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Travel Tips to Save Your Vacation to France
Common Courtesies
The key to understanding the main cultural difference that exists between the French and the rest of the world is the word “guest.” In the United States it is considered good service for the shop keeper or store employee to greet the customer, but in France it is just the opposite. Cafes, bistros, boutiques, hotels, and even supermarkets and department stores are considered to be private spaces in France. For this reason it is expected that the guest, or customer, will be the first person to offer a greeting, just as if we were entering someones’ home. So when entering a building in France, look at the shopkeeper or hotel clerk, smile, and say “bon jour.” When leaving the establishment we are expected to say “au revoir.” After six in the evening replace both bon jour and au revoir with “bon soir,” unless it is very late at night, in which the final bon soir can be replaced with “bon nuit.” France is a very polite society, we are also expected to say please (S’il vous plait). Here are the definitions of those useful phrases.
Bon jour: Good day.
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Renting an Apartment in Paris
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Whilst Paris is full of hotels, ranging from exclusive to budget, it is also home to hundreds (if not thousands) of apartments that are available for short-term holiday rentals. Surprisingly, a reasonable number of these are Australian-owned. After choosing our apartment, a 1 bedroom flat in the 11th arrondissement, we booked directly with the Australian owner. Typically, a deposit is required to confirm the reservation with the balance payable 30 – 60 days prior to check-in. Dealing directly with the apartment’s owner was great – she was on hand to answer any questions that we had prior to our departure from Australia (What’s the nearest Metro station? How do we get to the apartment from the airport? Etc.).