13 Everyday Things That Surprised Me About Paris When I First Arrived

view of Eiffel Tower from Pont de Bir-Hakeim on a cloudy day

As we all know, things are rarely what they look like in the movies or in romanticized novels. We learn so much more about the world around us when we experience things first hand. Here are some everyday things that surprised me about Paris when I first arrived. These aren’t necessarily culture shocks, just things that stood out to me in my initial observations.