin O'Brien

The bouchons of Lyons are what Paris' bistros used to be, authentic family-run establishments serving locally-based dishes in surroundings that have changed little since the turn of the century.

http://www.travelintelligence.net/ws...s/art_186.html

I received a newsletter today from France Monthly and it features Lyon. Check it out:
http://www.FranceMonthly.com/n/0403

Capo & Howard R, Thanks to you you both for sharing those articles. I always appreciate reading commentaries about cities...especially ones I will be visiting soon!!

Thanks guys for your replies! It's much appreciated.

As to your question about safety and issues of world affairs, I watched Charlie Rose last night. He had several Frenchmen on the program who had recently written books about recent world affairs (one was about the murder of the American reporter Daniel Perle). They emphasized what many have written here-the French may disagree with our GOVERNMENT policy but have no animosity toward Americans. In fact they felt some French people were starting to believe their position against the war-and America- was wrong.
Go and have a great time. You will love France.

If you go to Lyon, don't miss the silk museum. But I would suggest going to the Loire valley or Burgundy for a taste of something other than a large city.

Paris is wonderful. I just got back a week ago from a 2-week trip to France and encountered not a single instance of anti-American sentiment either in the country or in Paris. Of course, the French media have their own spin on events, very much equivalent to our own Fox News, but the average person on the street is as he always was. Don't have any second thoughts about visiting this wonderful country, or the city of Paris.

I think the general consensus, among the major media outlets in the USA, is that Fox News (which admittedly I have never liked because it is just a parade of opinionated talking heads and not what I consider to be impartial journalism) was blatantly pro-Administration in its coverage of the war with Iraq. Whether I am pro- or con-the Administration, or whether anyone else is, is irrelevant. Fox News claims it is "fair and unbalanced." I didn't find its coverage of the war to be so.
And my point was that coverage of the war in France was radically different from coverage here. It focused on the carnage rather than the successes of the allied forces. It downplayed the rapid advance of the allied troops into Baghdad, dismissed our victories, and focused on the war atrocities. That's all - for better or for worse.
I didn't mean for this to turn into a political discussion - just wanted to point out that Paris is safe and wonderful and that the French media spin the truth just as our media do.

Paris is a great city! Every time we visit, we find more we love about it. And please don't be nervous about the people. One secret we have learned is to always attempt to speak French, although we have a pretty limited vocabulary. The French people appreciate the effort. The last time we were there, in 2001, a young woman offered me her seat on the metro, when she saw me struggling with my suitcase, etc, during a rush hour trip from our hotel to the Gare du Nord. Her kindness was greatly appreciated, as I was having trouble handling my bag in the crush of people. On the same trip, a policewoman in Deauville was very kind and helpful as I struggled with a strange parking meter. This trip, of course, was a few years ago, in 2001, before the current problems. I can't help but think, however, that the French people would be just as gracious to travellers now as they were to us then.

I hope I am not speaking out of order as I have not been to Lyon; but from personal experience, we wanted to mix Paris with another type of area. Four days is a substantial amount of time to go to any other part of the country. It's a few hours by high speed train to Avignon where you can spend 4 days exploring Provence.
Or a couple of Hours to Normandy where you can explore Chartres, the beaches etc.
Having said this, if Lyon holds a special appeal by all means that is where you should go, but the point I was trying to make is that there are a lot of parts of France that are easy to get to.
Have a great time.

Just returned four days ago from 5 days in Paris and 4 in Avignon. The people were gracious and helpful the whole trip. Although there were many tourists about there were few Americans which saddened me. We've much to learn from the culture that created a city as grand as Paris. Have a great time!

I also just got back from Paris and didn't notice that the behavior of the French was any different from that during previous visits. There were no problems. Go and enjoy!

I also just got home - spent 4 days in Paris and 2 in Lyon. I did not notice any difference either with past visits as far as the political situation. This was my first time in Lyon and there is a great deal to see. They have a Lyon card similar to the Paris Musee card but the Lyon card also includes a self-guided audio tour, walking tours and boat rides as well as a great number of museums. I decided to go to Lyon as I do not drive and it was an easy two-hour TGV ride from Paris. On the other hand, there is plenty to do in Paris for ten days. You can do a couple of day trips such as Giverny and Chartres for starters. Paris has some fabulous exhibitions going on now as well if you're into art. Have a wonderful time!
Mara

Think about a couple of days in Lyon and a couple in Nimes. Nimes is almost a miniature Rome but in France, with a 2000 year old Coliseum, Pantheon, fountains, Roman bath, and lots of small, narrow, winding streets, shops, markets and places to eat. Very Mediterranean. It's about 5 hours by TGV to/from Paris. An hour or two from Lyon.

I think it is great that the characterization of the French is that they are accomodating, polite, and gracious. I just want to know why so many Americans over the years say the French have always disliked us...and I am speaking about men who participated back in WWII's opinion that they never really liked us much. I am not siding with either side...I would just like to know more about this vast difference of opinion

Just returned from Paris. Not even a hint of any problems. Weather was great, people friendly, safety never a consideration.

Wren. Good question.

