As a frequent visitor to Paris and to France, I’m always learning new tips and tricks. Let me share a few things that will make your travels much easier. Some will be for France and travel in general and some are specific to Paris. I’ll put general headings.

Transit: France has terrific public transit, and for the most part anytime you are in a city, it is more convenient than driving. So, in Paris, the best thing going is something called a “Navigo Decouverte” card. This costs 5euros, is good for 10 years and requires a photo, just copy your drivers license and clip out the photo. EDIT: This can now be done on your phone without paying the 5 Euros, download the Bonjour RATP app and/or the IDF Mobilities app to do this. Navigo Decouverte The Navigo Easy pass, Navigo Easy for individual tickets is also available on your phone. Remember that airport tickets are separate from regular transit tickets. The pass runs weekly from Monday through Sunday and covers all 5 transit zones of Paris and is good on the Metro, buses and the RER within the 5 zones. So, included in the zones are CDG airport, Versailles and Disneyland. At this writing, a weekly charge is 31.60 euros and can be done using the Bonjour RATP app and Apple Pay, runs Monday through Sunday only. Since it would cost almost 12 euros for RER fare from the airport, or 56+ euros for a taxi, even if you don’t stay the full week, it can still be a great deal. Once you have the card, you can charge it up before leaving the USA, and be ready to hop on the RER straight from the airport. I find that if you use bus and metro more than 2X per day, it’s going to pay for itself, and that’s not even counting the convenience! Here’s a good site with a summary of available passes: https://parisbytrain.com/

For Transit directions in Paris, Google maps works pretty well, just put in where you want to go and touch the transit button. When you start out, the metro is often easiest, but as you gain experience, buses will often require less changes and allow you to see things as you are moving. If you stay in the same area a few times, you will learn the 2 or 3 relevant buses and be able to get around most of the city with just those. When using Google maps and the Metro for travel, pay careful attention to the suggested exit from the Metro, this can save you confusion and lots of walking! Another app that works well is the “Transit” app, excellent for real time arrival info. As mentioned above have the “Bonjour RATP” loaded and for longer distance trains be sure to have the “SNCF-Connect” app. Note that the Paris Metro line 14 now goes to Orly, but you need to buy and airport ticket to use it. Orly via Metro 14

Taxis/Uber: You are almost always better off using a taxi in Paris because they are entitled to use the special bus lanes, which are unavailable to Uber. From the airport there is a flat rate fare of 56 Euro to the right bank and 65 Euros the left, make sure you agree to this before you get in the taxi. If you plan on using taxis at all frequently, download the “G7” app to your phone and set it up. This works about like Uber, showing you where your taxi is etc. and charging your credit card for the fare. Current fares here: https://www.g7.fr/en/paris-taxi-fares

Pickpocketing: One mistake that I see tourists make all the time, is hanging out near the doors of the metro. Whenever possible, board the metro and get across the car and put your back against the far side, even better, the end of the car in the corner. Do not stand near the door with your phone out!! Situational awareness can save you a lot of hassle! Do not carry all of your valuables and credit cards around with you on a daily basis. If you have a purse, get a carabiner or something to secure the zipper, and wear it under your jacket if possible. For men, your wallet should be in your front pocket, and, these pants have saved me before and I would recommend them highly: https://www.clothingarts.com/products/pickpocket_proof_business_travel_pants. Here’s one of my experiences: Pickpocket story. Do not stop and engage with anyone holding a petition, a baby, or a friendship bracelet or playing with cups, just keep moving. Pickpockets often target tourists, so pay particular attention anytime you are near the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower or in Montmartre. As a solo traveler, I don’t usually have others to rely on, so, I always have multiple back ups, of money, ID, phones, chargers etc. Here’s my page on how to handle money when you travel, written for pilgrims, but the principles apply: https://caminotips.wordpress.com/welcome-to-camino-tips/money/

Museums: One of the problems in Paris is that almost all of the museums want you to have a timed reservation, this is not only annoying but requires you to navigate clunky European websites that often reject American credit cards. So, here is a great workaround particularly if you are a regular visitor. The Musée D’Orsay in combination with the Orangerie, has a membership card called the Carte Blanche. It costs 44euros/year and allows you to enter either museum anytime you like with no appointment. But, and here’s the bonus, you can go at 9:00am, half an hour before the official opening time and get in ahead of everyone else!!! This is really fabulous, have the whole museum more or less to yourself before the public. With one membership, they will allow your companions to buy tickets on the spot and go in with you. The Rodin also has a membership card, and a discount on it is given if you are already a member of another museum. See the museum webpage, buy at the museum or go to FNAC. If you must go to many museums a day, then a museum pass might work for you, I don’t think that it is a particularly good deal but here is the info, and they have FINALLY made an Epass version so you don’t have to have it shipped at outrageous prices, be careful to not which sites require a reservation even if you have this pass: https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/t-en

