Paris is a city that'll never stop being a source of great intrigue, as travelers from far and wide descend upon the French capital to see what it's all about. The fascination surrounding Paris is a sensation that has been seen and felt worldwide, but with the fascination also comes some negativity.
We've all seen and heard the stereotypes, so today, we're going to try and separate the truth from the lies. Life is all about experiences, as we know, so regardless of what you think about the piece itself, make sure you strive to visit Paris at the first available opportunity.
10 OVERRATED - The Weather
Paris isn’t all too far away from London, so it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that the weather is rarely all too glorious over there. The cold temperatures can make it a nice place to be during the winter months, but the wind chill won’t do anything for you whatsoever.
There’s a great deal of rain that falls on a month to month basis, too, which isn’t ideal when Paris is such a great city to walk around in (and we aren’t just talking about going around the shops).
9 NOT OVERRATED - Eiffel Tower
It’s the Eiffel Tower, guys. This sensational piece of architectural brilliance is more than worth queueing for, and while you can see it in the skyline from just about anywhere in the city, that doesn’t mean you should skip out on an actual visit.
The three-tiered masterpiece makes us smile every single time we look at it, and despite not being a spring chicken these days, we’re confident in saying that it’ll be around for many, many more years to come. P.S: If you get all the way to the top, then we applaud you.
8 OVERRATED - Public Transport
If you’re looking for a train to the city center from the airport, we’re telling you now that you shouldn’t bother. The queues are far too long and when you get on the train itself, there’s a sense of disgust and panic that we’ve never quite experienced anywhere else in the world.
It’s an outdated system with poor models, and that isn’t even contained just to the trains. The local taxi services tend to be fairly sketchy, and the buses are about as useless as you can possibly imagine. Public transport simply is not the one over there.
7 NOT OVERRATED - Great Wine
Pop open the Pinot Noir and enjoy everything that this absolute haven has to offer. Bordeaux is more highly regarded in terms of the wine life, but Paris has all of the wine tasting tours that you could possibly imagine littered throughout the entire city.
The wine isn’t actually all too expensive, either, which is an issue we almost certainly would’ve worried about. Paris knows how to play to its strengths, and the wine scene over there certainly qualifies as the kind of strength we should all strive to achieve.
6 OVERRATED - Crime
The attacks within the city of Paris over the course of the last few years have been heinous, to say the least, but arguably the worst part is that it was just the tip of the iceberg. From the outskirts to the city center there are some real issues developing in Paris that could rival even that of London.
While it’s reassuring to see police officers walk around with giant guns that’d be used to protect and serve the general public, it just feels like we should never have had to get to such a point in the first place.
5 NOT OVERRATED - Unbelievable Cheese
It doesn’t matter whether it’s Maroilles, Camembert, Munster or Brie (or another type of cheese), because one thing we can guarantee is that cheese connoisseurs around the globe will have a wonderful time if they take it upon themselves to flock to Paris in search of the good stuff. While supermarkets are great when it comes to getting the budget stuff, we’d recommend walking into town and discovering one of the many great cheese shops available for visiting.
The smell when you walk in, as you can probably imagine, is utterly intoxicating.
4 OVERRATED - Very Crowded
There are often times when it’s pretty hard to move in Paris, to the point where it’s actually a little bit suffocating. That sounds over the top but it’s very much the case, and it’s an issue they’ll continue to struggle to deal with as they attempt to rebuild their tourism image.
The major monuments are especially bad for this, and because Paris is so popular, it doesn’t really die down at any point throughout the year. It just remains a consistent thorn in the side of either locals who want to get to work or tourists who want to explore.
3 NOT OVERRATED - Romantic Atmosphere
Putting the effort in when it comes to trying to be romantic is all well and good, but sometimes, it’s all about being natural and being a little bit more laid back. Paris thrives under that ideology and seems to be the hub for romance in Europe – and perhaps even the entire world.
We don’t know whether it’s the music or the reputation alone that gets them by, but there’s certainly a shift that is felt throughout the core of the city, especially if you decide to visit on Valentine’s Day.
2 OVERRATED - Not Overly Clean
The main city streets aren’t too bad as many workers tend to try their best to clean up as often as they can, but the side streets and the lesser-known sections of Paris are pretty grotty, to say the least. That’s not to say the same thing isn’t true for most other European cities, but you’ve got to be fair on both sides of the coin.
The general scent around the city can often resemble Venice, and while that may come across as being a compliment, those who have visited will understand what we mean.
1 NOT OVERRATED - Exuberant Workers
We aren’t exaggerating when we say that 95% of the workers that we came across in Paris were fun, upbeat and really entertaining. The accent alone is enough to sway us in that direction, to be perfectly honest, but they’re generally really helpful with pretty much anything that you could possibly need.
A large portion of them speak at least a little bit of English, too, so if that’s one of the issues that might be holding you back from visiting, there’s absolutely no reason to worry whatsoever. Paris is nice, folks.