My husband went to France with me for the first time in 2015. It was his first time leaving the US, and being in a country where he couldn’t speak the local language. Let’s just say, it was a culture shock. Watching movies that take place in France doesn’t give enough justice to what it is to actually be there. Here are some tips on what to know and do before your first trip to France. Use a map and have a plan Unless you know where you're going and you're very confident in using the local language, I would suggest using a map app everytime you go to France. It will save you so much time. Google maps and Apple maps are both usually up to date. France has a lot of small and narrow one way streets. It will be helpful to use a map to know where to go and not. Also if you want to use the public transport it will tell you what to take and at what time. It has been very convenient for us, especially in Paris. Learn a few words in the local language Yes, French people learn English at school. However they don't speak good English, especially in small villages. Some people even get annoyed when tourists talk to them in English expecting them to understand. Try to learn a few words like "Bonjour", "Au revoir", "S'il vous plaît", and "Merci". It would be even better if you learn a few short sentences like "Bonjour, une baguette bien cuite s'il vous plaît". It will always be appreciated and French people might even change their attitude towards you if they see you're making an effort. When my husband would try, they obviously could hear his accent, but they always appreciated it and would sometimes answer back in English. Try the local food Food in France, and even in Europe in general, will always be different from what you are used to in the US. Even the food you have back home will be different there, like pizza for example. McDonald’s and other fast food companies also taste and look different there. Go to France with an open mind and try the food there. France is known for good food, not only pastries and bread. Try the cheese, try new dishes, try new drinks… You might not like everything, but I think it’s part of the experience. Don’t look like a tourist In big cities like Paris, tourists are the main target for pickpocketing. Be careful, and don’t look like one. Don’t wear baseball hats, athletic shoes (even though they are comfortable, but French people only wear them to go to the gym), American brands, tops with American university names on them, cameras around your neck, bright colors… Try to blend in, or maybe even go to a French store on your first day there and only wear French clothes. Parisians especially are stylish and don’t go for comfort. Always put your bags and belongings in front of you when you’re in a crowd. Do not put your phone in your back pocket, and do not talk to beggars. They sometimes work in a team, and someone else will try to steal you from behind while you are talking to another one. Lots of walking Yes, you can’t wear your comfy athletic shoes, but yet you will have to walk a lot in France. French people are used to walking everywhere. Typically you will park somewhere, and walk the rest of the time. Or you will take the metro/bus, and walk after that. I am not sure how to get you ready for it, I feel like your feet just get used to it after a while. My husband always brings pain killers with him though, and it seems to help. Make sure your phone works there We have tried different ways for that one. The first time we went, we bought a French phone with a temporary French Sim card. It worked fine, but my husband's phone wasn’t working all the time and was only on WIFI. I was afraid to lose him and not find him, plus we had limited access to any map apps. The best way for us has been to buy a data only Sim card and use our unlocked US phones. This last time we used the ones from www.wraptel.com and we liked them just fine. The data wasn’t super fast, but fast enough to use a map. It also cost us $35 per person. We still used the WIFI everytime we could though. Expect the expected: French people ARE rude Hear me out: I am French, and though I absolutely love my culture, after living in the US for more than 9 years, I can now UNDERSTAND why Americans say that French people are rude. Generally speaking, we don’t believe in customer service. Clients are definitely NOT kings and queens. We don’t tip in restaurants so servers don’t care to talk to you or refill your water. If you have kids that need to go to the bathroom you can’t go to any restaurant and ask to use their bathroom unless you are consuming a product of theirs. If you are unhappy about a service, they typically don’t care. If you smile at a stranger they will not smile back at you. Now I am not saying that they’re all like that. We have seen some really nice people who did care and showed us that they aren’t all rude. It really depends on you acting like a tourist (disclaimer: French people usually don’t like tourists) and obviously your attitude. France is not always that pretty For someone who lived his entire life in Utah, my husband had to learn the harsh truth about Europe. Pictures of France that you see online were chosen on purpose. Most of the time, the streets are dirty. As a kid, I learned to walk while looking down at my feet. They are dog poop, gums, trash, and in Paris sometimes rats (might be kidding for that one). Some streets and metros can be very smelly. On our last trip to the South of France, I had to repeat it to my daughters to not walk on puddles, because they