Bravo, so well said. The “influencers” who are only there for the photo ops are so icky. And yes, I am sick to death of the cliche posts and surface-level takes.
Enchantée de te connaître Lindsey ! ... et je me permets de te donner mon point de vue sur le tourisme qui envahit mon beau pays sans essayer de comprendre son âme. Tu comprendras donc que j'apprécie ton chemin pour sortir de ces clichés qui masquent le véritable amour des francais pour leur pays et ses territoires.
Je te souhaite une très grande réussite dans tes projets
Coming to Paris in June with 11 year old grandson. He wants to see some of these clichés and it’s sort of a rite of passage to do exactly what his mom did 30 years ago. Eiffel Tower, Louvre etc. But I’ve been working on his French and hope to help him see it as a living place which changes and yet stays the same. Oh to re-live that first experience! Vive la France 🇫🇷
Of course, the monuments and landmarks are there! They’re in guidebooks. That is largely different (and adapted to his age) from what I’m ranting about 😆 But you can certainly make him see what being a good and thoughtful traveler looks like, since you are one yourself!
The internet is terrible. It is a world-destroying machine. From the manosphere to tourism, we are warping our sense of what it means to be human and exist in this world, all while burning the planet to cinders.
At this point we've visited often enough so that we don't really bother to plan anything unless it's something special like the "Asterix et Obelix" show at Atelier des Lumières last fall, so I really wasn't aware of the kind of stuff you're talking about. But I killed my Instagram account and limit my exposure to Facebook, so it probably goes right past me.
We just check in to the hotel we like on Île Saint-Louis and then see what takes our fancy.
I think limiting social media indeed keeps a lot of this content at a distance. But if you ever search for something on Google related to Paris, or use YouTube, it still may appear. You have the right strategy overall, though :)
Thanks for this piece, and for your honesty as someone whose work of course also influences the influencers, so to speak. It’s a challenge for an industry that makes its money by telling people which restaurants and cafes everyone MUST see, because as soon as the address is uttered, there’s only one thing that can happen to these places if the book, Tik Tok, viral Insta video is successful. L’institut Suédois, Paul Bert, Chez Janou … just a few casualties of an era in which it became cool to tell people where to be cool, which thus destroyed their essence. I suspect fewer guide books and more uncanny dérives through Paris is what continues to resist the flattening of the city, whose secrets and joys can never really be written about anyway, only lived in and treasured and kept a secret for those who know.
It’s so delicate, right ?! Before guidebooks there were newspapers and word of mouth, of course, and one might argue that all of the recommending keeps so many GOOD businesses operating. But there are costs. And I mostly just want to see less of the laziness rewarded but this is a problem in so many aspects of our world.
This resonated with me so much, Lindsey, and I’ve griped to my friends about exactly this forever but never voicing my opinions on a platform, so honestly - BRAVA! Someone as significant of a writer as you should be shouting this from the rooftops! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻💙💙
Did you find the same to be true for Japan? Maybe it’s just worse now that I’m actively seeking out recommendations but it feels saturated with superficial nonsense!
Agree, it was exceptionally true for Japan (more so than when I went to Barcelona, which says a lot, I think).There are no shortage of 'cute' photo ops in Japan which really fuels the influencer culture. But I have to admit I found good tips here and there, mixed in with the puffy influencer content. I'd be happy share if there's something applicable you're thinking about. My 17-day trip was in Nov 2024: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with side trips to Hakone, Nara and Hiroshima/Miyajima. It was my first time in Japan and we loved it there.
Wow this is incredibly helpful! I really appreciate this! Which ryokan did you choose in Hakone? I know that typically, ryokan are one night stays. And excellent tip about that train to/from Kyoto!
Suiun is the ryokan we stayed at: https://dormy-hotels.com/resort/hotels/suiun/about/index.php. Which reminds me, another great tip for Hakone - which may not be applicable depending on your itinerary - is regarding luggage. Because Hakone was an overnight stay between Tokyo and Kyoto, we sent our luggage* ahead from our Tokyo hotel to the Kyoto hotel, which allowed us to travel to Hakone with overnight bags only!
