Paris vs London

(Updated June 2020)

I have been to Paris 7 times now and its surprising that with each visit my fascination for the city has gone down. My first trip there had been my first trip to mainland Europe itself. I spent a week in the city and proclaimed it the most amazing city EVER. My second weekend visit dimmed its enchantment for me but was still fun. A third one day trip ended up being boring as I had had enough of the tourist sights and didn't know what else to do. By the fourth day trip (for work), I didn't even bother to stay there, and just came back to London right after the meetings.

Paris from Montmarte

My fifth trip now was for a weekend to meet a cousin who has just shifted there and it turned out to be even more different as I was looking at the city more as a place to stay than visit. Maybe that's why I noticed a lot more of the positives and negatives of Paris as a place to stay. Its very interesting to see how different the same place feels to a person in the 20s versus the 30s 😊. And by the sixth and seventh trips for work, where I stayed in Paris for a night, I felt nothing for the city.

Rather than write about what I felt, I thought I would just highlight some of the differences which I noticed versus London (the other similar global city I know and where I stay).

Twinkling lights and twinkling Eiffel Tower

- Paris is definitely grander, more open and has more historical and gorgeous buildings than London. The central area goes on forever and you can walk for kilometres and still see all the stone buildings from the city Napolean built. It's definitely better organised in terms of wide roads, and the palaces are bigger and richer than Buckingham Palace 😊.

Beauty of Montmarte

All the older buildings appear brighter too because of the colour of the stone - light brown versus pale white in London. My theory is that this is because of the war - London was pounded a lot more than Paris which fell more easily and therefore has a lot more left of the grander imperial times.

Streets of Paris

On one of the trips when I was in our office on Champs Elysees, I could see Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe from the office. And they were both so gorgeous. Somehow the view of Eiffel tower towering above all the buildings around always uplifts me. On one of the trips, I got to go towards the outskirts of town. And I loved how pretty the outskirts of the city were. So green, with beautiful new glass buildings and all lanes lined with trees. Very pretty indeed

- Overall, Paris feels less safe than London. I haven't understood the reason for it as there are loads of people on the road always in Paris. Still, its just a feeling you get, plus based on how much people tell you to be careful. Apparently phone and purse stealing is very common especially on the Metro. It might be because of lot of poor and homeless people on the streets but I don't know for sure. Also Paris streets are definitely less clean than London! I am sure that doesn't help in the safe feeling either

- The roads are wider in Paris. And because there is no congestion charge in central Paris there are  lots of cars everywhere. Plus everyone drives recklessly with disregard for all rules. So its free for all for pedestrians and cars alike, and breaking red lights is quite the norm.

Street style!

- People in Paris are very very stylishly dressed, more than London for sure. It looks like everyone takes the time to accessorise themselves well, the women and the men. And they are all so slim! Its very easy to get a fashion complex in Paris!! The reason might be that in London you have a lot more bankers, consultants and other professionals while Paris seems to be a hub of artists and the like, a more bohemian mix of people who know how to enjoy life!

Performer at Montmarte

- Overall, people in Paris are less helpful than in London (but then I guess Parisian (un)friendliness is already world famous 😊). Its tough to get by without French and most people have such a serious look on their face that you think twice before asking them for help! And even if they know English, they answer back in French, which is very very annoying. This is quite in contrast to the British who are definitely one of the most polite and helpful people I have encountered (at least on the outside 😜). Also the general service in restaurants and hotel in Paris leaves a lot to be desired too.

- While travelling on the Eurostar, while entering Paris, you do pass through some areas which don't look as pretty as the rest of Paris. And the station feels a lot more older than when you leave from London. On the train, you get good signal only once you get onto the French side, not while on the UK. That's always good to know. Also, the service to get onto Eurostar while coming from Paris is not as good as in London. I was travelling business class and we still had to stand in long queues there. It was quite irritating. In London, they definitely treat you better 😜

- Paris feels a lot more multi-cultural as you see loads of Africans, Arabic and other people who are clearly not ethnically French. They all have embraced the local culture and language and you feel they are a part of Paris. This mixing is not seen in London or other European cities as much.

Woman on a street corner

- It also appears that there are a lot more cultural events happening in Paris. Apparently there are festivals happening every weekend. Even on the roads, you can see musicians practicing their bands and dancers practicing their dance. Maybe its just a feeling or maybe its true...

- The French love their food. But given how limited my liking for non-veg food is, I haven't been able to enjoy it much. But slowly I am learning. When in France, its better to start eating sweet food 😜. On one of the trips, I went to the macaroon shop near my office and loved it. I even bought a few (more than a few actually) to get back to London. Ive also realised while going out to eat, it makes a lot of sense to look at the menu before you go. The chances of me being able to eat increase exponentially that way :). I went to a restaurant called Semesa near Arc de Triomphe, and for a change enjoyed my food 😊.

Nuit Blanche outside Hotel de Ville

- When I was there, Paris Fashion week was going on and we spotted weirdly dressed people standing outside the fashion show locations. Another event that was happening was the Nuit Blache - the all night art and culture event. We did not see much as the event was happening all night. But we just took a walk to one of the locations and experienced some of the sights; a group of people carrying their speakers playing loud music and dancing on a street; ice sculptures in front of Hotel de Ville; thousands of people walking around those areas, with some very fashionably dressed;-); food stalls up all around; a random concert happening in a store with people looking in from the glass outside; Notre Dame had a couple of entertainers and so on. It was like the entire city was out in the open at 1 am! We loved the experience so much; its again something I haven't experienced in London yet. Guess people in Paris are a lot more openly fun loving than the British...


Over the years, the glamourous sheen of Paris has come off for me and its a multi step learning experience to uncover what lies beneath. A place to stay and a place to visit are never really the same:), isn't it? And who knows, what I discover about the city may be more exciting than what I knew about the city before...?


Updates from 2019 visit

On my last visit to Paris, we mostly walked around town one of the evenings. I observed some changes to the city while walking around (again as differences from London), am sharing a few here:

- There are much less high rises in Paris and I love that about the city. The central areas looks more preserved as an old city, as compared to London. There were very few parks around though. As we were walking and wanted to sit, it took longer to find a place

- We did find some green spaces around Montmarte, and loads of people were sitting there enjoying the sunny day. Also the view of Paris from up the steps is just stunning. We walked around in the area, past the Trinity Church, past the bustling street of March Montorguelle, past some other churches. Everything was so lit up and lovely in the evening

- It rains as much as London in Paris. It has just managed to market itself better and not be known as a rainy city

- There are just so many more street artists in Paris, everywhere. And it’s such a pleasure to observe all the art around

- People are very well dressed. They all look so stylish. Also everyone wears a lot more tight clothes than London, that’s their style looks like

- There were loads of police around town, and I had noticed it for the first time. The city also felt a lot more unsafe than I remember from before. I saw a lot more Syrians around too, begging. It was different than before

- I know its a controversial view, but I have always been less than impressed with the food in Paris. Every time. It has such a different palate as compared Indian food, I just haven't warmed up to it yet