Paris, long hailed as the “City of Love”, and a dream destination for countless travellers, didn’t quite match up to its postcard-perfect image for an Indian vlogger. In a viral reel, Vinayak Mishra documented a very different first impression of the French capital, calling it a “plot twist” just minutes after landing there. Shared on Instagram, the video has already crossed 2.2 million views. Mishra is seen stepping out of a train station in the video, and wandering through a part of Paris that looks nothing like the elegant boulevards and chic cafés tourists imagine. Streets appear cluttered, chaotic and far from the pristine cityscape usually shown online. “Kahan par hai ye? Ye Paris hai? Ye toh macchi market jaisa lag raha hai?” (Where is this? Is this Paris? It looks like a fish market),” he is heard saying in the video before the scene switches to a tidier, more picturesque area. Observing the sharp contrast, Mishra adds, “This neighbourhood is normal, but the other place was weird. People coming from all directions and screaming, as well as garbage lying around.” “I did not have this image of Paris in my mind,” he admits. Mishra later clarified in his caption that Paris is diverse. “Paris is a multicultural city, and not every part looks the same. The area in this reel has a very different vibe, but that doesn’t mean the whole city looks like this. Just like in India, every place has different sides, and that’s what makes travelling so real and interesting,” he wrote, concluding with: “Paris is real, raw, and still so beautiful.” Watch the viral video: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vinayak mishra | Travel & Lifestyle (@thevinayakmishra) The post has sparked a flurry of comments, with some users agreeing with Mishra’s observations while others defended the city, pointing out that every major metropolis has its gritty corners. A user wrote, “All Indians should do this only now …. Proud of you for showing reality to every one.” Another user suggested, “Bhai stay in central Paris, if you are staying even slightly outskirts mein then this is what you will get also don’t step out in such areas at night. It’s extremely unsafe.” A third person commented, “Paris is a multicultural city, and not every part looks the same. The area in this reel has a very different vibe, but that doesn’t mean the whole city looks like this. Just like in India, every place has different sides, and that’s what makes traveling so real and interesting.” A fourth individual wrote, “People saying in Paris not everywhere is the same , that's same for India too but the foreign tourists came here and go to places where even normal people don't explore.”