*The luggage forwarding service in Japan is a GAME CHANGER. Most hotels have it, you don’t have to go to a Yamato counter as the internet would have you believe. If you don’t know about this already, we can talk more but I don’t want to spam your post, lol! So many planning memories are coming back to me now, I love it. 😁
1. Hakone was an overnight trip enroute to Kyoto. We left Tokyo around mid-day and got there around 4:30 pm and then left the next day around noon. So number one, if I would do it again, I'd have added a little more time in Hakone to explore, maybe 48 hrs. I wanted to see Lake Ashi and the Narukawa Art Museum but there was no time. Hakone was our splurge accommodation at a traditional ryokan with kaiseki dinner & breakfast*. We chose a room that had a private outdoor onsen, which was really lovely. The star in Hakone is really the nature (fall colours were just starting at the end of Nov...early Dec would've been even more spectacular) and I loved taking the old-fashioned Hakonetozan train into town. *I’m sure your tastebuds are more adventurous than mine but for what it’s worth, the kaiseki was my least favourite meal in Japan. I don’t regret the experience because the meal is beautiful and I’m glad to have tried it but it was too much for me (especially as breakfast).
2. Nara was a day trip from Kyoto. At first we weren’t going to go because of the hype but in the end, honestly, I loved the deer so it was worth it for me. There are certain areas in the park that are stupidly tourist-intense but if you’re interested in the surrounding temples like we were, wandering the paths up into the forest was definitely a highlight. Lot less crowded with beautiful views and different temples. If you do go, I recommend taking the Limited Express AONIYOSHI train to/from Kyoto or Osaka if you can. It’s a beautiful train with spacious seating so it’s really calm and quiet. The only drawback is that the schedule is limited. https://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/aoniyoshi/
Anyway hope that helps (it was fun for me to go back into my Japan memories, so thank you for asking!). Excited for you!!
I am glad to be extremely far from ever seeing Paris promo stuff on TikTok (never been on it) or other social media. I live in the real city of Paris (boulot - métro) where I rarely hear people speaking English (but often hear Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Polish, Punjabi, and more. But your post makes me think that the instant consumption of narcissistic imagery so superficial it's hard to call it "content" is something that affects everything, not just cities. And it seems to be a vicious circle: The more people consume such crap, the emptier they feel and the more they feel the need to consume more crap, but that only makes them feel emptier. I'm not the ideal audience for a lot of what you write but I profoundly appreciate your approach. My favorite of your books is the New Parisienne, which really ripped off the superficial, marketable image of the chic Parisian woman to show some of the incredible -- and incredibly diverse -- real women who help make this city great. So, Lyndsey, Bravo! Les clicks maybe but so much better work.
You are 100% correct ! And it totally applies to The New Parisienne! (Maybe its own état de lieu will be needed when I reach the 10 year anniversary— I fear I know what the landscape will look like!)
Really like the question "have we lost our capacity for curiosity in favor of control?"
This is especially poignant every time I'm abroad. My easiest counter is to just stay in one place for longer periods of time. I find that it better captures the essence of "local" life, instead of treating a place like a list of things to "do" or "cross off". It exposes me to having to do some of the mundane stuff - dealing with the bureaucracy, figuring out groceries, going to the same places to see if the same barista is there, trying my shitty French with the locals and embarrassing myself. I think this is where some of those croissant "crumbs" come out.
I think small little anecdotes and people make the experience. Social media, influencers, and the copious amount of material out there certainly doesn't help. It's easy to not have your own experience at all if you're not careful.
Exactly why I have never taken a cruse - how can one spend just a few hours in those glorious cities and say they were there? I'd be miserable having missed so much. I too like to stay a while and soak it all up
The thing is, it’s not just inaccurate and lazy and occasionally offensive, it’s so boring.
I live in Greenwich Village and this morning I went to grab some bread from a new local bakery. The guy behind me asked for a coffee and ‘the most famous things you sell.’ He didn’t ask what was good. What they’d recommend. Ask them to explain the menu. Just asked for what was famous.
There is so much to think about here. (says the girl with an Italian pharmacy post in her drafts :)
I keep having the conversation about places and their Instagram accounts. My general theory is if the last picture was sometime right after lockdown or just regular pictures not by a PR company I am probably going to like it. If the account is too pretty and too considered I likely won't even go!
I am almost relieved by some of the Venetian cliche's (though I do wish TikTokers would stop telling visitors to take the cheap "gondola" rides) because they concentrate the surface travelers and make the few places that residents love still accessible.
Thing is, there is no YOUR take on the Italian pharmacy is going to be trite and frivolous. You’re not filming yourself engaging in a “haul” (ugh this word), you’d invariably be explaining, factually and contextually, its relevance ! And that’s helpful!
Bravo, so well said. The “influencers” who are only there for the photo ops are so icky. And yes, I am sick to death of the cliche posts and surface-level takes.
It’s a race to the bottom!
Enchantée de te connaître Lindsey ! ... et je me permets de te donner mon point de vue sur le tourisme qui envahit mon beau pays sans essayer de comprendre son âme. Tu comprendras donc que j'apprécie ton chemin pour sortir de ces clichés qui masquent le véritable amour des francais pour leur pays et ses territoires.
