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Paris Tips: Tips You Wished Someone Told You About Before You Left Series! Money

The final post in our Tips You Wished Someone Told You About Before You Left series is about Money.  For instance, do you use cash, credit cards or traveler’s cheques when traveling to Paris?  My recommendation to clients is to use a combination of both cash and credit cards and leave the traveler’s cheques at home.

If you are not a frequent overseas traveler, it is imperative you contact your bank and credit card companies before you leave to let them know that you will be traveling (so they don’t turn off your credit card), and to find out what your daily withdrawal and spending limits are.  Also, ask about any service charges that might apply on international transactions.

Here are some helpful money-related tips to make your stay as trouble free as possible:

Contact Bank and Credit Card Company

-       Inform them that you will be traveling overseas

-       Find out your daily withdrawal and spending limits

-       Verify that your account has no restrictions on international withdrawal of money or payments

-       Understand all service charges involved in using your bank and credit cards overseas

Know Your Pin Number

Paris ATMs and credit card machines work with PIN codes comprised of numbers only.  Make sure to memorize your code in its number format (1=ABC, 2=DEF, etc.) before heading to France.  Any modifications to your code should be handled before you leave on your trip.   In some cases, once you are in Paris, banks will not allow any security related changes.

Cash Payments

After enquiring about transaction charges with your bank, you can determine if it is better to withdraw cash from an ATM or to change money at an exchange bureau.  Even with transaction charges, it has been my experience that withdrawing cash from Paris ATM machines is the best way to go.  For clients of Bank of America, you benefit from the ATM World Alliance, which is a group of international banks that allow their customers to use their debit cards within the network without international transaction fees. (See the site for more details.)  If you do decide to exchange money, exchange bureaus are located around the major tourist sites.  Always call around to find out the various rates and commission charges to get the best exchange deal.

Credit Cards

Before you have eaten your meal or tried on that perfect skirt, always ask if the restaurant or shop takes credit cards and what the minimum purchase amount is.  Many boutiques and eateries in Paris do not accept credit cards for less than 10€.  Most supermarkets accept credit cards with a minimum purchase of 1€. Also, keep in mind that Visa is the most widely accepted card in France.  MasterCard is the next most accepted.  Often, American Express and Discovery are not accepted.

Tipping

I’m sure you have heard, but unlike the US, tipping is not standard practice in France.  However, when eating at a restaurant or café, a 15 percent “service charge” is automatically added to your bill.  This does not mean that the waiter will actually be given the extra money for his service.  If you are pleased with the service leave an extra 5-10% on the table in cash for your waiter.

Safety

Paris is a very safe city.  Walking at night in most areas is extremely safe and you should not have any problems.  But, pickpockets run rampant in the City, especially on the main lines of the Metro and around some of the more touristy areas.  Take extra precaution when in the Metro (vigilance on the Line 1!) and crowded areas like the Eiffel Tower or Sacre Coeur.  Your bags should be firmly closed and any cash or credit cards placed inside the bag in a zipped pocket.  If you can, make sure to carry a bag that can be worn crossed over your body and that can be closed completely.  Backpacks should be worn with the straps on both shoulders, and wear it on your chest while in the Metro. While visiting the sites, I recommend that you leave your passport and valuables safely in your apartment.  If you do have the unfortunate experience of being pick pocketed, call your credit card company immediately and go directly to the local police station to report the theft.  A good tip before traveling anywhere overseas is to make copies of your passport, drivers license and the front and back of your credit cards in case you need to go to the embassy for an urgent replacement.

We hope you’ve found this series helpful.  When planning your trip to Paris, contact us for a beautiful vacation rental and more insider tips that can help make your trip the best possible!

This week, we begin a series of blog posts called, “Tips you wished someone told you before you left.”  In the series, we’ll include helpful insights on topics like getting around Paris, Museum passes and using money in Paris.

