5 Things to Expect in Paris
17. Jul, 2008 
16 Comments
How does one write about Paris? Do they talk about the beauty of the city or the vibrant people or the delicious food or falling in love? If they are a travel writer, then most likely yes. It’s impossible to capture the essence of a place in a few sweeping observations, so we invoke images we are familiar with, even if we’ve never been.
This is the exact problem I had when arriving. I had black and white photos of Paris in my mind, romanticized close-ups from some French film in college, where a couple in trench coats embrace in front of Notre Dame and others smoke skinny cigarettes in some café. What film and photos fall to capture is the experience.
I took over 1,000 pictures in four days, and I couldn’t find it. That single picture that would somehow convey the gestalt of Paris: the feeling of walking around for an hour and not making it out the gardens of the Louvre, the way every building for miles around adheres to a certain aesthetic, the awe of standing beneath the massive Notre Dame Cathedral and understanding why it would take 200 years to complete.
So what to expect? Well get the whole quaint little city image out of your head and get ready for a bursting metropolis.
1. The entire city is the attraction. Yes there is the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, but really Paris itself is a beautiful city. They have very strict zoning laws for buildings, which becomes immediately apparent as city block after city block conforms to the same color palettes and facade styles. There are no brand new sky scrapers crammed in between historic buildings. The entire city feels like it was plucked from the 1800′s and preserved perfectly.
2. You will need to take the Metro (subway). As much as Paris is a city for walking, you simply can’t get everywhere by foot. The Metro is exhaustively well connected, which can make reading the metro maps a little daunting, but once you orient yourself it’s relatively easy to zip around the city. Want to look Parisian? Read a book as you ride.
3. There will be tourists everywhere you go. The german guy next to you had the same idea, “I’ll go to Paris!” You’re just as likely to hear someone speaking English, Russian, German, Spanish, or Arabic as you are to hear French. Even when I was 30 minutes north of the city, I still ran into tourists.
4. Soda will cost as much as your Sandwich. I’m not sure how the math on this works out, but for 3.50 Euros I can get a ham sandwich on an entire baguette. For 3.50 more I can get a mildly chilled Coke. If you’re traveling on a budget (like I was), then opt for a coffee (une cafe about 2 euros) instead.
5. However long you stay, isn’t long enough. I already have regrets about the things I didn’t see. I had enough time to hit a few large attractions, wander the city and get to know the place a little. If I had realized how small a dent I would be making in Paris, I might have planned my itnerary more carefully. Then again, some of my accidential finds where well worth it– like the statue of Moliere I ran into while slightly lost.
Have you been to Paris? Was it what you expected?
Photo: Christine Gilbert
Paris was not what I expected… for the better! Paris is great, and beautiful and expansive, and the food… my god the food! I was lucky enough to go for work a couple times and got to tack on some personal days each time. I used them to walk walk walk and see my cousin and her husband who lived in Paris. Seeing it with them and co-workers really got me to see the it through the eyes of a local which was fantastic!
The great thing about feeling like you didn’t get to everything is that it gives you a great reason to go back!
Loris last blog post..Travel Ideas – Let’s Go “Local”
Thanks, now I have to go.
I’ll be in the UK next January, perhaps I can jet over to France to check it out.
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Hi Christine, congrats for the site!
I’ve been following it for a couple of days and it’s great!
Cool review from Paris, I will be there in November.. in fact, I didn’t really want to go there this year, but I wanted to visit some friends, so I decided to stop there for only 3 days.
After reading your post, I wish I had decided for at least a full week in this city. =)
Did you make it to the catacombs? I found those to be so interesting…not to mention a little creepy. I need to get Jeff to Paris. He doesn’t think he’ll like it, but he thought the same thing about NYC and ended up loving it.
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Love, love, love the pic!! It’s like she’s trying to say something.
Paris just charms us all. There are places that are overrated and then there are places like Paris, Hawaii, etc that live up to and blow away expectations of even the most cynical.
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Stevo– Yes definitely make the trip if you can, it’s completely worth it!
Cristina– Thanks for visiting! I love your site, I’m excited to see how your trip unfolds.
Theresa– That was the one thing I didn’t do, that I really regret. On my last day I thought I would hit both Notre Dame and the Catacombs, but Notre Dame took most of the day. The 400 steps to the top were worth it though, as the views are amazing.
I love the photo, Christine. You’re right about the entire city being the attraction, and the high cost of soda. Andrew Evans has some ideas for enjoying Paris without spending lots of money:
http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2008/05/paris-sans-agen.html
Marilyn Terrells last blog post..Cinematic Road Trip: West Virginia
I lived in Paris for 5 months while I was in college (semester abroad), went back to visit this past December, and I STILL feel like I haven’t seen enough of the city!
PS. I love your pics!
Before I visited Paris, so many people commented to me how disappointed they were with the city. Once I got there myself, I was like, “How could this possibly disappoint anyone?” Love, love, LOVE Paris.
I didn’t have a problem with tourists, but I was there in December (which is a great time to go, it’s really not that chilly).
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The pictures are gorgeous and make me even morwe convinced I need to visit this year and not wait until next year. I have the time available to go for a week and I don’t mind the cold. November in Paris sounds good to me.
Paris was truly the first place that I have visited internationally that was EVERYTHING I expected……..going back and hoping for the same feeling
You post captured Paris, or at least my experience of it, perfectly. It may not be what you expect, but it is charmingly, overwhelmingly, itself.
Growing up, I always think Paris is a dream. A couple of short trips later, I am surprised that is not my favorite tourist destination.
I still recommend this city as a tourist friendly one, most major tourist destinations are accessible by a metro.
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Not sure how I missed this great post. Helpful tips, I’ll bookmark them for later. You’re fast becoming my personal travelguide Christine hehe.