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

Europe road trip: From Paris to Munich... (Part 1)

We recently did a long over-due driving trip through Europe, starting in Paris, through the wine country of Bordeaux and Burgundy and ending with Oktoberfest and trekking in Germany. There were parts of this trip that I have wanted to do for long - like drive through Europe, visit the French countryside, attend Oktoberfest and drive through the Alps as well as on the Autobahn. It was fun to do some of the things I have dreamt of for so long; though I would say that only some and not all of them met my high expectations!

Bridge on the Seine

It was a week long trip and we drove about 2500 kms across Europe. I have divided this article based on the different places we visited. We started in Paris, drove to Bordeaux where we stayed for a couple of days in the village of St Emilion, then drove to Beaune in Burgundy, ending with attending the Oktoberfest and trekking up a mountain around the Munich area.

Paris

Bridge on the Seine

We have both been to Paris before, but still I thought it would be nice to spend some time there. To be frank, Paris did not feel as grand this time as it had the earlier times I had been in the city. Maybe because everything that had to be seen had been seen already. Still, we were there for a day and spent most of our time, just walking though the main touristy areas.

Eiffel Tower

We walked from Arc de Triomphe towards Eiffel Tower along the roads of Paris. We tried climbing up the Eiffel Tower but then realised you can't walk up all the way to the top, so ditched the idea as not worth it. After that, we walked next to the Seine, through the Concorde and the Louvre gardens, and ended up shopping in Rue de Rivoli. The weather was amazing when we were there, bright and sunny even though it was September. But as I said, it all felt too old and boring, not mesmerising anymore.

Arc de Triomphe

We stayed near the Arc de Triomphe, in hotel Armoni. The hotel was quite a disappointment, even though it is rated very high on tripadvisor. I would say the comments for Armoni are rigged, as the hotel though not bad wasn't great either. Its location was ok but the rooms are so small, it cannot be rated so high. One good thing about the hotel though was that we found a very good Indian/Pakistani restaurant called New Sanna, very near the hotel. It was one of the best tasting Indian food I have ever eaten in Europe. If you ever land up in the restaurant, I would recommend trying the Sanna kofta, its definitely worth it.

Drive to Bordeaux

The drive to Bordeaux was our first experience driving in France. The drive was mostly on the highway, so we did not get to see much of the countryside:(. The speed limit wasn't much either, so we felt that we were driving too slow. We passed through the region of Loire Valley, which is famous for many of its castles, we did not stop there though but would be a great stop if you have time to spare.

On the way, we saw an amazing sight, something I have never seen before; the clouds' edge. It was completely cloudy when we were in Paris but somewhere on the way to Bordeaux, we could see the sun shining over the edge of the clouds! It was a picturesque view, of dark clouds till a point and then clear blue sky, with the sun shining bright! And then onwards for the next few days, we had bright, sunny and warm days.

One thing we did find unexpected though was the amount of tolls on the roads: for a 5-6 hour journey, we paid more than EUR 50! It was quite a big surprise for us, especially because the roads were not really something to write home about!

St Emilion at night

The approach to our next place of stay was interesting. We reached Bordeaux at night, and were driving through country roads with villages and wineyards all around. There were a couple of well lighted chateaus in between which looked worth a visit sometime. And then we saw a well-lighted spread out castle and wondered, how cool would it be to stay here. And lo and behold, that was our destination, the old village of St Emilion. We entered at night, wondering how we can take a car within this fort like village, but we could and on top of that, we found parking next to our hotel too!

Bordeaux - St Emilion

St Emilion

We stayed in this village for the next 3 days, and they were idyllic days. St Emilion is one of the few scenic villages in the Bordeaux region, the rest being very modern and usual. It is a historical place, dating back even earlier thanthe second century and also a declared World Heritage site. Its a very small village with only about 2,000 people staying there. From afar, it looks like a fort, and within it has tiny narrow streets. Staying there almost felt like we were in a different era altogether.

St Emilion at night

The village is very pretty, all made of yellow stone, along small hills, so that you get a great view of the rest of the place from any other point. There are a couple of places to see within St Emilion itself, the church, the kings tower, the clock tower, underground churches and so on... For its size, it has a lot to see!  The village is well equipped with all facilities too, multiple restaurants, a square to eat in the open, shops, wineries etc.. And all around are wineyards and chateaus till wherever you can see.