In this first installment, let’s talk about the different ways of getting around Paris.  The best ways to get around Paris are walking, taking the Paris rapid transit system (Metro, RER and bus), taking a boat, and biking.  Here are some tips on how to use the various methods:

Walking
Truly the best way to visit Paris is to walk. The city is surprisingly easy to navigate on foot and virtually flat (except for Montmartre).  What better way to see the sights and get a feel for all of the unique neighborhoods?!

Rapid Transit System (RATP)
Metro:
Paris’s extensive underground network is the most efficient and fastest way to get around. The Metro runs from 5am to 1:30am depending on the line. Tickets can be bought at the automatic ticket booths in the stations, and are available in a single ticket or a pack (“carnet”) of ten.  Kids have discounted rates (ages 4 -12) with children under 4 riding for free. Metro maps are found in the stations and are posted all over the metro system. Here’s a very informative video that will walk you through using the Paris Metro  and click here for a Metro map.  Use these to familiarize yourself with the system before heading underground.  When using the RATP system, you need to know the name of the last stop so you know which direction to head in.  Also, remember to hang on to your tickets when using the Paris transit system in case you are “controlled” by RATP representatives.

Transit Passes: Paris Viste tickets are unlimited use tickets for tourists and are available in 1-, 2-, 3- or 5-day passes for use on the Metro, RER (urban train) and bus. For longer stays, weekly and monthly tickets called Navigo are available.

RER Train: The RER is a suburban line that goes outside the city with several stops in central Paris. If you stay within the city limits of Paris, your metro ticket can be used on the RER. If you are taking the RER further outside of Paris then you need a separate RER ticket. There are four lines, but the most frequented by tourists are the Line C to go to Orly Airport, Line B to go to Charles De Gaulle or Line A to go to Disneyland Paris.  Click here to see a Paris RER map.

Buses: The bus system is also a very effective, excellent way to become familiar with the city. The same tickets are used on the buses as the Metro and RER.  When you enter a bus, insert your ticket into the machine to validate it. To transfer, you need another ticket. If you have a Paris Viste ticket then simply show it to the driver. Bus maps are posted in Metro stations and in the bus shelters. Buses can run from 6:00am until 12:30am, depending on the line.

Boats: The Batobus runs up and down the Seine with eight stops covering the major tourist sites including Tour Eiffel, Musée d’Orsay, St. Germain de Pres, Notre Dame, Jardin des Plantes, Hotel de Ville, Louvre and Champs-Elysees.  The boats operate as hop-on and hop-off meaning that you can get on and off wherever you’d like as long as you have a valid ticket for the day.  Tickets are available for 1-, 2- or 5-day passes with discounts for children.  The boats run every 15 – 30 mins (only during daylight) depending on time of the year.  You can buy tickets online at www.batobus.com, at ticket offices at each stop and at several train stations (Gare de Lyon, Nord and l’Est).

Biking:  Another great way to see Paris is by bike.  I know this might sound scary for the average tourist, but the City of Paris has gone out of its way to make biking safe and simple.  There are over 371 kms of bike lanes throughout Paris.  The City operates the Velib’ bicycle rental program, which is a self-service bike service available all over the City.  You can pick up a bike at any Velib’ station and return it at any other station.  To rent a Velib’, you need a bankcard that has a chip and is compatible with the system (Amex, MasterCard, Visa). The first 30 minutes of each ride is free of charge. The 1-day pass is 1€ and the 7-day ticket is 5€. See the Velib PDF in English for more details.  Since this is a public system, it is very important to check over your bike before leaving the station to make sure the bike works properly.  Also, before you leave, make sure to rent your apartment from ParisSharing!

The entire world holds Paris to be a romantic ideal, a city universally associated with romance.  Have you ever wondered why?  It was in France that the idea of courtly love–both illicit and spiritually elevating–emerged a thousand years ago. This would become one of the wellsprings of French literature, which retroactively influenced French culture over the centuries to come.  French gained its reputation as the language of love, and the French capital as the city of lovers.

