Paris has a physical beauty that few places, certainly no cities in the US, can come close to - buildings, bridges, lampposts, signs, shop windows, churches, parks - and all lovingly and meticulously maintained. To walk block after block amongst such surroundings is certainly part of it’s allure. But it has more, it’s a place where the yogurt is richer and more interesting than ice cream is at home, where you can hear music on street corners at all hours of the day and night, where both the sounds and smells wafting out of the cafes can make you sigh, where “sitting is an activity that people get dressed up and go out to do, where people who smoke don’t cough, and people who eat fat aren’t fat and everyone looks as it they have secrets”. It’s that you can be seated in a café next to a dog who behaves better than lots of children do back home. It’s the fact that people dress nicely just to go to the grocery store or the bank because the people who live there respect their environment so much they don’t want to insult the sensibilities of their neighbors by looking messy. It’s the light, where even on a rainy day everything looks romantic instead of just dreary.

Paris was not at the top of my list of places I wanted to go before I went there - but I'll be returning next week for the 5th time now. It certainly has me hooked. And I can't honestly say that Paris is, in my opinion, superior to anyplace else. I love London and Florence and other places too, but Paris certainly has got something that draws me back to it.

To me, Paris is indescribable. It is romantic, sophisticated, mysterious and timeless. And although that is a lot of adjectives, it still doesn’t come close to capturing its allure. I just love it. I love the way it smells and the way it feels. And when I am there and soak it in, it brings back a wave of emotions from the past and a feeling of anticipation for the future.

And after reading the above, which sounds dumb, I want to say again…Paris is indescribable! It is just magical to me.

PS, I have since fallen in love with other European cities, but Paris is still my number one.

Aside from the physical beauty that Paris has an over abundance of, the feeling in the air :) the ambience that is French is also what I miss as soon as I leave.
I love the cafes and the way people go about their everyday lives...I try to duplicate some of it here at home ~

The first time I set foot in Paris was in 1966...when I left the taxi and looked around me, at 16 Rue de Four, I felt transported...to where I didn't yet know, but certainly somewhere I was always meant to be...how can one explain the instant sense of "connection"???? Yes, there was the sense of physical beauty, of history, of charm, but for me, it was so much more...it was a sense of belonging and knowing this was the place that could make me happy like few others and would always fill me with hope, excitement and wonder....in all the years since then, after at least a ten more trips, it has never disappointed....I guess ,for me, I love Paris because of the way it makes me feel.....and I have never seen the light do such wonderful things as it does in Paris at sunset....

I have actually posted to this same question over and over. I also did not expect to fall in love with Paris and my ideal vacation has always been the beach. So, after my first trip it all hit me by surprise after I returned home. I could not get Paris out of my mind. It was as close to longing for a lost love as to any other feeling I have experienced. I just had to get back to Paris!

I returned in October of last year for 9 days, I'm heading back this month and then in October plan a trip there for a month to study the French language. I am hooked!!

Paris seems other-worldly to me. I think somehow it connects with your soul and you feel almost like you are living in a dream rather than reality. I have thought about buying an apt there, but I really don't want this infatuation to end. Living there may just wake me up out of my dream if you know what I mean. I think I prefer frequent visits!! So, I will just have to put much of the world I wish to explore on hold as I continue to go back over and over again to Paris.

I love paris but for those who don't it's ok.
As someone once said, one is always astonished at someone's pick of lover or book.

I agree that Paris isn't for everyone, but as I read these forums, it seems that more people connect with Paris than any other place. They/we are pulled back again and again.

As different as it may be, my second real connection is the high desert of the U.S. Southwest. It still isn't Paris though.

Tod explained it perfectly for me. It was around my 4th visit that Paris/France captured my heart. For me it is the relaxed French lifestyle. One of my relatives who is an immigrant from Europe stated it perfectly "You make a better living in the United States, but you have a better life in Europe!"

Now my goal in 2006 is to find a French dog trainer to teach my wild wild west dogs some manners. But that is another forum.

parisnow, your relative is so right!

