Paris, the city everyone talks about and that I never really had any interest in, but eventually gave in to my lovely wife and decided to show her, as it was her one wish in life.

The reason I never really had any interest is because it fit the criteria of cities that make me cringe, full of tourists and expensive. Beyond that, everyone whom I had spoken to stated it never matched the hype of movies. Now, I had the chance to see for myself as I gave the city two days.

Upon arrival at the airport, we were not let off the plane for some time, as there seemed to be some disagreement between the French airport workers and the Royal Jordanian staff. Finally, after an eternity, we were let into the airport.

The first thing that happened was a typical Parisian scam. There were men that stood in front of the doors that led to the taxi line, stating that the real taxis were fake, and only they could take people into the city. This was a total lie, but a few unfortunate people were tricked anyway. I stood my ground and just moved past these scam artists. It’s stunning that the airport authorities don’t even attempt to stop this activity.

The ride into the city from Charles De Gaulle airport is about 45 minutes. The neighborhood that I chose to stay in was Republique, a residential area. I liked this because it meant regular people living their lives stayed here.

Republique

The first stop upon arrival was the Metro station, as this is the fastest, cheapest way to move around the city. There was a cool statue outside the station.

We got off at a random station near the center, and decided to walk around. There were some impressive buildings just upon exit of the station.

This is the one impression I had of Paris, it was undoubtedly beautiful, a supermodel of cities, so to speak.

From here it was off to the Champs-Elysees, the main strip of the city so to speak. Essentially, it’s like any other high street, full of shops but with many cafes. It was quite cold, however, so nobody dared to sit outside. For me, the highlight was the Renault store, a French carmaker.

At the end of the street is the Arc De Triomphe, a giant gate/arc, one of the main attractions of the city.

Not too far away is what Paris is known for, the Eiffel Tower. Honestly, it is nice to look at, but the scenery of the river is what makes it different to the faux tower in Las Vegas. The bottom is full of hawkers selling overpriced souvenirs.

After this, it was off to bed, as it had been a long day when the 5.5 hour flight from Amman is taken into play. One more day left to see the main sights in Paris.