SuzieC

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&gt
Wonderful but different (What is your favorite? Steak or lobster? both great but different!)

elle

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>>

Powell

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.

melissa19

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!

mclaurie

So many here have been so eleoquent answering your question, I'll just add that many people who don't usually like cities often <i>love</i> 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 &quot;to say we've been&quot; &amp; then spend most of their time in the country. It surprised me how many people responded saying they thought they wouldn't like Paris &amp; wound up loving it.

111op

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...is_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 &quot;Year in Provence,&quot; for example). Another point she mentions is that there's no &quot;Last Metro&quot; in NYC -- and she mentions feeling constrained in Paris in the sense that people just don't have the &quot;can do&quot; 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.

uhoh_busted

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!)

Powell

Thanks, 111op re the ages of the twosubways.

One postscript for Melissa19. There is a great book: &quot;The Seven Ages of Paris&quot; 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.

awbaker

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.

capo

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 <i>one</i> 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.

Donna

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

dcespedes

Amen, Donna!

melissa19

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

skaf

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.

Underhill

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.

capo

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.

Bronxiniowa

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!

kerouac

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

kbiscuitt

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
.

adrienne

kbiscuitt - you're responding to a post from 2004. I believe the OP has already taken the trip!