Cell Phones and SIMS: I’ve written extensively about cell phones and SIMS elsewhere, so I’ll just link to that, but perhaps the biggest mistake you can make when you travel is not having your phone be fully functional. Already you pay over $1,000/year for your phone, why on earth would you not pay a little bit more to have it work in a foreign country where you don’t know the language and aren’t familiar with things?? I always recommend that you buy your phones unlocked and keep your most recent phone when you upgrade. EDIT: most modern phones now take eSIMs, if you just want data and can use WhatsApp it is very economical to get an esim. My preferred provider is UBIGI, and you can find some tips and discount here: eSIMs, What you should know. You always want to have a spare phone, so that if your phone stops working or gets stolen you are ready to wipe it and you already have all your passwords etc good to go in your back up phone. Here is a link to info on using your phone when in France, in short, get an Orange Holiday SIM. https://caminotips.wordpress.com/using-the-orange-holiday-sim-tips-and-tricks/

One of the great tricks that I’ve discovered with my iPhone 13pro is that I can run a French SIM at the same time as my American SIM. Be sure you have a roaming package on your phone, and turn off your American SIM when you are not on WIFI. Many carriers have some kind of free roaming or a day pass with a maximum monthly charge. Check with your carrier if you can make free calls on WIFI with your primary line.

Aeroport Charles de Gaulle: I love France and the French do trains very well, but they are terrible at airports and this may be the worst airport in Europe. There are very few places to eat, what does exist is generally closed. Immigration and security are almost always understaffed resulting in enormous wait times. So, some of this can be planned around, here’s what I’ve found: Avoid arriving or departing CDG on Sundays, Holidays and if possible weekends in general. Most of the staff and anyone with seniority will not be working on Sundays…..This means that wait times can be much longer, I’ve been there when there was one person stamping passports for those leaving the country for the whole terminal. You’ll want to arrive 3 hours before your flight, and do everything possible to get your boarding pass before you come to the airport and to not check a bag, this could save you an hour at the front counter right there. If you do schedule a train after your arrival, I would allow at least 3 hours, and, make sure the ticket allows changes. Generally, it is just easier to plan to spend a night in Paris and depart from one of the big in town stations the next day. This reduces the stress level considerably. One additional hint: If you are flying on Delta, make all of your seating changes etc. more than 3 days before you departure. At 72hrs before flight time, the flight is handed to Air France ground staff and no customer service is possible. I once actually went to the Air France office and they were unable to change my seat or print a boarding pass. And, you can’t call them since the reservations line is a pay line not accessible from a French cell phone. So, here’s the trick, use Skype or whatever you have to do, to call the USA 800 number if you need help, but try to do it 3 days or more before the flight! I have not used this service but friends have reported good results, if you’d like help getting through CDG, coming or going: https://myconciergerieorlycdg.fr/en

Trains: The good news is that as bad as French airports are, French trains are great, with the exception that trains stations may lack toilet facilities. So, best thing you can do is download the SNCF-Connect app to your phone. Then, if you will be taking more than a few trains, buy yourself a “Carte Avantage” in the app. This will give you a discount on almost every ticket. Just like flights, long distance trains are dynamically priced, so, avoid Friday and Sunday afternoons, but you can see the prices before you buy. Also, pay attention to total journey times and the number of changes. Obviously, a more direct train has less chance of causing a missed connection. A lot of the time, First Class will only cost a little bit more, and if that is the case I would do it. Paris has a number of major trains stations, so be sure you pay attention to which station your train leaves from. I would suggest you get to the train station 30-40 minutes before your train, but, the information as to what track it is on will not be displayed until 20minutes beforehand. Once you have the track number get yourself their ASAP and then look for the display which tells you where the car numbers are. There will be a letters along the track that allow you to position next to the appropriate car listed on your ticket. Once the train is in the station, each car will have the car number displayed electronically on the side of the train. Once you’ve found your car, find your seat number, sometimes it will be on an upper level, indicated on your ticket and by seat number. Generally, on the app, you will have a QR code for your ticket, so no validation is necessary. For great info on French trains it’s worth reading this: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-france.htm

Once you are on the train, if it is not crowded feel free to change seats anywhere in the same car. The computer seems to sell the seats sequentially, so, I often seen the car with every seat occupied for a number of rows and the back half empty. Just sit where you want, but be prepared to move if the actually seat owner shows up. If you stay in the same car for which you are ticketed, this shouldn’t cause any comment whatsoever.

