My Unfiltered Thoughts On Visiting Paris As An American

Yessss: "Carpe diem".

Very clever and honest. 👌
A Parisian

An American in Paris!

I enjoyed your review, Camden. Very enthousiastic and positive, and generous with Paris. One little downside though: the amicable Police... well, only if your skin colour belongs to the right spectrum... Cheers.

"Don't have an agenda" Yes Camden! So true! Wander in Paris! Get lost! You will never regret it. If you don't behave like a tourist, you become a Parisian. Paris is THE multicultural city, along with NYC. People from all over the world leave in Paris. They are Parisians. A "native" Parisian is the opposite of a clannish person. I was born, raised and lived in Paris all my life, except three years in Ireland, my other country of heart. I know probably as many "non native" than native French people. To become a Parisian, you only have one thing to do: decide to be one!

You seem like a nice guy. I enjoyed your video. Here are some comments that come to mind. Quality of life is not the best in Paris. Constant noise, demonstrations all the time, terrible decisions made by the mayor… I’d like to know where you find excellent food and drink for 30€. The police are very polite and respectful in general, and it’s not because you’re white. They treat people the same way they are treated. Paris is like New York regarding the homeless. But please know there is a middle class in the city, which is much less common than in Manhattan. This is positive. I think Americans should try to be less loud, more discreet in their interactions when traveling. Try not to impose their habits on others and curb their enthusiasm. It is always a good idea to say hello or bonjour when interacting with someone. It’s considered rude otherwise. I suggest you travel to other French cities in the North and East, you will have a great time. ❤

If you follow some golden courtesy rules, you will love it:
1. Always always say bonjour when entering any shop, bakery, grocery, anywhere. It is more the greeting than what language you say it in that matters.
2. Never ever seat yourself in a restaurant, especially on a terrace. Wait for the host, say bonjour and he will seat you. It is a sin to just seat yourself and they wont be too pleased.
3. In France, waiters are supposed to leave you unbothered once you ordered and served instead of coming all the time to check on you (so exact opposite of US) because they don't want you to feel pressured, rushed or interrupt your art of doing nothing/enjoying life that is the french philosophy. If you need them, flag them saying 'monsieur' or 'madame' (not garçon!). Americans think they are being snubbed when in fact the waiter is paying respect but not bothering you.
4. Enjoy the art of flanner, just slow relaxing walking, picknicking or reading in all the beautiful parks the city has.
5. Always stand on the right hand of electric stairs in metros and shops, as the left side is left free for those in a rush who walk up.
6. Don't stop exactly at the top of the stairs of metros to check your map, blocking everyone behind you. Just walk a little further and to the side. Some goes for families/groups: dont all walk slowly or stop while all being side be side blocking the entire sideway. Be mindful ppl are trying to go to their jobs, etc and leave some space so ppl can pass. I see tourists do this all the time.
7. Download the RAPT, the official public transport app which will tell you exactly what metro, connections and even which exits to get to go anywhere. It will make using the metro, trams and buses a breeze.
8. Pages like sortir à paris and paris je t'aime, etc have daily agendas of all the shows, museum expos, events, open air cinema, music concerts, parcs, etc. Essentially a list of 'what to do in paris today' including sections of the ones completely free. It is amazing just the amount of free culture there is.
9. Why pay for bad expensive hotel breakfast when you can buy a coffee and a fresh pastry,.sandwich, bread at the local bakery and sit on a bench or park and just enjoy the start of your day taking in the sights and relaxing...and far far cheaper. An entire baguette is 1.20 euros. A.hotel breakfast with cheap cold ham will cost you 15-20 euros. 🤷‍♀️
10. Go to a few neighborhood (not big chain) old cinemas to discover really unique movies from all over the world you will probably never find anywhere else. I've seen some gems this last long stay in Paris (Le Moine et le Fusil is👌 and still in cinemas right now).
11. Again, the parks. So many beautiful parcs to discover and relax. Take a small blanquet, a good book, a nice jambon beurre sandwich and just spend a few splendid hours a day (jardin des plantes, parc monceau, montsouris, serres d'auteuil, bois de boulogne, tuileries, luxembourg, buttes, etc.)
I love Paris! ❤

I moved to Paris about 6 months ago after living in Bordeaux (which you should really visit if you haven't), Zürich and Helsinki. At first I was a bit disoriented, but after a few months I understood that it was due to it being a huge city (10 mil. Metro area) and I started feeling the flow of the city. Now I find it amazing and unparalleled, and in many areas I feel like no city in the world even comes close. And it keeps making huge leaps towards improving quality of life and being a world leader on terms of public spaces, urbanism, transportation, ... Paris has everything

What is very often a bit disappointing with too many "american" tourists (and other tourists) is that they only come for the "great monuments", "the great food", "the great beauty of the city"... never for the "great popular culture", "the great French language"...
In a sense I prefer someone living at the other end of the world who has a deep love for the French language, culture and history but cannot afford the travel and never set foot in France...
That's just a personal view on a trend of "tourism without real interest in the local language and culture"

From a local :
Paris is glamorised when it is in fact a dump thousands of people dream to leave.
Thing is……most of the country’s jobs are in Paris

Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. I recommend getting to the point on your video.

