Ray Seva

Just got back from a visit to Toulouse/Lourdes/Paris. My first visit EVER to Europe. The cities are really very beautiful...the women are head-turners for sure.
But what I found really really surprising/stunning/shocking is the amount of doggie-doo on the streets & sidewalks! Apparently the French love dogs...and they love giving them walks. But apparently they don't give a darn about picking up/scooping-up after Fido/Fifi. It's really really bad. I mean, piles of it everywhere.
So my advice to any first-timers to France is: Watch your step! Crime was apparently non-existant...the streets were very safe crime-wise...but watch out for those little piles!

Donna

We spent nine days in Paris and walked all over. I had read in tour guides about the dogs and to watch your step! Interestingly enough, however, we never once saw any doggy-do anywhere. In fact, we didn't see nearly as many dogs as we expected. And, the street cleaners (and they make them where horrible green uniforms similar to the orange ones we have at the state pens) were out in full force all the time. So, while in Paris, it's good to watch your step, but please don't expect to find doggy-do everywhere, and don't be surprised if you don't see any at all.

Dayle

Thanks for the warning! I'm visiting France for the first time in October and I have to admit that's one thing that never occured to me!

Bonjour

France has never been for the fastidious. Their women don't shave their legs and their men don't change their clothes enough. They pee on the street using little buildings that start at one's knees and leave one's face open to the world, presumably so that one can tip one's hat at passersby. Their disdain for hot water, soap, and deodorants is world-famous. But, as any Frenchman will confirm, France is the home of culture, refinement, and style. Sheesh. And they have pulled this con job on the rest of the world for centuries.

Ann

Re: Bonjour
I just love France and Paris and have never stept in doggy-do when been there. Although I once thought that Frenchman were "sale" - dirty for not being so fresh.
The 90-ies is to the extreme - getting ill by being too clean - and som might think that hairy women-legs is not very sexy but it certainly has nothing to do with being clean or not.
Artists are boheme and Paris is a bohemian city with beautiful building, great wine - and some doggy-do as well.

Ann

Re: Bonjour
I just love France and Paris and have never stept in doggy-do when been there. Although I once thought that Frenchman were "sale" - dirty for not being so fresh.
The 90-ies is to the extreme - getting ill by being too clean - and som might think that hairy women-legs is not very sexy but it certainly has nothing to do with being clean or not.
Artists are boheme and Paris is a bohemian city with beautiful building, great wine - and some doggy-do as well.

Sharon

I, too, have NEVER encountered the aforementioned piles. We were astounded at how clean everything was. The "Men In Green" Donna mentioned are everywhere and we have never encounted trash of any kind. I had also expected to encounter the body odor which the French seem to be known for but we did not meet a single person who smelled. When we traveled on to London from Paris, we did meet PLENTY of people whose personal hygiene left a lot to be desired (mainly on the tube). As for the hairy legs, never saw any of those either. We did see a really old woman with hair growing from a mole on her face, but apart from that...

Lori Whitmore

I was amused to see comments from people who didn't find Paris dirty. They must have too many romantic stars in their eyes. Paris is the dirtiest city I have seen anywhere. The Champs-Elysses was so filled with garbage when I was there it was difficult to walk around. The smaller back streets have food garbage piled up everywhere. I thought the dog do was the least of our worries.

Kathy

Obviously, Lori, you haven't been to New York City, Rome or any of the major Eastern European or Third-World capitals. As in any city, there are parts that are dirty. In Paris, the more exclusive "BCBG" areas tend to be cleaner, and the major thoroughfares like the rue de Rivoli tend to be covered in cigarette butts. As for Bonjour's comment about women not shaving and personal hygiene, I believe that it is more prevalent in the older generation. Most women in their 20s and 30s were very well-groomed, and waxing and beauty treatments are very common there. As for the dog poo, I would tend to agree that on some of the major streets it's a problem, but no more so than in any other big city. I just got back from 10 days in Paris yesterday, where it was hot for May (80+ degrees). I didn't encounter a lot of BO-any more or less than in NYC or major city in the summer. Again, I think lack of hygiene in France is a generational thing.

