Paris is an interesting city, I liked it much more than Rome (which was way too touristy and crowded; perhaps part of it is the weather - it is getting colder - and part of it may be that tourists were scared off due to the highly media-covered Paris riots/protests). I especially enjoyed the Latin Quarter, and I had a chance to see the following:
1. the outside of where Cioran lived for ~50 years, in a small attic space;
2. the Rue de Rennes and the rue du Four where Bataille had his epiphany (the Nespresso store was boarded up due to the riots; the creepy cat symbol is used on the boards to signify solidarity with the protesters in the hopes they don't break into the store); and
3. I went by the hotel Rapahel near the Arc de triomphe where Ernst Junger stayed during the Nazi occupation, but it is still under construction; I talked to the security guard who said there are three phases, and the first phase of renovation should be done in a month or so.
My two favorite pieces from the Musee d'Orsay are linked below. Of course, I don't have any point of comparison to how Paris used to be, but the center is still pretty white demographically (although I didn't see many young kids) while the outer areas are heavily black and Muslim and younger with lots of graffiti; it's not a stable longterm situation. I liked the French cinema focus and how many quaint bookstores full of old books there were; it is certainly a reading culture, although I think they like fiction/literature more than non-fiction. I also liked how many younger couples I saw, and the beautiful women; it does feel like a "city of love."
i thought it was just OK overall, why was it the best and worst to you? why charge $300 during the summer, overcrowded? it was not bad at all when i went
i think i need to only travel in the offseason. the crowds in rome were hell to me