Although it might appear that a train across France would take longer than a flight, you will find that the train is much more enjoyable, does not leave you exhausted, and usually goes City center to City center, meaning that if you factor in the cost and time of getting to and from the airport, through security etc. there is almost nowhere in France that it is better to fly than to use the train. This changes just a little if you are already in the airport or changing planes, thus not needing to get to the airport in between flights.

Bathrooms: This is another area that the French do not do well…. A large train station may only have one bathroom, undoubtedly in a seriously inconvenient location and you will be charged to use it!! So, always go to the bathroom on the train about 10 minutes before you arrive. Same advice for airplane arrival, use the first bathroom before you hit customs and immigration, you may be stuck in line for an hour or more! In Paris, many of the free Kiosk bathrooms are functioning and are reasonably useable. One easy trick to using a bathroom is to look for a cafe with a big terrace full of people, then just walk in as if you were out on the terrace and head for the WC. Often they are downstairs, but typically the inside staff will assume you are sitting on the terrace. If you feel guilty about this move, just leave a euro coin on the bar on the way out. Anytime you have coffee, go to a museum or otherwise have access to a facility I would suggest you avail yourself of it even if you think you don’t need to! If you rent an apartment or an AirBnB, make sure it has a proper shower! Otherwise you could get a tub with a handheld shower, generally resulting in water all over the place.

Wine: Ordering wine if you are unfamiliar with the French wines can be a little bit tricky. Here’s a way to navigate it with the help of the restaurant staff: First, pick two items you’d be happy to eat, then ask the waiter which of the two he recommends. Once you’ve picked a main course, ask what wine he would suggest from their glass pour list to go with it. Generally most cafes and restaurants in the mid to lower price ranges will offer wines by the glass and by the pitcher. Pitchers come in a few different sizes, but a standard 2 glass pitcher is called ‘un Quart” or quarter because it is 25cl. The next size is usually “Un Pot”or “Un Demi,” which is 500cl or the equivalent of 1/2 liter. When drinking wine at an average cafe, the best way to do it is usually one of the glasses or pitchers. Avoid the most expensive glass, as that bottle will usually have been open for awhile, if you do get it, be prepared to send it back and ask for them to open a fresh bottle. Most of the midrange stuff will be whatever is local and can often be quite good, and is usually inexpensive. Remember that French wines are generally blends per the rules of whatever AOC they come from, so you are not usually going to get a 100% Cabernet or Merlot. Once you are familiar with French wines you’ll know that Burgundies are Pinot Noir dominant, Right bank Bordeaux’s are Merlot dominant, Left bank Bordeauxs are Cabernet Dominant, Cote du Rhône is usually a GSM Blend and so on…. When you are traveling around France, try whatever the local wine is, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how it goes with the food and at how reasonably priced it is.

Restaurants, Cafes and Brasseries. Generally, if you have your heart set on dining somewhere you are best off making a reservation well ahead of time. If you are willing to wing it, you can almost always find somewhere to have dinner. Most cafes will have an outdoor terrace and when you see the tables set with silver ware and glasses, that means that if you occupy that table you are expected to eat. French Meal times are usually lunch from 12:30-2:00pm and Dinner from 8:00pm-10:00pm. One of the great “no reservation” tricks is to show up a little before these times and you can often get in and get served before the rush. So, for lunch try to arrive just around noon, and for dinner, 7:30pm is a great time. You can usually sit and have your order in just as the masses are showing up. Cafes will often have “Service Continu”. Meaning the kitchen is open all the time. Restaurants will usually have fixed hours and refuse to serve you anything at all outside of those hours. Brasseries are usually more flexible. Generally avoid anything too close to any large tourist sight. Look for a chalk board and a “Formule.” This is a combination of dishes at a fixed price and is usually a much better deal than ordering a la Carte. Often there is a daily special offered at a very reasonable price. (French office workers get coupons and the restaurants try to fit lunch into the amount on the coupons). Sunday and Monday nights can be challenging…. I have found that Yelp works quite well in Paris, you can also check TripAdvisor and for making reservations etc. try an App called “The Fork.”

Markets: France has wonderful outdoor markets, and one of the first things to find out when you travel is the when the market days are and where. Every neighborhood in Paris has a market area or street. The largest are probably the Marche de Bastille and the Marche d’Aligre, both recommended. The markets are generally done for the day by 2:00pm so try to go mid morning. Here’s a good list of market days and areas for Paris, for other places in France, just google. https://a-night-in-paris.com/paris-produce-markets-list-by-arrondissement.html

And one more: http://discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Shopping/Paris_markets.shtml

BLOG: For those interested in my blog, the most recent trip was a hike on the Camino Via Podiensis from Le Puy en Velay to Conques, followed by two weeks in Paris: https://tangonomadfr.wordpress.com/