On the other hand

While there is so much to like about Paris (even the people, despite their reputation, are generally pretty friendly, especially if you make even a half-hearted attempt to speak French), there is one major scar on the city: Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport. I'm convinced that there is a special place in hell for the folks who designed CDG. I remember when I took my first-ever trip to Europe a few years back and asked my boss if she had any advice about itineraries, etc., and she had only one tip: never, ever, ever connect through Paris unless absolutely necessary (naturally, I ignored her advice and ended up stuck in the airport for six hours when my flight was canceled and there was a big strike--lesson learned). Prior to this weekend I had really only been to the international terminal, which was built--and, near as I can tell, last cleaned--in the '50s or '60s, but I had higher hopes for the main terminal. Silly me! While a bit more modern, it still manages to have the charm, efficiency, and cleanliness you might expect from a post-Soviet era Eastern bloc airport (actually, I think both Vilnius and Warsaw may have had more charm and efficiency).