Practical Information

Language

Most Parisians exclusively speak French. Older inhabitants might speak a few words of English, but will always prefer French over other languages. It will be easier to strike up a conversation in English with younger Parisians, especially with students.

Parisians working in hotels, restaurants, bars, museums and other tourist attractions will almost definitely speak English, and maybe even Spanish, Italian or German.

Money

The currency used in France and Paris is the Euro.

Financial

You are not expected to tip in most Parisian bars and restaurants. In most cases, tips for drinks or food are already included in the bill. Taxi drivers and Hotel housekeeping staff still expect a tip, however.

Bring some Euro’s in cash. Paying for Taxi’s, or even a luggage pushcart at the airport is convenient that way. You’ll find plenty of ATM’s scattered across the city, so we don’t recommend bringing large sums of cash with you.




Health

Even though the last thing you want to think about is spending your vacation in a foreign hospital, you should always make sure your health insurance is ok.  You don’t need any vaccinations in Paris and you also do not have to worry about the quality of healthcare. Should something happen: Paris has many quality health care facilities.

Customs

You do not need a travel visa to visit France, a valid passport or European identity card will suffice.

Accommodations

You will find plenty of hotels in Paris and it will not be a problem to find one once you arrive in Paris. Book in advance to avoid additional costs.

Traffic

We recommend using the metro in Paris. There are 14 metro-routes, each connecting to most important points in the city. Public transport is cheap, fast and quite convenient. Buy a Paris Ticket for public transport to travel freely for 1 or several days.

If you want to avoid the metro for some reason, you could also choose to travel by city bus or hop on-and off with ‘Le Cars Rouges’.