Jen Z

I didn't notice a heck of a lot of dog doo, though I noticed some symbols painted on the sidewalks that indicated where dog-do might be, like over the drainage grates (or something like that -- this was three years ago, so my memory is a little hazy). What grossed me out was the grates on the sides of the curbs and sidewalks that spewed out water, pushing garbage along with the help of the guys with the big brooms...it all just ended up clogged up somewhere else. Other really yucky areas included the RER stations (the commuter trains to the suburbs and Versailles). It looked to me that either people had been rummaging through the garbage cans, or everyone just dumped their garbage anywhere BUT the garbage cans. It was everywhere...you couldn't take one step without stepping on garbage. I think Amsterdam is worse for human 'waste'. Everywhere you go you can smell urine; there's no escaping it!!!

Dayle

Isn't this an interesting conversation? Actually, I have never heard these little details before about Paris or Amsterdam. Not a word! When I was in Rome and Venice, both were very clean (March) and I had heard that both were dirty. Guess I'll just wear old shoes and take a good supply of "moist towelettes"!

Joanna

My friend and I noticed that Strasbourg was the "dog poo capital of Europe", particularly the streets from the station to the centre of town. We had to negotiate our bags on trolleys through it all and nearly came a cropper when the trolleys turned over a couple of times! I wasn't too hot on seeing dogs allowed in department stores in Paris. Even one lady was allowed to bring her dog into a store cafe that said "no dogs allowed" - guess she must have been someone important.

Bonjour

And just wait until you sleep in a bed in a French one- or two-star hotel. Lumps within lumps. A faint smell of old cologne. No wash cloths. Mysterious plumbing. Showers right out of Capt. Nemo's Nautilus. They were using those big old brooms on their curbs 50 years ago, flushing refuse downhill to heaven knows where. Ah, you will say, the food, the food! As if their pommes frites were any better than McDonald's -- at 10-times the price.
Ah, the French...they are a funny race. Tres drole.

Christina

Dear "Bonjour"
maybe it would be better if you'd stay in our
steril bathroom. I rather enjoy the best parts of
Paris. And maybe you should have a higher budget
next time you travel to Paris and try some other
restaurant than MacDonald's !

Al

I visited Paris for the first time in January of this year. One of the things I was aware of was the presence of doggy-doo on the sidewalks. However, I found that Paris was sooo beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off what was around me. I walked carefully to avoid the excrement but it didn't dull my love for the city. I walked constantly and never tired of the scenery. And I also found that most of the citizens were polite and helpful. I can't wait to go back.

Bonjour

Ah, I have tweeked some snobbish nerves, n'est ce pas? Having helped liberate France in 1944 and 1945, returning to guard its shores in 1952, and having traveled all over that splendid land of pleasure and ease, I have a long-term relationship with the Gauls and their nation. They are, as individuals, tres charmants. As a group, they can be beastly, overbearing, and exclusive. They have raised ingratitude toward America to an art form. There is nothing so burdensome as gratitude for having one's life saved. And America has come to rescue of that ungrateful nation TWICE in this century. As DeGaulle said, "How can one govern a nation that makes 500 kinds of cheese!" Indeed, the French they are a funny race, doggy-doo and all.

janet

I'm glad these letters weren't on here before I left for France last month. I would really have been put off. As it was, I found Paris much cleaner than it was twenty years ago, the last time I was there. As far as dog doo, the most annoying example of this, to me, was the "gentleman" who allowed his dog to relieve himself in my yard! In New Hampshire!

Tom

Bonjour,I tip my hat to you!!

Lidia

Reply Bonjour: As a person who was born in France and now living in the USA. You think you would have learned after 1952 and not be stupid enough to return. As for the dog piles in Paris I just returned spending 12 days there and I didn't encounter one pile. This used to be a problem in the 70's and 80's but the men in green as mentioned are keeping it clean. If you are so Anti-France I suggest you stay home and sleep in your own bed or stay at a better hotel in Paris.

Chris

As a European who works in France, I can only confirm the doggy stories. Not just Paris, but in any French city. Paris isn't any dirtier or cleaner than any other city of its size - dirtiness is a big-city-syndrome. But that does not in any way alter the fact that it is one of the most amazing places on earth and it has its flair just because it is that way.