Paris

How big is Paris?
There are about eleven million people living in the Paris metropolitan area, and something over two million living within the city proper (which is confined to the area within the boulevard périphérique, the expressway that completely encircles the city). This means that Paris has roughly the same population as Los Angeles. Paris is the largest city on the Continent and thesecond largest city in Europe (London is somewhat larger).
Although Paris is similar to Los Angeles in terms of population, it is smaller in terms of area, especially when you look at the city proper, which is only a few kilometres wide. Paris was built before the era of automobiles, so everything had to be within walking distance, and this is why the city itself is so compact today (everything isstill within walking distance). The suburbs, however, have expanded in the same sprawling way that one sees in Los Angeles.

Is Paris a safe city?
Paris is much safer than American cities of comparable size. Crime rates are low overall, and violent crime is very rare. Crime in general has also declined sharply in the past two years or so, mainly due to increased police activity.
The abovenotwithstanding, if you are visiting the city as a tourist, you are more at risk than are residents of the city, so you should be extra careful. Paris isn‘t any more dangerous than any other city in itself, but as a tourist, you are more vulnerable to what little danger there is. Obviously, a tourist—with lots of money, no familiarity with his surroundings, and his attention diverted by the dazzlingglamour and romance of a large city like Paris—is a much more tempting mark for, say, a pickpocket than a resident of the city would be. Put succinctly, the risk is in being a tourist, not in being in Paris

Can you recommend any good hotels or restaurants?
I‘m afraid not. There are thousands of hotels and restaurants in Paris, and I haven‘t tried them all. Anyone who claims to be an expert onhotels and restaurants is lying, unless he evaluates such establishments for a living (the only way he could ever get enough experience to qualify as an expert).

Your best bet is a good travel guide, like the Michelin guide. It‘s a lot less romantic, but it‘s more objective and accurate.

I‘ve always been puzzled in particular by people who ask residents of a city for advice on hotels. Aresident is just about the last person to ask about hotels in the city, since he usually has a place of his own and has never stayed in any of the city‘s hotels. Asking about restaurants isn‘t quite as bizarre, but still, most residents have just a few favorite restaurants, and have never even tried 99.999% of the restaurants available. So asking Parisians about Paris hotels (or, to a lesser extent,restaurants) is often a waste of time.

Is it expensive to live in Paris?
Unfortunately, yes, it is. There are few disadvantages to living in Paris, but by far the number one disadvantage (at least in my opinion) is the cost of living. Paris is one of the most expensive cities in the world (although several large U.S. cities surpass it, and so does London), and, worse yet, Parisian salaries do notadequately take the cost of living into account, alas! In addition, income tax and sales tax rates are ruinous, especially for single people (and most people in Paris are single, because almost no one can afford to raise a family within the city itself).

To give you some idea of the cost of living, consider that an ordinary audio CD costs about $19 in a French record store, and a cup of coffeeon the famous Champs-Élysées may cost $12. The greatest expense is housing: even a parking place (just the parking spot marked on the ground, not a garage or anything) can cost $26,000, and a decent apartment might sell for $275,000!
After adjusting for taxes and COL, salaries in Paris are about 1/3 of what they would be in the U.S., for the same work.

I keep hoping that this will change in...