It would have been useful to know what part of Paris you are staying in. It makes a lot of difference. I consider the center of the city to be the tourist ghetto, and we have a much better (and cheaper) life in the outer arrondissementss;

Hello again. Like your unfiltered vids! What you shared about Paris and London were pretty spot on for me. I've lived in Portugal for 5 years (I have EU passport) and am ready for a change. If you and your wife/gf wanted to move somewhere full-time, what would be your top 3 choices? THANKS!

I visited Paris in 2018 because it was always on my bucket list. I didn’t have any high or unrealistic expectations. Being from NYC I already knew the downsides of city life, so I wasn’t starry eyed when I got there. Paris is absolutely beautiful and I loved it. What caught me off guard was the amount of people that I was able to communicate with in English. I always tried using a bit of French but most who I interacted with easily switched to English for my comfort. I thoroughly enjoyed just walking the city and observing the architecture, the boulevards, the parks and taking in the history. Everyone was kind and accommodating. I did encounter a lot of homelessness even on the Champs Elysees. It was nothing unexpected as, well I’m from NYC and have seen homelessness. Paris is one of the few cities I will visit more than once and never tire of it.

Great content…well told! I strongly agree with your observations. Having been to Paris many times, I am obviously a lover of the city and I can assure everyone, the good totally outweighs the bad. Nice job young man!

I am spending a month in Paris and I have found the Metro clean efficient and ontime. Food is fresh. French are friendly outside the tourist zones. Start with bonjour and the friendliness oozes. Start with English and you will be labeled as self centered tourist.

Paris is a city… if you dont like cities don’t come. It is not logical to compare suburban life to central city life….

If you want to have incredible food from every nation on the planet with incredible art, parks, and food then youll love it.

One more tip… if you want authenticity try arrondisements 10,11,12,3,19,20…

As for the heavy police presence during the Olympic Games, yes, the number of police around the Olympic venues and Paris in general has increased _considerably_. Like never before, because the authorities are terrified of possible terrorist attacks. I think that explains why they seemed so willing to help: from what I saw, they don't have much work to do and it seems that they are way more relaxed that they could be in normal time (also, many of them probably come from outside Paris) :) I think Parisian policemen usually have a way more stressful job to do on a daily basis when they are almost understaffed.

Paris

I hated it the first time, loved it all the other times.

Like in any other place, go with the flow - not on the time you are use to. And yes learning 2-3 words french opens doors. And yes Ive seen english speaking people getting the cold shoulder, while a little french made them treat you as a regular costumer that has shopes/aten there for decades

Some michelin restaurants have a lunch offer. Most expensive museums have free days

If you stay more than 2 weeks, get local friends

Public transport: NYC is the exception. Everyone uses it.

The gap between the affluent and the poor is just as, if not more, apparent in cities like San Francisco and New York.

I love Paris, but I stayed in the fashion district and ate at the local upscale restaurants. I bought starving artists’ paintings and learned some French prior to going . I am going back next spring.🥰

I'm overall very surprised that most Westerners don't understand the concept of a "touristic area", which are very different from "locals' areas", that you distinguish saying "a difference between seeing the culture and living the culture".
But I'm also not surprised because, as a world traveler, I've often been flabergasted by the shocking ignorance Western tourists display back home of foreign cultures they visit aside of positive stereotypes and "what the ministry of tourism wants you to see".

noticed Foreigners don't salute first when starting a conversation, don't say please and thank you when asking or given a service and this is considered rude.

I went to France a long time ago, and was really impressed. I speak a little French, and people were always kind. It is a beautiful country with a lot of diversity. There are problems and prejudices, just like in the States. The history, music, arts, Opera-Ballet, food are outstanding. I would always say: visit, but take your time, and give it time. Bring a reasonable amount of money, and dress-groom respectably. I liked your travel response, and will follow your posts. Always say Bon Jour, when you enter a store. Curb your loudness. Accept the business-restaurant hours, and meal style. Get used to walking more.

Poverty in the streets? Have you ever visited Los Angeles? San Francisco?

Which country in America are you from?

Hey Cameron. I enjoy your videos and appreciate both your humility and transparency. I noticed this here and in your Nice video as well. It seems like you have a romanticized notion in your mind about how these places are. I've lived in Paris for many many years and it is a big city with an incredible history. Most of us hardly make it to the tourist sites frequently... we see it differently than a tourist does. In any case, as a 140 country traveler, you're just at the beginning of your travels and that's a wonderful thing. Keep your eyes open, take it all in. Feel the discomfort, both when you go abroad and when you go home... because you will feel that. Travel is beautiful- and also a challenge. Which is also what makes it so rewarding.

Camden, I’m a local. I can give you some info. HMU, I would be happy to help you.

Don’t expect things to be the same as they are at home. Just accept that Paris is the center of the universe and go from there.

Two things to finish :

Try to do nothing when you're in Paris. Take an afternoon off, sit in a café far from the tourist sites (try the 11th or 10th arrondissement) and just let the town drift by you.