Underground church

Wine wine everywhere....

We visited two chateaus and wineyards while we were in Bordeaux. One of them was Pape Clement in the Pessac region. Its an old wineyard (apparently the first in the region), was once owned by a Pope and now by Bernard Magrez who owns many other wineyards in the region. The other was the Mouton Rothschild chateau, in Pauillac village in Medoc area, which is owned by a Britisher, the Baroness Rothschild. We took tours at both the wineyards and they were both such a different, yet similar experience....

Pape Clement

Pape Clement felt like a smaller, cosier and more traditional wineyard. We were taken around the grape plantations, the room where the wooden vats are kept and then the underground cellar where the wine is allowed to ferment in barrels.  After the grapes are picked, they are fermented for over 6 months first in the vats and then in the cellars in the barrels over a period of 12-18 months when the wine finally gets made. Most of the wine from the Bordeaux region is red and that's why the grapes are all the black ones. (I ate some of them too while taking the tour, they were really tasty!).

The tour through Mouton Rothschild felt grander, more modern and commercial than Pape Clement. They had proper tours organised at regular times, and the whole tour felt very impersonal and long. The tour included many different things; a movie showing how great the wineyard and its owners were; a tour through the grape plantations; a trip through the vats and underground cellar; a guided tour of the Rothschild museum; and finishing with a history of all the labels that have been used on their wine bottles.

Underground cellar

Mouton was the first wineyard which started a trend of putting paintings made by famous artists on their wine bottles, a different painting every year. There is a complete one hour tour taking you through the history of these labels. What was interesting that one of the painting had been made by Prince Charles (I did not know he was a painter too!).

Savignon Blanc

The process of wine making felt quite involved and technical, and of course, the way the guides talked about it, it was clear that they love talking about their wines. The guide explained the wine making process in detail plus a lot of gyaan about how even minor changes in the process affects the taste of wine. Most of it did not make sense to me, but of course made me realise how much the French love their wine:). And one thing I missed seeing was what they always show in movies; how wine is made by crushing grapes with your feet. Wish I could have seen and experienced that, but alas that's not a process they use anymore:(.

Wine wine everywhere...

Going in these tours made me realise how complicated wine making and preparing is. The whole hoo-hulla about wine and wine tasting feels a little bit artificial to me but then what can I say, its a big business! I also realised that when people talk about wine becoming better with age, this aging is not done at the wineyards itself. It is after the wine is bottled, that it can be kept for many years to age.

Also, while visiting the wineyards, we drove through some of the other villages but they seemed too modern! The area around the villages was pretty though, with wineyards laden with grapes till wherever you can see. But in terms of villages, we were always happy to come back to St Emilion, which felt like a different world altogether.

Wineyards...

Dune du Pilait

Other than the wineyards, we visited Dune du Pilait one of the evenings which are a couple of huge sand dunes next to the sea on one side and the forests on the other. The dunes developed artificially somehow and now seem to be growing and eating up the forests. But I don't think anyone minds it, it gives the feeling of being a sandy beach which is always welcome:). Such dunes were something new to me though. something I haven't seen before!

La Victoire at Bordeaux

We also visited the town of Bordeaux one evening. Even though we did not explore the town much, there are a couple of cathedrals and other such buildings to visit. The walk next to the river is pretty too. We had dinner at a place near La Victoire and it felt like a nice happening place to spend an evening.

In terms of food, it was a bit tough to get good vegetarian food most of the time. In St Emilion, there were lots of good options. We went to Girondines, which had tasty fare. And of course, New Sanna in Paris.  Plus in case you are a Mc lover, there are McDonalds nearby if you really crave those:). But on the whole, it wasn't as easy to get good vegetarian food as we would have liked, one because most of the dishes would be non-vegetarian and second because it was tough to convey your requirements without knowing French. So we ended up eating crepes and salads most of the time:(.

Europe road trip: From Paris to Munich... (Part 2)

Luv de Paris

A city you will fall in love with, a city where you would want to fall in love in. Its true what everyone says about this city, you have to be there to know why the whole world is crazy about this city (in spite of it being French:) ). Be it the food, or the history, or the fashion, or the art and the artists, or the architecture, or just walking around the city, it has everything. A city where you can spend hours just exploring its lanes and the art and fashion and style there.