This is my opinion. As someone who has been to France numerous times and have loved every visit, I believe it all has to do with attitude. I always try to speak the language. Although I don't do very well, most every French person I have ever come in contact with appreciates the effort. In return, I have had only pleasant experiences. Truthfully, in my many trips to France, I cannot recall anyone ever being rude to me. Maybe not being overly talkative, but certainly not rude. I believe people who have bad experiences with the French usually bring it upon themselves by being demanding (like asking for an American coffee at the top of their lungs...and yes I have seen it in just about every country I've traveled).

I know a girl who hated the French after she came back from Paris. I asked her whether she ever tried to speak the language. She replied, "No, they all know English, so why should I?" I asked her, "What if a French person came here and demanded to be spoken to in French." She just shrugged her shoulders.

I believe politeness is usually reciprocated. I also believe in the "when in Rome" philosophy. It is still THEIR country. I will adapt when I'm in France, Germany, Italy or anywhere else. I think younger people do better at this than older people (by the way, I'm 50 so I'm one of the older ones). I just was fortunate to have a dad who traveled alot and handed me down, what I believe, is the correct way to be a tourist. I am sure many will differ, but I do not believe the myth about the French and rudeness.

Re: "I just want to know why so many Americans over the years say the French have always disliked us"

I don't think that this fully accounts for the perception that the French don't like Americans but in a book I've got about French culture, and how it differs from the U.S., the author maintains that a large source of misunderstanding is that the French are more formal, and that this formality can come across to more informal Americans as rudeness or aloofness or unfriendliness.

Just came back from Paris last week. Absolutely wonderful! Beautiful city, beautiful buildings, beautiful people. Be respectful and you get it in return. As for crime, US of A is the worst so you'll most likely be safer in any other first world country than here, sad to say.

I strongly agree with you Capo. The difference between Americans and Europeans is that Americans believe in instant friendship, while us European are more formals and we are not used to call people by their first name the minute that we meet them and even if we know each other for years we always use the formal You . Children dont call us by the first name but Mrs or Mr Soso..It was very strange for me, when I first came to live in the USA to have the children call me by my first name, such familiarity is unheard in Europe and it is not a proper thing to do.

This is a simplistic answer but in Europe people ask " who are you?" in the US " what are you?". Two totally different ways of looking at people and neither is necessarily better than the other.

It's not only Americans who have this quite inexplicable obsession not just with how unpleasant the French are, but how it's personal: many Brits also find - and claim hard evidence - of this.
Personally, in getting on for a 100 visits to France, I'd say that if anything the standards of public courtesy, to everyone, French or foreign, are higher in France than in the US. And infinitely higher than in my native UK, where we are capable of elevating gratuitous offensiveness to an art form.
The only explanation I've found is that the "French are horrible" gang are generally themselves socially inept. To the boorish, everyone's a boor

Just returned from France and had a wonderful time with the great people o France. But I'm actually posting to express my objection with flyaway's post. If you think that US cities are the most crime ridden you apparently still have a lot of traveling and learning to do.

"To the boorish, everyone's a boor."

flanneruk, touche! (unfortunately Fodor's won't let me put that accent above the "e").

Thanks, kismetchimera. As I recall, that author also maintains that the cultural misunderstanding works the other way too, that the informality of Americans can come across to the more formal French as rudeness, or impoliteness.

Thinking that the particular book I'm referring to is "French or Foe" (which people have mentioned here a number of times) I just looked it up and here's what a review says, on the website below...

'With case studies and plenty of humor, Ms. Platt adroitly explains why it is that other cultures have such a hard time dealing with the French. The American myth of the "rude French" is discussed in detail, and we discover that it is in fact Americans who are (unknowingly) rude to the French, and that the French are simply reacting with puzzlement or fear, which is read as arrogance or coldness.'

http://french.about.com/library/revi...renchorfoe.htm


Interesting comments, flanneruk.

Re: 'The only explanation I've found is that the "French are horrible" gang are generally themselves socially inept. To the boorish, everyone's a boor.'

If someone says they visited France and encountered a few rude, or boorish, people, I can believe that. I love France, and the French, but have also had a few negative experiences here and there. However, if someone says they visited France and encountered nothing but rudeness, I tend to think -- as you alluded to above -- that the problem may actually lie with them.

We were in Paris, with a quick trip to Normandy, from 4/17-4/26 (two moms, 3 daughters, ages 13,13 & 11). The anti-American thing was a complete non-event and we had a great time. Almost everyone we encountered was polite and helpful. After listening to a few words of our dreadful French, they would inevitably respond in English (I'm never sure whether to be insulted or just relieved). I'm ashamed to admit we ducked into McDonald's once (sometimes you gotta have that giant cup of cheap coffee)and it was packed with French people. Also interesting, we saw sweaters,shirts and socks with American flag motifs fairly prominently displayed at Galleries Lafayette. Go, enjoy, and have a wonderful trip!

Gee, I wonder if they were selling any baseball caps or athletic shoes, too? You know, the things that the Fodors "fashion police" keep forbidding us to wear!

I went to France very concerned about the fashion police rules on athletic shoes. But when I got there and saw the French in soxs and sandals as well as running in athelic shoes and black soxs. I figured who cares what the fashion police have to say.