I feel beautiful in Paris and am surroinded by beauty, be it in the parks or just being a flaneur where there seems to be something of interest in most buildings, perhaps a beautiful door, or stone carvings, a wrought iron balcony decked with flowers,boutiques selling so many odd unique things, and oh the bakeries!

My love of Paris is the morning coffee and croissant at the local cafe. the 3-course meal with wine for lunch. another 3-course meal for dinner with LOTS, LOTS of wine. then going back to your apartment and drinking more wines that you purchased from the local grocery store. The most walkable city ever !! We averaged about 10 miles per day.
Visiting all the street markets with their beautiful fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, seafoods, clothings, and prepared foods. Walking back to your apartment or hotel after picking up a wonderful pastry from the corner pastry shop.
Walking on the many streets and boulevards for many miles checking out the wonderful stores, cafes, restaurants, apartments, museums, monuments. Riding the Metro and seeing all nationalities, races, and all kinds of people riding it with you. Taking the TGV or local train to other nearby towns that have an old established history. Tasting good wine at a cheap price in the local wine bars. Sitting in a sidewalk cafe people watching for many hours while only drinking a glass of wine or 1 coffee. And the most important is before you even get to Paris(according to my wife): Knowing that the women in Paris is super thin and the clothes only go up to a size 14: getting the weight off so that when you walk down the streets of Paris you are mistaken for a Parisiene ( it happened to her and she loved it !! She didn't stop smiling or reminding me about it the whole day !!!)

One advice for everyone. Stay at least 1 month in this city so that you can experience the Parisian lifestyle and fully appreciate the history and wonderful sites of this great city. I could never understand why people would stay 1 to 4 days and expect to see everything !!!

I wrote this answer to a similar question a couple of years ago:

I don't love Paris because it is beautiful. Is it beautiful? I love the funkiness of the apartments I have briefly inhabited there, the winding creaky staircases and the tiny elevators in the stairwells. I love that there is much more to see than I will ever see. Many more concerts than I can ever attend. Much more theater than I could hope to understand. All in French. The snippets of conversations that I hear and overhear and puzzle together into something comprehensible that may or may not resemble the actual meaning.

I love the music that leaks out of the nightclubs, the opera singers rehearsing in an apartment somewhere nearby, the piano being practiced somewhere else.

I don't love it because it is stylish. I love the cheese guy who throws in a camembert when I haven't ordered it. The old woman at the Porte de Vanves flea market who, when I return and she lowers the price of the old copper pot and I thank her says, "Non, c'est moi qui vous remercie." The several women who have commented on how they could tell immediately that my daughter and I were mother and daughter although the comparison is extremely flattering to me and not so much to her.

I love the people who compliment me on my deeply flawed French. I love the people who say hello to everyone in the wine bar when they enter and good-bye to us all when they leave. The restaurateur who invites my husband into a cafe for a coffee when he runs into him the morning after we dine in his restaurant.

I love the memory of my trip to Paris when I was a college student and I shared the cheapest hotel room in Paris with two friends and there was laundry hanging in the alley outside our room.

I don't love Paris because of the food. Oh wait, I'm lying.

I don't love Paris because of its history. I love it because of my own.

Nikki :)

emerging from the metro upon arrival

being able to walk and wander anywhere

the stories of those [mainly non parisians I'll confess] who have been before us

Those little cable cars, that go half-way to the stars.

Thanks for all those great responses. I needed a couple of quotes and got plenty to choose from. It was obviously a questions that a lot of people could answer. I know how you feel.

>I don't love Paris because of its history. I love it because of my own.<

Well done, nikki.

This summer , after a week in Berlin II arrived in Paris in the evening of July 14th .

Although it was my 20+. visit, I could not help but marvel at the lights, energy, and the splendor ...
tThe bridge I stood on was packed with people who were audibly delighted each time the
Eifell Tower sparkled.

As much as I like other cities ( including Berlin), that particular evening they all lost to Paris.

I love Paris because I love the way it makes me feel when I am there.

Aside from the culture, the history, the art, the architecture, the literature, the people, the food, the wine, the shops, the museums, the fond remembrances of past visits, the unexpected surprises still awaiting, and the general beauty and spirit of the place... there really isn't much to recommend.

nikki-"I don't love Paris because of its history. I love it because of my own"
Yes! perfect!

All I have to do is think about Paris and it brings a smile to my face. No matter how many times I am there, I want to go back the minute I leave.

Paris is not like a vacation anymore, it's like going home.

I like people like you, who think like me :)

You all express yourselves better than I, so I will take your words and say...that is what I meant!

I remember going to a small farmer's market in the 16th and a little wizened grandma was buying potatoes. The vendor asked her when she was going to eat them, and then picked out the 'correct' ones. I found that so oddly..perfect.

Michel_Paris...I totally love the potato story....similar experience with cheese (one for today, a different one for tomorrow)...LOVE that! Lots of great stuff on this thread. I never tire of this type of thread.

I love Paris because it is not too far from Barcelona.

I posted a thread about an article on France
by David Sedaris. I should have posted it here. I agree what he says about Paris.

"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)."

Well said.

I'm one who likes Paris for certain reasons and one don't like it for others. It's not my favorite city although I have gone there regularly for decades. There are some who love it, some who like it, and others who don't like it. I just find it interesting that when anyone says that they don't like it, that suddenly they are basically attacked. To each his own. Different strokes for different folks. Happy Travels!

Correction: " I'm one who likes Paris for certain reasons and one who doesn't like it for other reasons." Happy Travels!

The macaroons at Laduree