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Comment by throwwwawayyyy | Hacker News Reader

As someone who lived in Paris for many years now, it's fascinating how the city has sort of three identities:

1. What outsiders think it's like

2. What they see when they encounter the city as tourists

3. What the city is like for a local

You'd say this is true for any city but Paris in particular has concentrated so many stereotypes together that it's almost comical to see people's attitudes yo-yo so dramatically in both directions.

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I'm reminded of Paris Syndrome, which is phenomenon common with the Japanese, where they assume Paris is something it is not, and get angry and frustrated upon visiting.

https://grapee.jp/en/99643

I'd say similar things about Texas, DC, and NYC, for that matter.

It is a funny article, but this line puts things in perspective:

> Out of the million or so Japanese tourists that visit Paris each year, about 12 will fall prey to Paris syndrome.

“12 Japanese tourists let down by Paris visit each year” doesn’t quite have the same oomph.

That’s .001%. Why is anyone even talking about it?

It could be the tip of a trend. For every one person suffering the full Paris Syndrome psychosis, there are probably a thousand Japanese departing Charles de Gaulle thinking to themselves "What a horrible dump, thank god we are leaving." -- Paris Syndrome-lite?

Watching it happen can be quite a slice-of-life event. One guest who wanted to see my city's Chinese neighborhood was rather bitterly disappointed upon seeing it. "But it's just like any other neighborhood, only the convenience stores have Chinese signs in the windows!"

Pointing out that they also sell red envelopes wasn't much of a consolation.

An old story from my dad is of observing a couple while dining at the Cliff House(SF attraction looking out over the Pacific Ocean). The lady was asked what she thought of the ocean and she replied, "I'm very disappointed. I thought it would be bigger!"

My European colleagues were distraught about DC and the White House in general. They couldn’t believe how small it was compared to European Palaces for Monarchs, ex rulers, etc.

They didn’t understand when I said it was probably the point. We fought against a British monarch, why would we build massive palaces for our non-monarch president? They said look all the power is in Congress their buildings are much bigger.

The common contrasting explanation is that DC is projecting power by limiting how ostentatious it is, but nevertheless restricting other buildings from being tall.

While the Capitol dome theory is a myth, the maximum height[1] allowed for building is set by law. It was due to safety concerns about then very new skyscrapers, but at the same time, the limit has persisted long after.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_of_Buildings_Act_of_191...

Maybe if they built something a little less ostentatious(and adopted similar policies throughout their lives), the monarchs could have occupied the grand palaces for more than 100 years before losing their heads. I'm thinking specifically about Versailles

DC and Texas maybe, but at least for me as a tourist in NYC it was pretty much as expected, after watching so many movies filmed there

Was there a heat-map in the article for Paris that I am missing? I don't see it...

Here's the link to the one on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/4671584999/in/album-...

The red spot on the bottom left is Palace of Versailles(specifically the cross-shaped Grand Canal in red and the surrounding gardens)

Awesome thank you!

I once wound up in the suburbs as a tourist. Not what I was expecting at all.

Well, it really depends on which suburbs it was.

I think it was the northern outer wards? I don’t remember the number, but all the police I saw were armored and heavily armed.

The most police I've ever saw was when I working in the middle of Paris, close to the Champs-Élysées, the presidential palace and a few ministry, in 2015 (so just after a terrorist attack). They were cops everywhere.

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