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.

<i>Paris sera toujours Paris !
La plus belle ville du monde
Malgr&eacute; l'obscurit&eacute; profonde
Son &eacute;clat ne peut &ecirc;tre assombri
Paris sera toujours Paris !
Plus on r&eacute;duit son &eacute;clairage
Plus on voit briller son courage
Plus on voit briller son esprit
Paris sera toujours Paris !</i>

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 &quot;Bonjour&quot; 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 &quot;who's the guy with his hand in his jacket?&quot; and tried to get into a private club by saying &quot;but you don't understand, we're Americans&quot; but even he looked up at one point and commented on how interesting the roofs and chimneys were.

Walking endlessly from caf&eacute; to caf&eacute;, the restaurants, the museums, the Parisians, rue Montorgueil, the smells, the photography potential everywhere, the M&eacute;tro, the Haussmann buildings, the Eiffel tower at night, the macarons at Ladur&eacute;e, 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!