Paris is a gorgeous city and it’s only a quick 2.5 hour train ride on the Eurostar from London. We visited in the middle of September. The weather was perfection – cool and lovely in the low 20s. The city looked majestic and elegant as always. Remnants of the recent Olympics and Paralympics were being taken down. So based on these few days in Paris and my time in London, which is better? (Note: I’m probably biased as I know London better and I speak English!)

The Sights

Both big cities are beautiful with plenty of gorgeous historic buildings. Both have their iconic landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge for London and the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre for Paris. London has more buildings which reflect centuries of history whereas Paris has a more unified look due to Hausmann’s make-over of Paris in the late 1800s. Central Paris might look more elegant and consistent but Central London has a greater variety of styles to draw the eye.

People

The Parisians have a reputation for being rude to tourists but we did not find this to be the case. I found them similar to people in London, happy to mind their own business unless directly engaged. When engaged, they were friendly enough.

Three French words are particularly useful to know if you don’t speak French. These are Bonjour, Merci and Pardon. Everyone really needs to know how to say hello and thank you when visiting a new country. Pardon or excuse me, is very handy when you are trying to squeeze past someone on a crowded train or to realise that they want to squeeze past you!

In London, if you don’t speak English, “sorry” and “thank you” is useful to know. Sorry can be used in lieu of “excuse me” in most situations and I have seen English people use “thank you” in all manner of ways. It’s meaning can be drastically altered just by changing the intonation. In a supermarket, a man in a motorised wheelchair said “thank you” about 8 times with greater and greater volume and more and more force when he really should have just said, “Hi, I need to get past, please move!” His repeated, “THANK YOU!” was really passive aggressive and the people in his way, probably foreigners, were completely oblivious.

Both London and Paris are very multicultural cities, with diverse populations. The French ban on face coverings felt quite obvious when contrasted with the areas of London where the niqab is a common piece of clothing.

The Parisians have a reputation for being very stylish and well dressed. This is indeed true. I found the vast majority of Parisians to be dressed in subtle and classic styles, favouring well cut tailored pieces and looking nicely put together. Parisians don’t wear athleisure gear such as leggings, stretchy clothing or shorts, unless exercising. Any makeup is natural looking and subtle with an emphasis on looking healthy rather than made-up.

Londoners on the other hand mostly dress for comfort and practicality favouring more stretch fabrics and sensible walking shoes. There are of course exceptions in both cities.

Safety

Both London and Paris have a terrible reputation for petty crime. In London, the most prevalent thing to watch for is mobile phone snatch theft. Youths with their balaclava covered faces come speeding past on an e-scooter or e-bike to snatch your phone right from your hand. Last year 52,000 phones were reported stolen in London. This is almost 150 phones a day. Statistics may not fully reflect the magnitude of the problem as many locals feel that reporting phone theft to the police is pointless and may not do so. There are many reports of this type of theft and two of my friends have had their phones stolen this way. Bike theft is also rife and can happen brazenly in broad daylight and with witnesses.

The petty crimes prevalent in Paris is stealth pickpocketing and scams. When seated in front of the tourist hot spot of Sacre Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, we watched a number of men engage tourists in the bracelet scam. The scam is to pretend to befriend the hapless tourists and tie a friendship bracelet onto their wrist. They then will proceed to demand money for it. On the day we watched, they were insistent but luckily not too aggressive and a number of people got away without paying.

Paris is also well known for pickpockets who will use distraction tactics such as crowded areas or stealth to take items from unsuspecting tourists. Despite reading a lot about this, I did not see this happening in Paris and felt relatively safe. Perhaps, this was because we did not visit the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, two well known hot spots for scams and pickpocketing. Regardless, I was hypervigilant and on constant high alert to avoid falling victim.

These thieves who steal are total scum and it is very disappointing that both these cities do not have the situation under better control

Cleanliness

Paris seems cleaner than London.The areas we visited, including the non-touristy residential suburb of Argenteuil, north of Paris, in Zone 3, were tidier than London. There are lots of very clean areas in London as well, particularly on the West side. On the east side however, London is grittier and dirtier than Paris, with far more litter on the ground.

There is also a myth that, due to high dog ownership rates, that there is a lot of dog poo on the pavements in Paris. During our visit, this did not prove to be true.

Public Transportation

London has to win on this front. In London, the tube and the bus system are integrated and can be paid for by contactless card. Paying for the Paris Metro is not so simple. Paper tickets do not allow for transfer between buses and trains. Tickets on the mobile phone app or Navigo card only work for Zone 1. For Zone 3, paper tickets have to be purchased for each journey. The bus does not take cash. In general, the Parisian system needs some updating to make it more user-friendly and simple.

When visiting Paris, research how to use the Metro and RER based on the location of your accommodation. This is well worth doing in advance because arriving at an overwhelmingly busy train station, unable to speak French, jet-lagged and confused makes a person an easy target for the petty crime that occurs at major train stations.

On the upside, the Paris Metro and RER trains are much cleaner and newer than the London tube trains. The London tube trains are old and dirty. There is often rubbish onboard and it’s really best not to consider what grossness the fabric on the seats have seen.

Cuisine

Paris easily wins on this one, despite London’s diverse food scene, French cuisine is superior. Walking about town, it is easy to see the, “dishes of the day” displayed on blackboards out the front. Eating a formule lunch is an easy way to eat 2 or 3 courses for less money. Eating in French restaurants is very leisurely. The wait staff won’t rush you and will not expect a tip. On average, eating out at a restaurant is much more expensive in London than Paris.

To save money on food, visit a boulangerie (bakery) for fresh, chewy baguettes or pastries. Try one of the many gorgeous eclairs, cakes or tarts at a patisserie. Even supermarket food in France is of very good standard. Pay a visit to the French supermarket chain Picard. They specialise in high quality frozen food. Their products are delicious and made from real ingredients.

Other ways to keep costs low when eating out is to eat a sweet crepe or savoury galette. These can be very filling at a lower price. They are also very delicious!

Too Good To Go operates in Paris so it is easy to pick up a bag of leftover pastries for only a few euros. TheFork, a restaurant booking app which offers deep discounts up to 50% also operates in Paris.

Conclusion – London vs Paris

It’s hard to choose. They both have a buzzy, big city vibe. It’s best to be alert with your valuables in both cities. Both require a lot of walking to get around. As I speak English, there are a lot events and theatre open to me in London. Paris has better food and is very elegant and beautiful. So, I will fence-sit and say, if you are visiting either, they are close enough that you have to visit both!