16 Travel Tips for Paris and France
1. Say "Bonjour" when going into a store and "Au revoir" when leaving
This is our #1 tip for having a good time in France. It's rude in France to go into a store and not say hi to the shopkeeper or staff.
Always say a quick "Bonjour!" when you go into a store. It's nice to say "Au revoir!" when leaving too.
2. Keep a travel diary
We always bring a physical notebook with us on trips, and write quick notes as we go. It will help you appreciate
and remember your trip years later (it could even help you make a scrapbook website about your trip!). Bill has a dedicated
Moleskine travel notebook, but you can use anything. Try to jot down your notes and impressions of each day
when you get back to your hotel room at night.
3. Stay open-minded
We often look up a few restaurants, shops, and museums for a neighborhood where we’ll have free time. However,
we don’t necessarily stick to a rigid plan - we still wander and try things that we just stumble on. Planning is more like
insurance that we’ll always have something interesting to do if we don’t come across anything right away.
4. You can ask Metro station agents for directions
If you need help in the Metro, tell the attendant where you're going and they'll tell you how to get there.
5. Try to learn a little French before you go.
You don't need to know a lot of French to visit Paris, but it might help make your trip more interesting.
We have some useful phrases here, but it's worth it to take a few lessons before you
go. We took an hour or two of classes with a local French tutor, and she helped us practice our pronunciation,
learn phrases that are helpful for travel - and even gave us advice about things to do in France, foods to
eat, and more.
6. Research foods to try using YouTube
Before we left, we watched dozens of videos from the YouTube channel
Les Frenchies. We learned about
pastries and bakeries we would never have known about without their advice.
7. Don't ignore Rick's advice to pack light!
We figured since we were staying in one city the whole time, it would be okay to pack a little more than usual. But it turned out
to be a pain anyway! We had six different bags, and storing them when we switched hotels and fitting them
into our European-sized hotel room was not easy!
8. Make a photo book
When you get back, organize your photos from the trip and get a photo book printed from a website like Shutterfly.
Each time you take a trip, you can add another travel book to your shelf!
9. Service is included!
Tipping for restaurant meals is not common in France. You can leave a euro or two extra for good service,
but the percentage tipping system doesn't exist in France. However, we still got guilted into giving a percentage
tip by a waiter who could tell we were American. Don't fall for it like we did it!
10. Don't ask random people for directions
Most of the people you see on the street are busy - going to work or school, or trying to grab lunch. If you
need directions or have a question, it's better to ask station agents or hotel receptionists - or to see if
you can find directions on your phone.
11. Look up events at places you're going to
Before you leave, see if there are any special events happening. We got tickets before we left the US for a fashion show
at the Galeries Lafayette department store. We also ordered theater tickets in advance. Events can sell out,
so you're better off getting the tickets well before you leave.
12. Consider learning how to spell out your last name in French
This isn't necessary (it's like an extra credit idea), but it came in handy once or twice to be able to pronounce our
last name using the French letter sounds when speaking to station agents or restaurant hosts. For example, the letter "t" is
pronounced "tay" in French. You can find a pronunciation chart
here! You don't need to learn the whole
alphabet, just the letters in your last name.
13. All times are in 24-hour (military) time
We set our digital watches and phones to 24-hour time
when we left, so we didn't need to constantly convert times in our heads.
14. Bring a smartphone battery pack
Bring an external battery pack for your phone, and keep it charged. This is especially helpful when you're on a
long day trip and don't want to worry about losing access to maps if your phone dies.
15. Carry a hard copy of your hotel address
Just in case your phone battery dies and you need to show it to a taxi driver or metro attendant, it's always
good to have this with you!
16. Check the weather before you leave on your trip
We saw there was some rain in the forecast for Paris before we left, so we packed waterproof shoes, umbrellas,
and raincoats. It always pays to check for this kind of thing before you leave!
C'est tout!
Á bientôt à Paris!
See you in Paris!