The legend of Paris is now sustained by what people millions of visitors believe and want to believe. If you believe you are in the most romantic city in the world, you are likely to fall under the magical rays that illuminate the hearts of lovers all around you. Paris is the stage on which the drama of countless love stories have unfolded (so many with tragic ends.) Its cafés and parks harbor the ecstasy of spring lovers as well as the pain of broken hearts.

The Lebanese poet, Khalil Gibran, studied sculpture with Rodin, the most passionate of molders, and wrote these words about love : “And when he (love) speaks to you believe in him, though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.”

Whichever your season of love may be, happy Valentine’s Day from Paris-Sharing.com. Looking for a love nest?  Try this one.

Did you know that there is an “I love you” wall in Montmartre, featuring this handwritten declaration in over 300 languages ?

On one of the three most beautiful days the year 2010 had to offer, it began as a quest for the best terrace café within 2 minutes of the Luxembourg gardens. There are millions of people looking for exactly that, so part of what we do at Paris-Sharing is…to share such priceless advice. By luck, we got in on this opportunity early on. The Charivari only opened this year, replacing a rather tired and disappointing café called O Poivrier.

Let’s not be mistaken, this is not a Michelin three star, it’s just a brasserie that doesn’t count on its prime location and sunny terrace to satisfy customers. The cuisine is tasty and carefully prepared. Particular mention in the photo below goes to the homemade bed of whipped potatoes.

The servers are friendly (remember this is worth a premium in Paris),  and we immensely appreciated the offer to taste the wine before ordering (we were hesitating between two). More about the brasserie Chivari on the Paris-Sharing restaurant guide.

A good hour tanning on the terrace allows one to reflect  on what “charivari” is all about. First discovery : charivari is orgininally a French word meaning (in English) ”A mock serenade of dissonant noise done with kettles and tin horns meant to annoy. Generally when an older person married a very young person.”  That’s from Webster’s 1913 Dictionary. In French, the word continues to designate an uproar or hullabaloo. After almost 20 years of learning French, I hadn’t come across that one yet.

Second discovery : “le charivari” was also a satirical journal founded by Charles Philipon in 1832, famous for its subversive treatment of life in the July Monarchy and the Second Empire.

With those tidbits of culture added to your collection, go enjoy a lunch at the Charivari before it becomes over-popular!

If you would like to stay nearby, consider some of our current and exclusive offerings on Paris-Sharing:

- Chez Anne on the boulevard Saint Germain

- Vast Hauseman-style home next to the Bon Marché

- A loft come true

Just ask the French dog!

The French have many expressions that include seemingly arbitrary numbers, such as:

- “les 400 coups” — refers to the number of pranks kids normally play while growing up.

- “il n’y a pas 36 façons de s’y prendre”  – there aren’t 36 ways to go about it.

- “je reviens dans 2 minutes” — I’ll be back in 2 minutes, translated “I’ll be back in a minute” except that you should rather expect the person will be back in 5 to 10 minutes. When the persons is still not back after 10 minute, then you can say :

- “on ne va pas attendre 107 ans”  meaning we’re not going to wait forever (107 years to be precise!)

- “ça coute 3 fois rien” — it costs three times nothing.

Many English speakers have the impression that the French don’t have much of a sense of humor.  In fact, the context in which humor is used differs considerably. The French language is lavishly endowed with funny expressions. One of the most hilarious of these is the expression for pretending to be in a league above your own: “péter plus haut que son cul”. This is the first time I have actually written this slang expression, which can be literally translated (vulgarity removed) “to expel intestinal gas at a level above that of one’s rear-end.”

Money, in particular, provides a “wealth” of slang : “un sac” for 10 euros, “une brique” for 10 000, “une thune” for 5, “un rond” for 1, “un sou” for 0,10. Not to mention the unquantified terms such as “flouze” and “blé”.  Of course, in whatever terms you may choose to count, you’ll be saving on Paris-Sharing.com.

French humor is so embedded into the language itself that it is difficult to experience it in a different language. One stand-up comedian at least gave it a try here in English. When it comes to humor at least, my preference still goes to the British style, a comparative example of which you can watch here.  As you know, the 100 year war was fought over who had the best sense of humor!