When you think of Paris, the first scene that encapsulates your mind is the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower on a balmy evening by the banks of the river Seine. This scene is used multiple times as a transition in the popular Netflix show Emily in Paris. Next you’d think of walking hand-in-hand with the love of your life on the countless bridges in the City of Love and you may even think of the now non-existent love locks that have been taken out before their weight took down these ancient bridges.
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How did Paris get its romantic perception
It all started with Paris being a city for artists and literary intelligentsia who took inspiration from the metropolis to create masterpieces. Artists and writers innately are more romantic and like to live in an imaginary world and the past generation viewed the city of Paris through their lens. Think of Vincent Van Gogh’s recreation of the alleys of Montmartre that you’d still find in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and you’ll know what I mean.
You may also wonder why Paris is called the City of Love? American cinema and Hollywood have also contributed immensely to this romantic imagery of Paris. You have the leading lady taking a flight to Paris and falling in love with a French man most of whom are portrayed as men who create something and conjure up perfection - chefs very likely. You also have Emily in Paris with the whole Emily and Gabriel angle that further propagates this theory even today. No wonder the city’s tourism is at its peak around Valentines Day each year.
As Blair from Gossip Girl says, “If you are going to be sad, you might as well be sad in Paris.” Another great way to sell the idea of travelling to Paris for an all girls trip.
Even back home in India, we have had the iconic Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore starrer romantic thriller An Evening in Paris where the leading lady goes to Paris in search of love. With social media and Instagram, there is immense focus on the romantic aspects of the city like the carousel near the Eiffel Tower, the quaint alleys and cobblestone streets of Montmartre and cute cafe terraces that line the streets of almost every major neighbourhood in Paris.
What is the Paris Syndrome?
When you visit Paris with all your expectations built up by the movies, Emily in Paris and social media, you land at the airport only to fall prey to a taxi scam where you are approached by a friendly cabbie and end up paying way more than you should have. This may just be the start of your Paris la-la land bubble bursting. You then enter the City of Love and see overflowing trash cans right outside your hotel upon checking in. You decide to experience Paris like a local and take the metro but it wreaks of sewage. What’s more, you take off your bag and leave it on the side while getting your perfect picture with an Eiffel Tower backdrop and in the blink of an eye someone steals it. This is when your Paris bubble truly bursts.
To add to the newfound agony, you also realise that Paris is a big city with the people of Paris having real jobs that they have to travel to from their homes and they aren’t just staged actors planted in the city only to be friendly to you or make small talk with you as a tourist. The French lifestyle has certain cultural differences with the rest of the world and we see bits and pieces of this in Emily in Paris as you view France from an American point of view.
This state of unacceptance that Paris is just another metropolis in the world with its own share of problems, a dense population and the eccentricities of the French people which do not align with the romantic image of the city in your head is the Paris syndrome. It is at this moment when Paris does not keep its promise to you.
Romanticising Paris in pockets
There are some places in Paris that will save you the heartbreak and if you want to continue living in the bubble as a tourist then you must visit them. Honestly, if you are not planning to live in Paris long term, what’s the harm in fostering this imagery of the city in your head? Explore the neighbourhoods in Paris that still give you the feeling of everything is magic and anything can happen along with sprucing up your trip with some exclusive experiences to discover your own Paris. Taking it to the next level, you could do an Emily in Paris inspired self guided walking tour of the city and immerse yourself in the classic Paris lifestyle.
Neighbourhoods to visit in Paris:
Montmartre - With its cosy cafe scenes, historical appeal, artists lining the streets, the joy of choosing steps even though there is a funicular and the beautiful homes lining the cobblestoned backstreets, Montmartre truly epitomises the Parisian dream. You walk through the streets and French Jazz music reverberates in your head.
Saint Germain - The iconic and still upscale hub of the venerable Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots that still draw the local intelligentsia, people watchers and tourists. With new restaurants popping up in this area, it is indeed a Moveable Feast in Hemingway’s words.
Latin Quarters - If you want to experience Paris like a local Parisian then the Latin Quarters is a must visit, especially if you want to have a meal at a restaurant that the local French frequent. A plus is that the restaurants here are more authentic and relatively easier on the pocket as compared to other tourist hubs of the city. This area is named after students of the Latin language who mostly lived here and even today expats and students living in Paris abound in this neighbourhood.
Les Marais - Another neighbourhood with hidden gems for restaurants and bars. One of our own discoveries was this Mexican restaurant called Distrito Frances that is no frills yet serves amazing vegetarian food. Another attraction here is Bisou. Which is a menuless bar and where the bartenders concoct personalised cocktails and mocktails tailormade to your palate. We wouldn’t have known about this place if it wasn’t for our local tour guide from CityWonders.
Galeries Lafayette - Appreciate the city skyline for free from the rooftop here and the store itself is like any other upmarket departmental store. However, grab yourself a drink with some finger food on a balmy evening in Paris at its rooftop bar.
Sprinkling mundane tourist places in Paris with romantic experiences:
Drive along the Champs de Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe in a vintage car - What Fifth Avenue is to New York City, Champs de Elysees is to Paris. Why walk along this upscale shopping street, when you can explore it in a vintage car with a local chauffeur who would tell you anecdotes of the city. You can also drive around the glorious Arc de Triomphe and appreciate the triumphal arch with a 360 degree view.
Baking the perfect Parisian croissant with your partner - While you would already be dreaming of the fresh, handmade croissant dunked in some hot chocolate and biting into it, why not take it to the next level by taking a croissant making workshop with your partner. I learnt how to croissant, pain au chocolat and cinnamon rolls at a local baking school in Paris called Maison Fleuret and had an amazing experience.
Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkles from the Seine River cruise - One of the most romantic things you can do in Paris is cruise along the river Seine after sunset when the city is illuminated and lives up to its image of the City of Light. Add the twinkling of the Eiffel Tower for a few minutes every hour till midnight to the mix and your Parisian dream is fulfilled.
Bursting the Paris Bubble as depicted in Emily in Paris
While Emily from Emily in Paris is pretty pumped about moving to the city, we see her getting a reality check of the fact that Paris is also not a bed of roses. Some of the things that you need to be prepared for while travelling to Paris are:
Old is not gold everywhere - Most buildings in Paris are ancient and have old fittings leading to short circuits or even plumbing related leakages and issues. A lot of Parisian buildings also do not have an elevator which may be quite inconvenient to you as a tourist with heavy luggage. Hence, it's best to check if your aesthetic boutique hotel or AirBnB has an elevator or no before booking it.
French people to non-French speaking tourists - The French are very proud of their culture and the biggest mark of respect that you can show them is to speak to them in French. If you are a tourist, you may come across friendly local faces if you greet them in French like Bonjour or Bonsoir and use the golden words in French like Merci. If you are planning to live them for a little longer like Emily, you better know basic communication in French to wade your way through the city more smoothly.
Finding the city confusing to navigate - Paris is divided into arrondissements and these are not arranged in a linear fashion but in a spiral layout. Hence, Arr. 1 may not necessarily be next to Arr. 2 as the city was planned in the 19th century by annexing a few of the surrounding villages. Also, since most of the buildings in Paris are designed by the famous architect Haussman, all streets end up looking the same and you may be heavily dependent on Maps to find your way while travelling in Paris. If you choose to explore the city by metro, there are some huge metro stations that make it difficult to navigate your way to the correct platform within the stations. A few such confusing metro stations to avoid are Saint-Lazare, Barbes-Rochechouart, Cadet, Stalingard, Belleville and La Chapelle.
The petite size of apartments and hotel rooms in Paris - Paris is a dense city and like any other dense metropolis in the world, real estate is expensive in the City of Love. Hence, most of your hotel rooms may be half or two-thirds the size of a standard hotel room that you’d otherwise get in any other part of the world. Hence, if you have two huge suitcases that you may want to open in the room, you may not have any space to walk around in a standard room. If you are planning to stay for a little longer, you may face the same issue with your apartment rental. So be mentally prepared for everything to be la petit.
The other side of Paris that was not portrayed in Emily in Paris
There are a few non-glamorous aspects of the City of Love that were not necessarily touched upon in Emily in Paris. However, there is no harm to err on the side of caution to ensure you do not fall prey to any of these.
Safety concerns - While most of the touristy neighbourhoods are safe for tourists especially women at all hours of the day, pickpocketing remains a major safety concern in the city. You are more prone to pickpocketing if you come across as a tourist in the popular neighbourhoods and in the metro. You cannot carry your laptop in a backpack and walk without a care in the world in the Paris metro, you may want to hang your backpack on the front so that it is not out of your sight at any point. You may also not want to carry a lot of cash in case you do get robbed as it is still easy to get your card blocked in such a scenario.
The friendship band scam near the Sacre Coeur - If you are visiting the Sacre Couer Basilica for some stunning views of Paris, be sure not to engage with any overfriendly chap who comes to you and ties a friendship band around your wrist. They get your attention by doing this and demand for money later on or there are others who may just take a chance at robbing you while you are speaking to your newfound friend. So, avoid eye contact or respond in a stern manner to stop any further engagement.
Pick the metro over buses in Paris - While Paris has a stellar public transport in place, the bus timings are not very reliable especially if you are a tourist and have a flight or train to catch or have simply made a booking for a certain time slot. Download the Citymapper app that has the most accurate wait time for the bus and metro network in Paris but pick the metro over the bus if you are time bound.
No signing of petitions by the Eiffel Tower - While you stand and stare at the glorious Eiffel Tower, there will be men or even a group of innocent looking teenage girls who may approach you for some help and make you sign a petition. They may use the same ploy to get your signature and then demand more money from you or while one gets your attention the other empties your pocket. So watch out for your wallet and phone and do not engage with anybody who may approach you.
Last word: Paris from the lens of a desi traveller
From an Indian traveller’s point of view who is travelling to Paris, there are surely a lot of friendly Indian faces in the tourism industry of Paris whether it is your Eiffel Tower tour guide or someone to escort you to your Bateaux for the Seine river cruise. There is also no dearth of Indian restaurants especially near the touristy neighbourhoods of Paris like Trocadero. So if you are looking for familiarity, then it shouldn’t be an issue. However, if you want to explore the city like a local you may not spot many Indian brethren there.
Also, Paris is best explored by foot, so be prepared to walk a lot. We clocked anywhere between 15,000 to 20,000 steps everyday. Overall, we as Indians are used to good service as we come from a labour surplus economy. However, the French have their own definition of customer service where Mindy in Emily in Paris rightly says that the customer may not be the king in Paris. You may have to avail the service in a way the service provider chooses to offer it be it a restaurant, a Paris city tour or a baking workshop. While it will be a great experience, you may want to be slightly more flexible as no amount of tips will get the French to bend over. On a side note, there is no tipping culture in France, however rounding off the bill to the nearest 5 or 0 is always appreciated.
Overall, plan your time in Paris well to minimise experiencing the Paris syndrome and let the romantic imagery live on for your own sake.
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