Why Paris?

Paris is a magnet for travelers who want to experience one of the world's most beautiful and romantic cities. Ever since it was redesigned by Baron Haussmann after 1853, the addition of wide boulevards, fountains, parks, statues and beautiful buildings has made Paris one of the world's most beautiful- if not the most beautiful- cities of the world.
For people who appreciate fine dining, great cultural events, architecture, history,
great shopping, and a variety of entertainment in a diverse city that has it all- Paris is a world-class city.

Hi! I wrote a blog post called "Why we love Paris (and always will)" so this is my answer:

http://worldinparis.com/reasons-love-paris

Have a great day
Elisa

it looks like a fairly boring and uninteresting city

What makes a city exciting and interesting for you?

Personally I don't get the allure of Paris either, it does have some great museums, but I find many other cities more interesting. The romantic thing to me has long since gone it is dirty heavily polluted and of course packed with tourists. Add to that it is very expensive and customer service in the majority of the places is perhaps some of the worst I have encountered.

Not enough pointy buildings for you, rich? :)

I dunno... plenty of people have spent more time there than I have. But I remember it fondly.
And yes, I'm an art maven, but even discounting all the "art" museums, I'd still think of it fondly.

There's architecture, history, and both the overall ambiance and the specific feel of at least some specific neighborhoods. it's a lovely walking city. Oh, plus there's food.

I don't recall it being dirtier than, say, Rome. And I'm already on record as suggesting that if you speak French horribly enough, people will speak English to you, and quickly.

But hey, to each his/her own. If Paris doesn't grab you, Aodan, you're not obligated to go.

But I am curious why you're asking. Do you want people to persuade you? Or do you want people to tell you it's okay to not be enamored?

And, for any long-term and frequent visitors: has Paris really gone downhill in the last several years? I mean, you hear reports that the Louvre is basically a den of underage thieves, that the Marais is awash in tourists and Sacre Coeur awash in hustlers. Again, just curious. Though I doubt any but the bleakest of reports would prevent me from returning should the opportunity arise.

What makes it seem uninteresting to you, and can you tell me what cities you found very exciting?

It might be disappointing for some at it does generate huge expectations, but boring it is absolutely not.

No Clements, just never quite seen the allure of it, and was being polite about the customer service! Maybe it is my old indie head, if it is really popular it can't be that good! But honestly the many cities I would go to, before Paris, but thats me and my personal taste. At the same time I would not say don't go.

Read some of the photo essays (not serious essays) on this forum on a great website. This forum is devoted to Paris and it's about so many of the places and things that the guidebooks don't know or share but which are unique.
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/board/46/paris

Aodan223344556677788 troll person, Paris is not for you, so I would avoid it. While Paris remains the most visited city in the world, tourism went down 5% last year due to some people's security concerns, and we could finally begin to breathe in the city at last, so we certainly do not need anybody who risks finding the city boring.