weren’t water, but mostly pee. Just be aware of your surroundings. No AC We went to France twice in summer. Something that I forgot about France is that we don’t use the AC. The houses and buildings are usually made to keep the cold inside as much as possible. For example the floor is usually made out of tiles. Some people will use an AC unit that they put above their door, or an electric fan. Somehow the body gets used to the hot or cold weather, as well as the humidity level. Whenever we go to France I buy the anti humidity smoothing milk from Fructis on Amazon. It helps with my hair not getting too frizzy. For the hot weather, take a lot of cold showers and baths, and go to the pool or the sea as often as possible. Also, open your windows at night. Jetlag We live in Utah so there is an 8 hour difference between here and France. When we go to France, we can’t go to bed until after midnight, and then sleep in until past 12 pm. To fight jet lag, force yourself to not sleep until bedtime, and then use whatever you can to fall asleep as early as possible. In the morning, use an alarm to wake up at a decent time. It will be rough at first, but it will get better after a few days. To sleep at night we like to use Melatonin or a sleeping pill. Also, this last trip we used the Jetzone pills from Amazon. I used them on our way there, and I can tell that I didn’t have the normal headache that I get when I’m overly tired. Even though I still had a hard time falling asleep, I felt like I slept much better while taking it. I will totally use it again for our next trip. Bonus: on our first trip to France, we had no idea how we were going to use our credit cards and minimize the international fee. We used a Travelex card once and we actually loved it. Now we use the Visa Marriott card with Chase. It has no foreign transaction fee and you get points with every purchase (point value varies depending on your purchase). If you spend money on a Marriott hotel stay (or affiliate), you can get a lot of points. We love that one and will probably use it from now on.
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The first time we traveled to France with our kids was when Celestine was about 18 months old. At the time we only had one kid, so it was much easier to deal with, but it was also our first trip with her. I had never lived in France with a child of my own, so it was also new territory for me. We have learned so much from that first trip, but also from the following ones. We now have a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and an 8 month old baby. Here are some tips on traveling to France with kids. Allow more time for adjustment to jetlag As an adult, jetlag can be rough and can take a couple days to get over it. It takes twice as long for kids, especially young ones. We live in Utah, so there is an 8 hour difference between there and France. Whenever we go to France, we allow ourselves about 4 days to recover from jetlag, just to make sure we are all rested enough so we can then enjoy the rest of our trip. Only one or two activities per day With kids, especially with babies and toddlers, it is always much better to only plan on one or two activities a day. You have to consider the time to travel to the destination, getting in and out of transport, nap times, mealtimes… I prefer one activity a day and then stay home for the rest of the day. You can spend time with family, go to the hotel pool, watch a movie, or catch up on naps. The kids are in a better mood when their energy isn’t strained to the max. Plan on meals This is especially for France and some countries in Europe, but something that is good to know is that most restaurants do not have a kids menu available. Most don’t even have high chairs. We do have kids that like to eat almost anything (my French culture couldn’t allow myself to feed them only chicken nuggets), so most of the time we can go to any restaurant and easily find something that the girls will like, but if your kids are picky eaters, here are some options. You could pack a lunch for them, but in that case, call the restaurant ahead and ask if it is ok for them to eat something that isn’t served from their kitchen. You could have picnics (France has some beautiful parks). You can also check the menu if available online before going to a restaurant. Also make sure that your kids can and know how to behave in a restaurant. Yes, most French kids do know how to behave in a restaurant. Plan on travel accessories Between our many trips to France with our kids, we have been able to test some accessories depending on the kid's age and the destination. In Paris, I do not recommend a stroller. Paris has a lot of stairs or little steps and it makes it hard to deal with a stroller. Some metro stations don’t even have elevators. Also going in and out of a metro during rush hour and a stroller is a nightmare. If you go with a baby, use a baby carrier. We liked the Ergobaby from Target because the baby can be front facing and it is easy to put on. With a toddler, you can use a stroller that folds and can be carried easily if needed, and in a compact size. A very common stroller in France that works well for the French streets is the Yoyo stroller, available on Amazon. Also, make sure to check on your destination if strollers are allowed. For example, strollers are not allowed inside the castle of Versailles when it is full of people. For smaller cities and villages in France, a normal stroller will be just fine. It would still be better if it’s a small stroller (some sidewalks can be very narrow). I do not recommend traveling with a double stroller. We preferred to use two different single strollers rather than bringing our double one. Adjust to mealtime In France, breakfast is between 7 and 9 in the morning, lunch is between 12 and 2 pm, and dinner starts after 6:30 pm. If you are like me and you are used to an American mealtime, you might be ok for breakfast and lunch, but not for dinner. It is really up to you if you want to change their dinner time at night. For our babies, we keep the same time as it is easier and they only have a bottle or baby food. For our older kids, we try to adjust them to mealtime in the country we are visiting as much as we can. As a side note, most restaurants are only open during mealtime, meaning they are not open between lunch and dinner time. It might be rough at first, but it is worthwhile in my opinion as it will make lunch and dinner much easier for everybody. Plan on activities during transport In Europe, we like to use public transportation a lot. Most people use the train over the car when they’re traveling. It is cheaper and less tiring. Plan on having some fun activities depending on the kids’ age. In the train, kids are expected to behave and be quiet. We are not super tablet fans, but the girls like to color, solve puzzles, build legos, read books, listen to books… On our last trip, we used the mini voyager bags from www.minivoyager.com. Our oldest also likes to listen to stories now, so we got her a Lunii box on Amazon. We like this one the most because you can download stories from different languages. Plan on security for your kids
Have you seen the movie Taken? Yes, it takes place in Paris. If you have never been to France before and you are used to leaving your kids outside without supervision (as a reminder, we live in Utah), then I would suggest you to invest in some products that will put your mind at ease. Nobody wants to lose a child so I would rather be safe than sorry. We have used a backpack leash for kids before. Those can be easily found on Amazon. We have also used a GPS tracker. I would suggest buying one from France so it will have the European map available. It is cheaper that way since GPS trackers bought from the US will only have the US map and would need an extra cost for the European map, if available. We have used the Weenect bought on Amazon.fr. It was the cheapest option I could find and it is connected to an app on your phone so you can see where they are. You can pay for a 3 month subscription for 10 euros a month and then you can stop it anytime after that. My favorite product that worked well with my kids was the safety wrist. It is cheap, actually comfortable to have, and I don’t have to think about it. As soon as it is on their wrist, they can’t take it off. It was so useful whenever we went to the market. Rest days It is so important for kids (and for parents in my opinion) to rest some days. Some people like to use that method: one day we go out and do something, then the next day we rest, then the next day we go out, then the next day we rest. We don’t always do that with our kids, and there were some times when I would tell the kids to get ready to go out, and they would actually respond by: “mom, I’m tired, I don’t want to do anything today”. And no, we don’t have teenagers yet. It is so much more enjoyable to rest a few days, even if it is just staying at the hotel or with family, so then you can enjoy the next day well rested and in a better mood. Have a plan B This one is valid everytime you travel with kids. Sometimes, the weather is not what you were expecting. Sometimes one of your kids is sick. Or you didn’t check before, and the place you wanted to see that day is closed. We have experienced all of those situations and more. When it happens, either have a rest day, or have a plan B. When we go to France, I make a list of things that we want to do or see. So everyday when something happens at the last minute and we need a change of plan, I pull out my list, we go through it and decide what we want to do instead. It makes it so much easier and it doesn’t feel like the day is ruined anymore. If you can, have someone buy essentials for your kids beforehand This is a great one if you know someone already there. In my case, my entire family lives in France, so whenever we go, I ask my mother or father to go to the store and buy some essentials, just so we don’t have to worry about it after we land. We didn’t do that on our first trip with Celestine, and we had to find a store that was open at 8 pm (stores are usually closed at 7 pm except for a few rare ones) and then find everything we needed for our 18 month old baby like diapers, baby food, wipes… We were tired, annoyed to not find a store right away, and it was after Celestine’s bedtime. I would not suggest doing that. Bonus: On our last trip, we wanted to stay for a month in France. Cameron couldn’t because of work, so he went home a week early. My mother in law was also with us, so I didn’t fly alone with 3 kids. We actually loved doing that because Cam was already over jet lag by the time we went home so he was able to take over when we arrived and I was able to get some sleep. I would totally recommend that if it was a possibility for you. |
AuthorMy name is Melanie Ashby. I am from France and I currently live in the US. Here are some tips about traveling to France from a French and an American perspective! Archives
December 2022
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