“De-Mythologizing” Paris

Ten Myths I Hate About Paris

Dome from Le Printemps Department Store

All too often, I’ve hear several “myths” about visiting Paris, none of which have ever especially rang true for me. Here’s ten of the most common that irk me every time I hear them:

1. Paris is dirty.

2. French people are rude.

3. There’s dog poop everywhere.

4. Everyone smokes.

5. The French hate Americans.

6. Getting around Paris is very confusing.

7. The French refuse to speak English.

8. The food portions are small.

9. The French will rip you off.

10. Paris is a very expensive city.

I don’t doubt that somebody who has visited Paris at some point in their live has not experienced any of the above. Yet to take one minor occurrence and extrapolate it to make a generalization about an entire population or place, i.e., to create a stereotype, is obviously wrong. Nevertheless, these myths persist to the point that they are taken as gospel truths in any discussion regarding Paris or France in even the most general of terms amongst even more enlightened individuals. It’s not to say that Paris or France does not have any problems. As with any modern, Western society, they have more than their share. However, after having spent a week there, and my third vacation in France, I can easily debunk these myths in all, or part based on my experience. Certainly, my evidence is only anecdotal and based purely on what my husband, Les and I witnessed. Moreover, even in previous visits I found these complaints to be somewhat overblown. Let’s examine these common assertions about Paris that have become part of the expectations of many visitors.

La Tour Eiffel

It makes me laugh when Americans have told me that they thought Paris was dirty. Especially when the raconteur hails from a relatively large American city that usually does not have a reputation for cleanliness (and I won’t name names). Additionally, when I ask how they know this, it’s typically secondhand information, generally a neighbor’s cousin’s best friend who visited Paris in 1984. Paris has changed a lot since then. Even if remotely true, it is possible that the witness may have gone to Paris during a municipal workers’ strike. I first visited in 1980 and was impressed with its cleanliness and even last week it struck me as a clean city. Admittedly, I thought it was even cleaner than Barcelona. Although Barcelona does its best to stay on top of the overflowing trash cans and piles of garbage that surround the recycling bins, lack of cleanliness didn’t seem as pervasive an issue in Paris.

Paris Metro Entrance Decorated in Christmas Finery

The French are not generally rude. Rushed, busy, and harried at times, yes, but I wouldn’t call that rude. However, these attributes make French commuters come across as “rude.” This would be true also of New York City commuters, and Los Angeles commuters, Barcelona commuters, etc. It’s the nature of the beast. My guess is that many tourists encounter Parisians on their way to and from work and henceforth, a good deal or “rudeness” may be on display. As commuters hurry along and navigate the sometimes byzantine metro system, they can get feel as exasperated as any of us on our way to work. When a tourist pauses in a tunnel or on a stairwell to locate their next station, directly in the path of someone who may be running late, a conflict, however minor, might be bound to ensue. This could be one example where a visitor may have such an encounter and conclude that all French people are rude, rather than understanding context in which it occurred. What should a tourist do? Plan their trips accordingly. Yes, we met with our share of jostling in the subways on our recent trip, but if you plan to have breakfast at nine AM, and take the metro to get to your destination, expect that there will be crowds of people who have lives to lead, maybe mouths to feed, work stresses, and the like. Unlike tourists, they don’t have the luxury of being on vacation.

I had a friend when I lived in Baltimore who visited Paris in the late 2000s. While there, he slipped on dog feces and hit his sternum on a metal pylon. It knocked the wind out of him, and he subsequently began to have chest pains. His partner took him to the hospital where they kept him for a few days under observation. Fortunately, he suffered no serious injury to his heart. This proves that fecal matter, or anything with that type of consistency, can be dangerous, leading to slipping and falling, easily a cause for worry. Concerted campaigns by successive city administrations focused on cleaning up dog droppings throughout the city. They appear to be working because there was relatively little dog poop on the sidewalks and even on the grassy areas throughout Paris. Barcelona, on the other hand, by far has more dog feces on the pavements, tree wells, flower beds, etc. than Paris. It’s actually pretty disgusting in Barcelona and completely unnecessary. If you have a dog, there is no excuse for not cleaning up after it. We always manage to clean up after Farrah. I could go on, but that is a topic for a future essay.

Parisians smoke much less than Londoners and much less than we’ve noticed in Barcelona. When they do smoke in Paris, however, they go outside and smoke real cigarettes. In Barcelona, it is common for smokers to “roll their own” using loose tobacco and their own plastic filters. We’ve noticed a great deal of smoking here amongst many of the younger people. This is surprising considering decades of worldwide anti-smoking campaigns aimed at children and teens.

We noticed no anti-American sentiment at all in Paris. That is a myth that has lingered at least since I was in high school. If anything, it might be anti-tourist sentiment which we have in in abundant supply here in Barcelona. Yet there was none of that even in Paris. It’s entirely possible that Parisians are adept at dealing with tourists and tourism in general, especially since the Summer Olympics were held in Paris this past year and the Rugby World Cup in 2023. This may have made Parisians more acclimated to tourists than in the past.

At first, the Paris metro, for all its Beaux Arts beauty, can seem daunting. Nevertheless, navigating the system is a breeze. There are multiple lines that will take you anywhere you need to go in the city as a tourist and even to some of the less-traveled parts of town. Paris is also very walkable. Who wouldn’t want to explore the cobblestone side streets and alleyways as well as stroll the wide boulevards. I wouldn’t want to drive in Paris (or most other major cities for that matter). Why drive when an extensive public transit will take you just about anywhere? Even getting lost can be an adventure, especially in Paris.

Parisians do not refuse to speak English. In fact, they preferred speaking English almost to a fault. I speak French reasonably well (compared to Spanish), yet despite the Parisian affinity for speaking English with visitors, they accommodated my French. They didn’t resort to scoffing or insulting my pronunciation as has been rumored. I was actually pleased that they commended my use of the language and appreciated my efforts, as stilted as my efforts might have been.

Les Essentiels de la Vie: le Fromage, le Pain et le Vin (et Mon Mari!)

Food portions at any French dining establishment are far from small. They are reasonably sized if that is a standard that you use to judge a restaurant. We never left any meal feeling hungry and certainly not bloated. Although, I imagine that it might be possible to stuff on yourself on bread. That is one thing that appears on every table, something that has sadly disappeared in most American restaurants and hardly ever shows up on a Barcelona restaurant unless it’s ordered specifically. As for the quality, I could easily be stranded on a desert island with nothing but French bread of all kinds and die happy. French breads are the world’s best, hands-down!

As for rip-offs and prices, we didn’t get ripped-off and prices were reasonable for a large city. I’m sure visitors have run into scams or spent more than they wanted to but that can happen in any major city. It’s a worldwide phenomenon that is probably as old as vacation travel itself.

In sum, we found that (and I’m sure that Les would back me up on this) that Paris isn’t half bad. In fact, it was a wonderful trip and probably one of our favorite cities. I don’t doubt that we’ll return soon.

The Above Pictures speak for Themselves