Quel désastre!
Quite agree, we love the Dordogne region. We intend to go this Summer. Of course it does get busy in the Summer, but there are many quieter areas too. Mind you, holiday rental prices seem to have rocketed since the last time we went!
I lived near Hyères in the Var for 8 years and loved it. That area of the South coast has been protected more than the east PACA areas and, apart from July and August which can get a bit crowded, it’s a great place to live.
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Paris
Between two villages an old boy was sat on a wall smoking a pipe. A traveller stopped and asked what the people in the next village were like. “What were they like in the last village you just left?” answered the old boy.
“Horrible” was the reply. “You’ll find them just the same in the next village” came back the old boy.
A little later another traveller came along and asked the same question. When asked about the previous village he said the people were lovely.
“You’ll find them just the same in the next village” was the response this time.
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I don’t like it ,I make no apologie for that,Its a good job that others do , defend the area as much as you want ,its not for me.
Morbihan. Here they call it the empty middle. It’s the dreariest place I have ever been, abandoned villages, dead towns, suspicious locals. No doctors, no anything. Miserable landscape. It makes the unmapped territory above the Neath Valley look like Hollywood. Even the Rhondda has more fizz. Makes Mecklenburg Vorpommern and parts of Sachsen look like Berlin Central.
Doesn’t it depend which bit of Paris? Or, do you really mean all of it? Intra-muros, Île de France or only so far out?
Dortan. A village burned to the ground by the Nazis on their way home. And rebuild post-war with not a lot of money and horrible building materials. V ugly.
Tragic, poignant and now architecturally disappointing too, but does that make this example simply’ugly’, or is it a far more complex conjunction of historical forces and subsequent social needs?
Nevertheless, it may still look crap!
I hope you went to the casino 
Spent time in Hyeres with a good friend, it’s ok ish but the traffic around Toulon is a bugger.
Quite agree Steve, lots of expats too some of whom haven’t brought a lot of money to the town…I’m trying to be polite !
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Must admit that most of my dislike comes from the point of view of a driver, especially from years ago before the autoroutes when just passing through was a nightmare.
The only exception was, after delivering to Bondoufle early one morning I was then told to go to another suburb not far away and drop the trailer for them to load during the day, and that I was then required to set off at midnight for Bordeaux. I did as I was told then parked the tractor unit at a commuter station and took the train to the centre. Strolled around the sights including the Tuileries and the Cathedral but the highlight was going down into the Louvres to see all the great paintings. The giant ones took my breath away but I was unimpressed with the Mona Lisa, what I could see of it anyway, over the heads of the camera clicking Japanese tourists. Then a nice lunch in a little cafe before the train back to the wagon and bed. 
Seeing the heading of this thread, I thought it had to do with the sexual life of the villagers.
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nearly choked on my cuppa… 'cos it had given me pause for thought, too… 
around here the word “moche” would be used instead …
but then someone might think it was to do with coffee…
Laid is definitely a false friend in this instance 
Are you talking about British or French? British culture is more about smiling and being nice face to face, and then trash talking when your back is turned. I’ve always found the French to call a spade a spade, which is perhaps why the perception of the French (to some at least), is that they are rude. Personally I find it refreshing, it’s a different culture, and they don’t typically play the same game.
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Both but down south it was always french
Once again… the forum chat… shows us how different folk are in their behaviour and their perceptions…
anyway… laid or moche… it’s all tongue in cheek… and here’s the list from 2022. By clicking the diaporama partway down… you can see the first part…
and then click" voir la suite du… " and you see the whole lot !!