By: Nina Peci –

City of Love, City of Lights, City of… trash? The streets of Paris are filled with monuments that are centuries old, couples in love, and well, garbage littering the streets. “Paris Syndrome” happens from extreme shock when tourists find out that Paris isn’t all they expected it to be, so how real is Paris Syndrome? Going into Paris, I knew I would have a different perspective than most American tourists. I have been to nine European countries, have immigrant parents, still speak my native language, and keep in touch with my culture and family abroad. So culture shock is not something I’m familiar with when visiting Europe. Clearly, that’s not the case for many. Our trip began with us being truly in shock of how dirty the city is. Garbage sits on the street, bathrooms are not kept clean, unmentionable smells linger. This is where Paris Syndrome would begin for most. Parisians are known for being prideful, some may even say egotistical, luckily for me I encountered mostly friendly and open natives to the city. Being the “City of Love”, Paris is filled with people who openly catcall and are… suggestive, for lack of a better word.  All of Paris’ beautiful monuments and attractions receive hype world wide, getting 32.3 million visitors each year. But very few (including the Eiffel Tower) will live up to your expectations. What Paris disappoints with in attractions, it makes up for in overall architecture. Nearly all buildings are old, showing off amazing stone and iron work as well as making all the streets look like they’re straight out of a movie scene…that is if you can get past the smell. All in all, Paris is a beautiful city full of culture and history and worth a visit, just be careful not to catch a case of Paris Syndrome.