IN SHORT
It's one of the most-visited cities in the world, and along with popular tourist attractions come hordes of tourists and the downsides they can bring too. It can be a pretty city--so much beautiful architecture, the glittering Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero at night, the stained glass in Notre Dame--but it can also be unfriendly and dirty. Many of the locals get very sick of tourists. In general people were either quite rude to us or trying to aggressively sell us something. The city smells like cigarette smoke, so I even smelled like cigarette smoke when I got back to the hotel. There was lots of garbage and graffiti in some of the streets, and when we were leaving we saw two men in a violent fight outside the subway station. Don't get me wrong, Paris is worth visiting for its rich history and art, but just don't have your hopes set too high when you go!
It's one of the most-visited cities in the world, and along with popular tourist attractions come hordes of tourists and the downsides they can bring too. It can be a pretty city--so much beautiful architecture, the glittering Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero at night, the stained glass in Notre Dame--but it can also be unfriendly and dirty. Many of the locals get very sick of tourists. In general people were either quite rude to us or trying to aggressively sell us something. The city smells like cigarette smoke, so I even smelled like cigarette smoke when I got back to the hotel. There was lots of garbage and graffiti in some of the streets, and when we were leaving we saw two men in a violent fight outside the subway station. Don't get me wrong, Paris is worth visiting for its rich history and art, but just don't have your hopes set too high when you go!