Je te souhaite une très grande réussite dans tes projets
Michèle
Read Simon Kuper’s wonderful book “The Impossible City.” It captures Paris well
Trust me, I have :)
Coming to Paris in June with 11 year old grandson. He wants to see some of these clichés and it’s sort of a rite of passage to do exactly what his mom did 30 years ago. Eiffel Tower, Louvre etc. But I’ve been working on his French and hope to help him see it as a living place which changes and yet stays the same. Oh to re-live that first experience! Vive la France 🇫🇷
Of course, the monuments and landmarks are there! They’re in guidebooks. That is largely different (and adapted to his age) from what I’m ranting about 😆 But you can certainly make him see what being a good and thoughtful traveler looks like, since you are one yourself!
The internet is terrible. It is a world-destroying machine. From the manosphere to tourism, we are warping our sense of what it means to be human and exist in this world, all while burning the planet to cinders.
No notes, you nailed it! 😭
At this point we've visited often enough so that we don't really bother to plan anything unless it's something special like the "Asterix et Obelix" show at Atelier des Lumières last fall, so I really wasn't aware of the kind of stuff you're talking about. But I killed my Instagram account and limit my exposure to Facebook, so it probably goes right past me.
We just check in to the hotel we like on Île Saint-Louis and then see what takes our fancy.
I think limiting social media indeed keeps a lot of this content at a distance. But if you ever search for something on Google related to Paris, or use YouTube, it still may appear. You have the right strategy overall, though :)
Thanks. It has certainly worked for us. :-) Love the podcast, BTW. C'est très genial!
Thanks for this piece, and for your honesty as someone whose work of course also influences the influencers, so to speak. It’s a challenge for an industry that makes its money by telling people which restaurants and cafes everyone MUST see, because as soon as the address is uttered, there’s only one thing that can happen to these places if the book, Tik Tok, viral Insta video is successful. L’institut Suédois, Paul Bert, Chez Janou … just a few casualties of an era in which it became cool to tell people where to be cool, which thus destroyed their essence. I suspect fewer guide books and more uncanny dérives through Paris is what continues to resist the flattening of the city, whose secrets and joys can never really be written about anyway, only lived in and treasured and kept a secret for those who know.
It’s so delicate, right ?! Before guidebooks there were newspapers and word of mouth, of course, and one might argue that all of the recommending keeps so many GOOD businesses operating. But there are costs. And I mostly just want to see less of the laziness rewarded but this is a problem in so many aspects of our world.
This resonated with me so much, Lindsey, and I’ve griped to my friends about exactly this forever but never voicing my opinions on a platform, so honestly - BRAVA! Someone as significant of a writer as you should be shouting this from the rooftops! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻💙💙
Thank you! It’s totally possible to resist giving in to the algorithm abyss and giving up your soul 😝
“All croissant, no crumbs”!!! So well said. Having had the good fortune to visit Japan and revisit Paris recently, your post resonates hard.
Did you find the same to be true for Japan? Maybe it’s just worse now that I’m actively seeking out recommendations but it feels saturated with superficial nonsense!
Agree, it was exceptionally true for Japan (more so than when I went to Barcelona, which says a lot, I think).There are no shortage of 'cute' photo ops in Japan which really fuels the influencer culture. But I have to admit I found good tips here and there, mixed in with the puffy influencer content. I'd be happy share if there's something applicable you're thinking about. My 17-day trip was in Nov 2024: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with side trips to Hakone, Nara and Hiroshima/Miyajima. It was my first time in Japan and we loved it there.
Wow this is incredibly helpful! I really appreciate this! Which ryokan did you choose in Hakone? I know that typically, ryokan are one night stays. And excellent tip about that train to/from Kyoto!
Suiun is the ryokan we stayed at: https://dormy-hotels.com/resort/hotels/suiun/about/index.php. Which reminds me, another great tip for Hakone - which may not be applicable depending on your itinerary - is regarding luggage. Because Hakone was an overnight stay between Tokyo and Kyoto, we sent our luggage* ahead from our Tokyo hotel to the Kyoto hotel, which allowed us to travel to Hakone with overnight bags only!
*The luggage forwarding service in Japan is a GAME CHANGER. Most hotels have it, you don’t have to go to a Yamato counter as the internet would have you believe. If you don’t know about this already, we can talk more but I don’t want to spam your post, lol! So many planning memories are coming back to me now, I love it. 😁
I would LOVE recommendations! Very curious how much time you spent in Hakone and Nara and what were the best aspects of both.
