paris or london?

[Mir]

I have a couple of days during this winter to spend in either london or paris (I have never been to either) Which do people recommend as a better city to visit. I am a 24 year old American. Thanks!

[Jules80]

i personally prefer london. i don't know if i can explain why. there are tons of really cool museums to explore and stuff. paris is also beautiful with lots to do as well but more of it seems to be outside... london is just a cool and very dynamic city. i love it!

[LHR02]

I have to add my vote for London as well. But I´ll admit I am rather partial to that town. Paris is, well, Paris. To me, London is alive and kicking and ever entertaining. It is more expensive, no doubt about it, but then again, museums are free for the most part so that helps. It depends on what you are looking for though....loads of in your face ´history´or something new around every corner. London never fails to delight me!

[Maricat]

Personally, I MUCH preferred Paris!! It really depends what your preferences/interest are. Paris is (IMO) the absolutely most beautiful city in the world (at least of where I have been so far), and there are an endless amount of things to see and do.

I found London nice as well, but it felt more "formal" to me, and was SUPER expensive!

[stanncie]

I agree with the majority. London would be it for me. The museums are great and i find the city full of life. There's a feel to London that I really like and there's of course plenty of pubs and such to pass the time if you are tired of museums.

[babs]

Hmmm... tough one. Though I definitely had more "fun" in London (as far as night-life goes), I'd have to say Paris is a more beautiful city. IMO, there's more to see and do and the architecture is more impressive. A lot of London was destroyed during the war so the architecture is definitely more modern. I guess it really comes down to what you're into. Keep in mind that London is significantly more expensive than Paris, although Paris isn't exactly cheap either IMO. Also, since you're American, you might get more of a culture shock in Paris than in London (which is often something that I personally look for when travelling).

[PackintheWorld]

i would chose london over paris, the vibe in london is like no other the city was just so full of life, Paris was also great but i just felt like i could see myself living in london

[me]

as an American, you'll probably be more welcome in London.

the tales have long circulated that Parisians don't like tourists in general, and Americans in particular.

i've enjoyed myself in London whenever i've been there. don't know about Paris. i've never been there, for the above reason.

- d

Mir said:

I have a couple of days during this winter to spend in either london or paris (I have never been to either) Which do people recommend as a better city to visit. I am a 24 year old American. Thanks!

[WillTravel]

I wouldn't worry about possible anti-Americanism in Paris. Recent trip reports on various forums indicate no problems. I had no problems in Paris, nor did my son. But London is great too, and I think I prefer it, because of the possibility of seeing English-speaking theatre.

[Jules80]

i always found parisians rather snotty and un-accomodating... and i speak french fluently... but i'm from quebec so they like to pretend they don't understand us.... grrrrrrrrrrrrr....

[me]

when my oldest sister, who was in French National Honor Society, went to Paris after high school - people there "just couldn't understand her." Paris got a bad rep in the family at that point.

have also heard that many Parisians speak English to francophone Canadians, "to help them understand the complex French language."

[WillTravel]

My friend from Quebec said that people seemed to be goodnaturedly amused by her Quebec accent (ca 1980s).

My (Canadian anglophone non-Quebecois) son spoke only French in Paris in the summer of 2004 and seemed to get along fine, with lots of helpful assistance from various people.

[Jules80]

they do david... while i am admittedly an anglophone, i don't sound like it when i speak french. so i, like the rest of my francophone friends, am very insulted when parisians start speaking to me in english. there are very few people over there that recognise a quebec accent for what it is. and none of them were in paris... bordeaux and nice had some cool people that recognized where i was from. the rest of north america tends to learn a more european sounding french than we speak in quebec.

Jules

[me]

me said:

when my oldest sister, who was in French National Honor Society, went to Paris after high school - people there "just couldn't understand her." Paris got a bad rep in the family at that point.

i should elaborate: my sister had 4 years of high school French at that time, was top of her class in that subject.

my older brother was also on that trip. he'd had just 2 years of high school German, an average student in class. yet, when they crossed into Germany, he had no problems communicating with people. this was in the mid 70's.

- d

[babs]