Parisians don't suffer too much from tourists. The crowds are mainly in the same tourist spots, where we seldom go. And the tourists we see in our neigbourhoods have made the effort to get off the beaten tracks and come see what our life is like. So we rather like them for it.

Interaction with the police if you're Black or Latino : there is casual racism like everywhere unfortunately; but they will not suppose you're a criminal because you're not white. Enjoy some equivalent of white privilege : you're Black Americans, which to the locals is JUST Americans, whatever your colour.

About the police right now : thousands of police officers have been dispatched to the city from all around the country. So, although they are working long hours, they also enjoy being here (most of them, anyway). They probably can't give you directions, though, because most of them don't know the city at all. Parisian police are basically grumpy until you chat with them. Like the rest of us Parisians.

Do not (I repeat) do not use taxis or Ubers in Paris if you can avoid it. The traffic is just too slow, it will take forever to get from one place to the next. Use the metro (very easy), or the city bikes, or a bus if you can figure out how they work (tough one, that). Also know that taxis are allowed to use the bus lanes and Ubers aren't. So if it's really jammed and you absolutely want a car, take a taxi rather than an Uber. But the metro will get you there faster anytime.

Prices for food : You are spot on, there is a very large number of bistronomy restaurants in Paris where you can get an absolutely excellent, creative set lunch, starter and mains and dessert for around thirty euros. A glass of wine will probably cost you ten, though. My own favourite for lunch is Table Cachée de Michel Roth inside the lingerie department of the BHV department store. I kid you not. Fifth floor, between socks an knickers, there is a velvet curtain. Try it.

Restaurants, shops etc : even if you can't master a "bonjour", absolutely say hello to sales personnel and waiters, and restaurateurs and basically everyone you interact with. I have seen so many American tourists just walk into a bakery and say : "A croissant (please) ?". If you do that, there is a risk you won't be served at all. 'Cause we don't need your money, we get forty million tourists a year, if you don't buy the friggin' croissant, someone else will.

About people living on the streets : that is a situation that has evolved over the last few years. We've always had some homeless people in the city, but they were mostly locals who had fallen on hard times, had mental or drug problems etc, like in every big town. The large numbers of homeless people that you see nowadays are mostly refugees waiting for paperwork or refugee status or a place to stay and work. They are in a very bad situation and some become addicts because life is just about unbearable for them. Clearly, the European Union is failing in coming up with a solution for those people.

Merci, Camden! I always enjoy hearing your perspective on a place. I think you go beyond What you think with your mind, but beautifully share what you “feel” when you’re in a place. Paris is most definitely a place that allows for our senses to come alive.

My thoughts on your remarksas a Paris resident :
- re expectations on Paris ,which of course cannot be met : too much past anglo'saxon cheesyness with the well known 1950's Hollywood comedies, and todays social media influencers and travel "experts" with the inevitable babbling young women in red berets against an Eiffel tower backdrop ;
- re encounters with local residents : in my view too many prospective visitors view Paris as a theme park for couples, somewhere in Europe, where the locals are supposed to be busy servicing tourists, while it is in reality a large financial and economic hub with a diversified economy, where people live their life and do not bother about tourists,
- it's an extensive city which had working class residents and industry until the 1970's and 1980's . Those social categories have since been priced out of the city. The people tourists mostly interect with (hotel clerks, ticket sellers, waiting staff and service people) generally do not live in the areas tourists typically visit. Therefore people in senior jobs are overrepresented in the Paris resident base, which comes alongside poverty and homelessness in the streets ,
- on using public transport : only one third of Paris residents own a car nowadays. There has been a constant city policy of restricting public space for cars,
- on street life, public spaces ,cafés, etc. It's a dense city where people generally live in cramped flats/apartments, which surprises anglo-saxon visitors more used to single-family housing. Public spaces like restaurants and cafés, parks and squares are therefore more adapted to social life than entertaining guests at home. Paris is one of densest capitals in Europe together with Madrid (London is less dense, and larger).

If you don't start every conversation without the mandatory "Bonjour", YOU are being rude and you will not get the best interaction. We learn this as very young children, it is the most important rule of French etiquette. It means : I recognize you as a fellow human being, not a selling robot or a slave.

I tell just about everyone who is going to Paris for the very first time to stay in The Marais district. It’s one of the oldest areas of Paris, contains the Jewish Quarter, the Gay Ghetto, and most of all Place des Vosges, a city square to sit and watch the people of Paris go about their daily lives. The shops are mostly art galleries open to the public. And most of all by staying in the Marais you can walk to just about everywhere especially if one likes to walk. Keep up the good work Camden 👍

When it comes to French service, usually in restaurants. I found waitstaff are less motivated by money and more motivated by how they connect with you. That whole "Customer is king" mindset does not exist in France. Good customer service is determined more by how you charm or connect with the employee than them needing your money. Sometimes a simple "Bonjour Madam/Monsieur" is all you need to do. France is much more egalitarian than the US. So the second you make a French person feel like you're trying to act superior, the more likely they're gonna give you attitude or not want to do anything for you.

My 9-year-old daughter's thoughts: "It smells like pee and everyone smokes."