1. Hakone was an overnight trip enroute to Kyoto. We left Tokyo around mid-day and got there around 4:30 pm and then left the next day around noon. So number one, if I would do it again, I'd have added a little more time in Hakone to explore, maybe 48 hrs. I wanted to see Lake Ashi and the Narukawa Art Museum but there was no time. Hakone was our splurge accommodation at a traditional ryokan with kaiseki dinner & breakfast*. We chose a room that had a private outdoor onsen, which was really lovely. The star in Hakone is really the nature (fall colours were just starting at the end of Nov...early Dec would've been even more spectacular) and I loved taking the old-fashioned Hakonetozan train into town. *I’m sure your tastebuds are more adventurous than mine but for what it’s worth, the kaiseki was my least favourite meal in Japan. I don’t regret the experience because the meal is beautiful and I’m glad to have tried it but it was too much for me (especially as breakfast).
2. Nara was a day trip from Kyoto. At first we weren’t going to go because of the hype but in the end, honestly, I loved the deer so it was worth it for me. There are certain areas in the park that are stupidly tourist-intense but if you’re interested in the surrounding temples like we were, wandering the paths up into the forest was definitely a highlight. Lot less crowded with beautiful views and different temples. If you do go, I recommend taking the Limited Express AONIYOSHI train to/from Kyoto or Osaka if you can. It’s a beautiful train with spacious seating so it’s really calm and quiet. The only drawback is that the schedule is limited. https://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/aoniyoshi/
Anyway hope that helps (it was fun for me to go back into my Japan memories, so thank you for asking!). Excited for you!!
100 percent on point (as always).
😘🙏
I am glad to be extremely far from ever seeing Paris promo stuff on TikTok (never been on it) or other social media. I live in the real city of Paris (boulot - métro) where I rarely hear people speaking English (but often hear Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Polish, Punjabi, and more. But your post makes me think that the instant consumption of narcissistic imagery so superficial it's hard to call it "content" is something that affects everything, not just cities. And it seems to be a vicious circle: The more people consume such crap, the emptier they feel and the more they feel the need to consume more crap, but that only makes them feel emptier. I'm not the ideal audience for a lot of what you write but I profoundly appreciate your approach. My favorite of your books is the New Parisienne, which really ripped off the superficial, marketable image of the chic Parisian woman to show some of the incredible -- and incredibly diverse -- real women who help make this city great. So, Lyndsey, Bravo! Les clicks maybe but so much better work.
You are 100% correct ! And it totally applies to The New Parisienne! (Maybe its own état de lieu will be needed when I reach the 10 year anniversary— I fear I know what the landscape will look like!)
As others have said, a wonderful, thoughtful piece, thank you.
Thank you for reading, John!
Agree. Well said. It's sad isn't it--these "influencers" and their followers/copycats are just sleepwalking through life, comfortably numb...
Really like the question "have we lost our capacity for curiosity in favor of control?"
This is especially poignant every time I'm abroad. My easiest counter is to just stay in one place for longer periods of time. I find that it better captures the essence of "local" life, instead of treating a place like a list of things to "do" or "cross off". It exposes me to having to do some of the mundane stuff - dealing with the bureaucracy, figuring out groceries, going to the same places to see if the same barista is there, trying my shitty French with the locals and embarrassing myself. I think this is where some of those croissant "crumbs" come out.
I think small little anecdotes and people make the experience. Social media, influencers, and the copious amount of material out there certainly doesn't help. It's easy to not have your own experience at all if you're not careful.
Exactly why I have never taken a cruse - how can one spend just a few hours in those glorious cities and say they were there? I'd be miserable having missed so much. I too like to stay a while and soak it all up
The thing is, it’s not just inaccurate and lazy and occasionally offensive, it’s so boring.
I live in Greenwich Village and this morning I went to grab some bread from a new local bakery. The guy behind me asked for a coffee and ‘the most famous things you sell.’ He didn’t ask what was good. What they’d recommend. Ask them to explain the menu. Just asked for what was famous.
Such a bummer.
There is so much to think about here. (says the girl with an Italian pharmacy post in her drafts :)
I keep having the conversation about places and their Instagram accounts. My general theory is if the last picture was sometime right after lockdown or just regular pictures not by a PR company I am probably going to like it. If the account is too pretty and too considered I likely won't even go!
I am almost relieved by some of the Venetian cliche's (though I do wish TikTokers would stop telling visitors to take the cheap "gondola" rides) because they concentrate the surface travelers and make the few places that residents love still accessible.
Thing is, there is no YOUR take on the Italian pharmacy is going to be trite and frivolous. You’re not filming yourself engaging in a “haul” (ugh this word), you’d invariably be explaining, factually and contextually, its relevance ! And that’s helpful!