I am putting together one of my "books" - I use Blurb to combine photos and text - it's a great product if you are looking for a place to print your photos. Very professional. Several people who have seen some of the ones I've already done thought I bought them. Anyway, I have lots of information gathered from guidebooks, from the web, from my own experiences. But I'm also including a lot of quotes and I now realize some of the best are ones I've collected from years of posts here. Fodorites write the best quotes. I'm almost done and need a few more. So I was hoping some of you would like to describe for me what you love about Paris. How does it make you feel? What are your favorite places - major sites or hidden corners. Thanks

Hi Isabel,

>What do you love about Paris? <

What is not to love about Paris?

I feel more alive in Paris than I do in any other city I have ever been to.

Just about everything.

the shop window displays

The buildings,the food, the museums,the streets, the parks, the public transportation,the churches,the bridges, the public monuments,Promenade Plantee, the Seine.
I guess you can say I love everything about Paris.

Not too much.

There is a strange sense of "sameness" I feel in Paris. Too big and too homogeneous.

Shopping and good public transportation. Happy Travels!

With a slight bias...)

I like the architecture and history. Coming from a moden city which has not preserved much of anything old, I like going to a place where from one moment to another I can go from a roman arena, to a cafe where the existensialists congregated, to a restaurant where Ben Franklin ate, to a chapel where a king once attended church, to a building where a court summarily sentenced citizens to sit in the back of a cart, to go to their death by guillotine...and then to a spot where multiple movies shot scenes with a centuries old cathedral and a historic river frame the background. All in one walk!

I like the focus on living and less on working. I like the little touches..the time I bought flowers and the lady asked if they were for me or a gift and, when I said gift, spent much time make the presentation just so with ribbons and such.

I like their love of food. I like the fact that when I go into a restaurant I can expect a good meal. I like that they value their regionality. I like that I am not rushed to get a meal, and that the servers are professionals and not "Larry".
There is no 'Poulet de Bresse' back home.

I like the support for the arts, and the quantity of performances and exhibitions.

I like walking the streets and going down alleyways, to discover a small cobblestone street with the ruts where carriages used to run, to see an old doorway or portion of a wall built into a newer structure, a small park, a plaque telling the history, sometimes sad, of what happended at this location.

I like standing on a bridge over the Seine on a summer night, a warm breeze stirring, watching the boats go by, the tourist ones with their spotlights darting from building to building, occasionally illuminating couples sitting by river's edge, the neon signs inviting strollers in for a drink or a bite, the bridges lit up to show their splendour, the Eiffel twinkling in the distance...nirvana.

The way of life. I like that it is less hurried and that many people do stop in to their neighborhood cafe every day. I love that they shop many times a week and buy what is fresh. I love how fantastic the bread and pastries are.

I love that you can get a glass of champagne anywhere and it is never flat! I love that many places serve olives with champagne and you get that balance of salty and slightly sweet.

I love that the chocolats (and pastries) are works of art; the quality of the product and the care to make it look beautiful.

I love that around every corner is something that looks like a postcard. Whether it is a just a quiet, small street or a site as majestic as Notre Dame.

I love the exquisite cheeses and how special a bite or two of cheese is with a baguette. I love the butter that has sea salt in it! (and am horrified by what passes for bread, cheese and butter here in the US).

I love that I feel so alive in Paris...it wakes your senses up. I love that as soon as I get home, I can't wait to go back. I love that I am afraid I will never get to go back. I love even the thought of Paris and when a first timer goes there and knows what I mean by all of this!

denisea, I was always afraid when I talk to friends who haven't been to Paris that I'd over-hype the place and it will fall short of their expectations.....that never happened (that they've told me, anyway!) So now I feel free to just gush on to new visitors.

Judy - The only people I have seen that don't get it are:

a: the ones who miss their Kraft Singles and Wonder Bread while they are away or b: those who have never been and have believed all the negative views of the French and are determined to miss out

I miss Buffalo Girl's "I'm so excited" thread from last year!

I know what you mean. We've been over 20 times (I think....stopped counting) and have already booked 3 weeks for 2012 and I still get excited when the apartment is chosen and deposit in!

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

Earnest Hemmingway...

That is exactly how I feel when I go

headed there in April I cannot wait...

a: I prefer Manchego and other sheep's milk cheeses (semi-cured), and I've never had a slice of Wonder Bread.

b: I have visited twice - the second time to see if I might have "missed" feeling some connection the first time. A third visit seems highly unlikely.

What is the purpose of maligning those who don't share your love of place? Travel is subjective. Would you put down someone who doesn't love a food, book, or potential mate you favour? Would they just not be "getting it" if their tastes were different?

Forming opinions about others based on whether they validate your personal tastes and choices is not what sharing travel experiences should be about.

Go ahead an love Paris and gush about it - I do about my favourite places. There are, however, opposing viewpoints and the holders of those are not necessarily uncultured (Kraft slices and Wonder Bread), inexperienced (never having visited), closed minded (falling victim to negative stereotypes) or spiteful (determined to miss out).

Look at it this way; I keep Paris less crowded for those who love it, and you probably do the same for my favourite places.

Paris gets in your soul and no matter how many times that you go you cannot wait to go again for the thrill of taking a Seine River cruise after dark and seeing the Eiffel Tower all twinkling and sparkling like it is the very first time that you are seeing it. I love their culture and their manners which some Americans could take a lesson from. I like that fact that they appreciate good food and wine and savor each meal and did I mention the great Champagnes.....to just sit in a cafe and sip a glass is calming to the soul!

There is an infinite number of things I love about Paris, but mostly what I love is that almost anywhere you are in the city, most things around you are just pleasing to the eye.

I think I get what Aramis is saying. There is one city that I don't like, in a country that I do really love. People sometimes treat me like I'm an oaf when I say I don't like _______.

What I love about Paris: the wide range of art that is always on display.

I like how easy it is to BE in Paris. We were very proud of ourselves when we found it easy to navigate to all of the beautiful places we'd only imagined.
Oh, and I love, loved Musée de l'Orangerie. To be able to be so close and surrounded by what we had only seen on coffee mugs, table books, prints, photos keychains almost everything and then to walk into a room and see the artwork in all it's glory was magnificent.

The museums - the endless museums. The cafes - the hundreds of places to sit for an hour and watch the world go by. And the things that you see when it does goes by. Exploring a lot of different neighborhoods.

I love the chicness of the French women (I know there are a million posts saying they are slobs - but it's not true) - among many there is a style and chic that you see in few other places. (If you're not seeing it perhaps you're hanging out in the wrong places.) It's a miracle what you can do with by accessorizing a perfect little black dress or suit and some beautiful shoes.