I agree with everyone but I'm not as eloquent as most of you! :) I have been to Paris 5 or 6 times and I still feel that I have so much to see and do there. It really does feel like home to me and I can't wait to go back. I have always wanted to do a solo trip to Paris and I think it will finally happen in September! My friends think that I'm nuts (for many reasons but only 2 fit in here!) because I continue to revisit Paris and that I want to do it alone. I simply feel that I need to experience being on my own in Paris. Not sure what I think is supposed to happen, but I guess I will find out!

cls, do it. I returtned last Sunday after 15 days alone and my first trip to Paris alone. You see so much more when you travel alone, see what you prefer, eat as long as you want and are open to anything new and unexpected and when. There is so much to see, you can never be bored .

"think that I'm nuts ... because I continue to revisit Paris and that I want to do it alone"
I think many of us get that. Mr. Connolly's buddies at work couldn't fathom why he'd "let" me go to Paris by myself - "Because she has a JOB of her own?!?!", he'd reply. ;)

"Not sure what I think is supposed to happen, but I guess I will find out!"
You get to do exactly what you want to do exactly when you feel like doing it! You may stay up all night & go to bed early or vice versa. You may follow whatever whim strikes you, you may let serendipity take you, or you may feel like balancing your checkbook while doing the laundry in the neighborhood laundromat! You will find yourself having conversations with people that you wouldn't normally have conversations with because you'd otherwise have someone else to capture your attention.

As for me, cls2paris, I can't wait to go with Mr. Connolly for a change! I'm so happy for you that you get to travel solo this time - I hope you have a blast!!!

It's so fun to read all these posts about Paris as I eagerly anticipate my own visit!!!

I also prefer traveling solo, although this coming trip will be my first solo to Paris. I am so excited to finally get to go my own way, pace, and preferences. I think many of us are "nuts" as far as solo travel. And solo travel to Paris..well, that has to be the best of all worlds!

Hi Cigalechanta and Beatchick - I should tell you that I have been reading your Paris posts for several years and you have given me so much inspiration! This will probably show more of my nutiness than I typically let out here - but this is what my response has been to people who cannot comprehend going alone. "There is a man names Jean-Luc who lives in Paris that I am destined to meet. In my previous visits we have most likely been on the same corner at the same time, or looking at the same painting, but he is shy and was afraid to approach me because I was with scary people. So, this time he will find me and I will be alone and we'll live happily ever after." That usually silences them... haha

cls2paris - that's a perfect response!

dina4 - you're going to have so much fun!

<i>I think many of us are &quot;nuts&quot; as far as solo travel</i>
cchottel, can I be a hazelnut?

Oh I wish I could travel to Paris solo. Unfortunately, a friend of mine also loves Paris and would freak if I ever went and didn't inform. We are employed at the same place so a scheduled vacation would be noticed. And I could never lie if a conversation came up about what I was doing on vacation. I have tried to express my desire to travel solo but the friend just doesn't get the hint. Don't know if it is worth losing a friendship over. Any advise on how to sneak a trip across the pond by myself.

I thought your last trip was supposed to be with your children?

parisnow, could you tell this person that you have been invited to stay with someone in Paris. That way the friend cannot expect to go with you.
Good luck on the plan, lol, anything to go to Paris !!
Reading cigales trip report would inspire anyone to take a trip to Paris on their own!

I moved to Paris the day after I finished college in Los Angeles. Did not even wait around to pick up my diploma. I have never considered living anywhere other than Paris all these years.
However, I am disappointed that so many of you like Paris. Now that I am a full fledged Parisian, I suffer from the fact that Paris is the most visited city in the world and is crawling with tourists 365 days a year. We used to have Paris to ourselves at least during the winter months in the old days (okay, we shared it with a few Germans, Belgians and British), and now all of that is gone. However, I don't blame the Americans here -- the change occurred starting in 1989. Don't forget that the entire eastern half of Europe had been dreaming of Paris for almost 50 years without being able to visit. The first years, they were very poor and they would sleep in their cars or sneak 5 people into the very cheapest hotel rooms. As time goes by, the money problems have diminished. Now, as of last year, the Chinese tourism floodgate has been opened. Paris will never be the same. I am thrilled that people can finally discover Paris, just as I was thrilled to finally be able to go to Cambodia or Ethiopia. But I think that when I rule the world, I will limit each of you to maybe one trip to Paris every five years! Ouch.