Have spent two birthdays in Paris, and one of those was a whole week that I was travelling there, and that too alone, and I absolutely love the city! Don't really know where to start and where to end!

Champs-Elysees (or 'Shauzeleeze' as its actually pronounced as) is the high-street of Paris. A wide boulevard, lined with trees and the best branded shops on either side is a must-do. Just walk along the road, up to the Arc de Triumph. You can get a good view of the city from the top of Arc de Triumph.

You can window shop at Champs Elysees for sure, some of the best and some of the most expensive stuff is available there. Shopping in Paris is abundant. There is the Galerias Lafayette, a super store, with everything and anything under the sun. And not as expensive either.

Or just walk along the Seine, you may find small shopping areas, with small designers selling their (absolutely stunning) stuff.

Paris is a shoppers paradise, even for someone who hates shopping. You may find unique dresses in small shops which you wouldn't even notice, beauty and creativity is there just everywhere in the city, you cant miss it!

Go up the Eiffel Tower, the experience is good. The best time would be in the evening, when you can see the whole city in daylight, and as you reach up, the city lights up. Paris turns out to be quite a well-planned city given how old it is.

The roads are straight, the squares are actually hexagons (i think!) with 6-8 roads meeting there. The architecture is similar, all in the light brownish colour of Paris. The climb up the Eiffel is interesting, and scary for some too.

There is a restaurant too, at the first level of Eiffel Tower I think, should be a nice place for dinner, with a view of the city. From the top you can also see most of the monuments of the city, the Arc de Triumph, Invalides, Louvre, MontMarte etc.

Also in the evening, Eiffel is lighted up and every 15 mins, it sparkles. Is a nice sight!

Spend a day in Louvre. Its huge, and if you like history and art, you will love this place. It was earlier the French royal palace, and now houses one of the biggest collection of art. The famous Mona Lisa is also housed in the Louvre itself.

Louvre has a varied art collection, paintings, sculptors and other art pieces from across the world, and some of the Da Vinci Code pieces too.

You may not be able to do justice to Louvre in a day. If you can, go there multiple times, the place is worth it.

And spend a day at the Versailles palace, its the royal grandeur at its best. Its a huge complex, with hundreds of art pieces, and wealth at display. The garden at Versailles is majestic too, once of the best have ever seen. You can see a small French village created there, and sheep grazing around and fountains and garden landscaping and of course, flowers. A grand sight, and a good place to spend time if you have the luxury of time.

Walk along the Seine, enjoying the sights of the city. Its one of the best ways to explore the city, you can catch the younger sister of the Statue of Liberty also if you do that;-)

Notre Dame is a imposing church, inside as well as outside, just next to the Seine. Then there are the other usual places to visit, Montmarte (a church in white, on top of a hill),

Disneyland park (slightly outside the city), Bastille monument, walk on Rue-de-Rivoli (the street is so alive, it peps you up also!), couple of museums here and there and

then the opera house.

The French are actually more helpful than they are credited with.

The English spoken in French could be worked on though. It was funny my friend discussing with the cab driver, "no-no-no, i don't want to go to toureffel, I want to go to Eiffel Tower:)". Helps in many many ways to have a local French contact, they can give you many tips which can help you get around the city easily. If you can get the name of the place you are going to, plus how its called in French, saves a helluva lot of time! Also the food in the city is amazing, if you know where to go to!

There are many lesser known restaurant and cafes, with absolutely fantabulous food (will list some once I remember what they were called and how they were spelt!) And please please please, try the cheeses there. Even someone who hates cheese will freak out on the variety there, one for every taste.

Specially people like us from India who have grown up eating just Amul cheese, such a spread is difficult to imagine and even more difficult to not love! The open air cafes are a pleasure to sit in, just to enjoy the view of the city (when the weather is good that is!!) and the spread is tasty bakery items, simple but tasty! You can even get South-Indian food next to the Gare du North station if you want. Getting around the city is easy, with the Metro. The Paris map is also very helpful, most of the places to visit are all located close by to each other and its a pleasure to walk between them.