Paris is expensive. Paris is affordable. Paris is chaos. But Paris is beautiful.
Paris is filthy and breathing and alive. Paris is wonderfully human and endlessly various. Paris is all of these things and, like all special people and places, the city's perfection is born out of its many and gorgeous imperfections.
Paris sits proudly beside New York and London as one of the three great cities of the West. These places are the melting pots into which the dreams and passion of millions are poured, who have for centuries found refuge, ruin and redemption on their streets. Paris though is unique, a little roguish. More so than its Anglo-American counterparts, Paris has an all-consuming obsession with the arts and café culture. It has a total disregard for traffic laws too, which is completely charming. These are the foundations of the place. The effect is beauty on every street corner and a touchingly human spirit of passionate disobedience.
...the city's perfection is born out of its many and gorgeous imperfections.
The list of reasons to visit Paris is unending. The reason above all: the incredible weight of history. Paris is littered, almost casually, with landmarks and people and sites that have, in no small way, defined history and change. Hemmingway, The Arc de Triumph, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Dianna, Versailles, Scott. Fitzgerald, the Saine. The list goes on, through the centuries and artistic movements and paradigm shifting politics. You feel the weight of the past on every street corner and in every Arrondissement.
Recommendations for a trip to Paris are too many to count. Everyone will tell you to see the Louvre and you should, if you find yourself with days in the city to spare. The Louvre is an incredible monument to some of the finest artisans the world has ever known... but it is also busy. It is a day of queuing and shuffling and sweaty discomfort. On an average day, the galleries are descended upon by 28,000 people, most of who are interested only in one Da Vinci portrait. If you want to see art, the Pompidou (<10,000 daily visitors), or even La Galerie Dior, may be more enjoyable experiences.
Paris is best discovered for on your own terms- but if you are truly lost, you can try ‘Le Comptoir des Saints-Pères’ in the 6th for a true Parisian Bistrot filled with truly Parisian people. Here you can have exceptional demi poulet and a tall Bouteille of biére for around €14. For a cocktail, find Harry’s on the Rue Daunou, order a French 75, and take it to the basement there to hear live jazz most nights.
Paris is unlike anything that has ever, or will ever be. Paris is a place all people should visit, even just once. You couldn’t possibly regret it.
