Bonjour Ernst,

Paris  --> proper noun masculine.

"à la campagne"  suggests a rural setting but I see this option as not being consistent with the context of the story.

The objective of the trip to Paris was to see the sights and enjoy the cuisine. The inquiry as to exploring outside of the city is consistent with a trip to (say) Versailles or some other place consistent with tourism immediately beyond the city of Paris.

This is how I see the context  --  hope it helps,

Bonne journée

Jim

Merçi Jim,

but that is *not* consistent with the given answer: '...mais non, Paris s'est vraiment surpassée'. Hence my question and doubt.

Ernst, 

for your first question, you might be interested in the attached article.

 https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/paris-est-beau-belle/

The answer to your 2nd question is that it ‘à la campagne’ is not as accurate a translation of the English ‘outside of the capital’ - as ‘dehors de la capitale’.

‘À la campagne’ specifically refers ‘to the country(side)’, to areas at least semi-rural or rural; ‘dehors de la capitale’ is more general ‘outside of the capital (Paris limits) ’, which does not necessarily mean being ‘in the countryside’.

Either is grammatically correct, but they do not have exactly the same meaning.

(Leaving aside that I think the English phrasing ‘outside of the capital’ sounds ‘quaint’, to say the least ! As is often the case, it sounds to me like English written to match the French response expected. Maybe it is just regional difference in English usage)