Okay, controversial opinion… Paris is one of my least favorite cities I’ve been to second to Brussels.
I had just a few goals when it came to visiting Paris:
- Drink wine/have a picnic in a park
- Buy a baguette and walk around with it in my tote bag
- Take pretty pictures
- Eat a croissant
I do have to say that all goals were accomplished BUT the city itself was underwhelming. I will say that after going to a few other old European cities, they’re all the same more or less. We lived in Greece for a month so we experienced such beauty and kindness there that it spoiled us when traveling to other European cities. Corey had been to the major spots years previous so he didn’t mind not going back (I’m not one to go to cities just because everyone else does, I am happy to avoid crowds when possible) but I wanted to go to Paris to see what all the fuss was about. It was dirty, crowded, overpriced, and people (not even the French but the other tourists) were not my cup of tea. We went on a random Tuesday, we popped on a 2 hour train from Belgium where we were staying for a few weeks. We walked MILES and miles during those 11 hours we were in Paris exploring and finding quiet streets for us to take photos and that was lovely. But when we got to major roads and intersections it was miserable. Sidewalks are extremely narrow not how it’s portrayed in movies to be the city of love where you can stroll down the sidewalks hand in hand. Honeyyyyy, if you’re hand in hand you’ll get mowed over by the other people! I was too overwhelmed to enjoy some of the sites but none of them were spectacular imo. Soooo, no thanks. BUT, we got my baguette and wine and hung out by the canal getting tipsy with some pigeons, one was missing a little foot btw. Successful trip? Yes. Super fun, city of love? Absolutely not. I’d go back for a few days to explore a bit more but it’s no where on my radar for the near future.
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