So clean and manicured? I am not sure what part of Paris you were in, but having lived in France for 4 years, “clean and manicured” is about the opposite of what reality is. Dog shit on side walks, people urinating in public, cars parking on sidewalks, crowded, often un-air conditioned subway trains packed with sweaty people, dingy hotel rooms, trash piled up on sidewalks, rats traveling in packs, pickpockets, prevail any graffiti.. Paris is a spectacular city with some incredible beauty, but “clean and manicured,” is a stretch outside of the marquee parks and well scrubbed tourist sites.
As far as your good experience with a restaurant, those experiences certainly happen, but try going into a bank five minutes before lunch. Or try to enter a grocery store 10 minutes before closing.. or even many restaurants; your experience was a pleasant exception, but let’s be careful not to judge a city based on a single happy experience — I would be willing to bet in your “red” area of the United States, visitors could argue similar instances of unexpected kindnesses. Humanity is generally good, but we always see the grass as being greener.. Also comparing a world class tourist city to your town is a bit unfair, plenty of blight all over France. Travel 30 minutes north of Paris and it looks like a third world country in many places. But on the French: they can be kind and inviting, no question, but for a real treat, travel to the south of France.
Zürich on the other hand is very clean, very orderly, very manicured. Vienna as well.