Is Paris a Dirty City? (Expat Advice)

We have explored various parts of Paris including Disneyland Paris, Paris bakeries that sell macarons, and different streets in Paris over the years.

This has allowed us to get a good read on the cleanliness of this major city in France.

Tourists will often come to this part of the world with the desire to see the Eiffel Tower and other major attractions. We were the same but after you go back a few times, you start digging deeper into the finer details of a city.

In this case, we wanted to take a look at the idea of staying in Paris and how it was in terms of cleanliness.

So, is Paris a dirty city?

How Dirty Is Paris?

Paris is known for being a dirty city.

This is not only in comparison to other French cities but also international cities. It is often referred to as being one of the dirtiest cities in all of France among locals and for good reason.

You are going to feel this as soon as you begin to walk around.

Tourists who are coming to the city for the first time are going to become hyper-aware of the stench in the air on some of the major Parisian streets. The litter on the ground can also be off-putting for those who are not used to it.

We travel a lot and it is still odd to find a major city such as this being as dirty as it is.

It’s important to note that not all parts of Paris are the same. We have also seen cleaner areas that have a higher net worth, which keeps them cleaner simply due to the living standards of those who are there. Otherwise, there are other parts that are quite disappointing and unclean.

Main Reasons Paris Is Dirty

Air Pollution

The first point we are going to have to note is the air pollution.

The air you are going to be breathing in Paris is not crisp. It is unclean and you are going to feel it taking a toll on you, especially when you come from a cleaner part of Europe or the world.

We noticed this as it was the pollutants in the air that were beginning to take a toll on us. It’s not easy to deal with at first.

Litter On The Ground

One of the easiest ways to know that Paris is dirty comes from litter on the ground.

There is quite a bit of litter on the ground and that becomes noticeable immediately. After all, this is a visual element that’s hard to ignore.

When we were walking around, it was common for litter to be on the ground including food wrappers.

We feel one of the reasons for this has to do with the increase in population within the city. There are a lot of people mulling around at any given moment, which causes the increase in pollution and litter.

On top of this, the tourism factor also plays a role as you have loads of people visiting and perhaps not treating the city as well as they should.

Inefficient Waste Management

Now, this is a political element at play.

Waste management is often not taken seriously until it becomes a real problem. Paris is a city that is burdened by the number of people in it.

This causes the waste management process to not be as smooth as it needs to be to keep Paris clean. This is where you begin to notice parts of Paris that are quite dirty.

Based on our experiences in other major cities, this is a complicated problem that does arise when there’s ample tourism in the area. You are going to have overloading throughout the major city, which is what happens in Paris too.

Dog Waste

When we were living in Paris, we took the time to walk around a lot of streets.

We wanted to get a better gist of what it meant to stay here and it was obvious dog waste was a proper issue.

There was too much dog waste sitting on the streets in various parts of Paris. We felt this was due to bad dog ownership as people were not cleaning after their dogs after they relieved themselves. As you can imagine, this does add up causing quite the stench.

Plus, when you are walking on a Paris street, you are also not going to want to see dog waste where you are. This is a visually unpleasant experience on top of the stench that is spreading through the air as you walk.

We do realize that each person is different, but this is one concern that does come to the forefront when we compare Paris to other major cities around the world. Dog waste is a problem.

Final Thoughts

These are the reasons Paris is a dirty city.

It might not be the dirtiest city of all time but it is not among the cleanest either. This is a real concern for those who want to make sure they are keeping things as clean as possible.

Paris is a place where you have to get used to it quickly.

We have also written articles on south France cities and pharmacies in France.