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France can look like wine, Eiffel Tower photos and long cafe afternoons, but the real trip has more surprises. One day you are racing through Paris metro tunnels, the next you are slowing down at a village market or chatting about cheese with someone on a train. These tips will help you fit in, eat well, avoid common tourist mistakes and make every day feel like a small adventure.
Written by Hannah Govender
Reviewed by Hannah Govender
Updated 1 August 2026
The Eiffel Tower is the Paris sight almost everyone wants to see, so tickets need a little planning. From the top, the city opens out clearly below you, with the Seine, Notre Dame, Montmartre, and La Défense all easy to pick out on a clear day.
Mont Saint Michel rises from the tidal flats of Normandy in a way that still feels unreal when you first see it. You can wander the village, ramparts, and narrow lanes without a ticket, while the abbey at the top is the paid visit.
Colmar makes the detour to Alsace feel completely worth it. The old town is all canals, painted timber houses, flower boxes, and quiet lanes, with a softer pace than many better known European storybook towns.
Collioure is a Catalan fishing port on the Vermeille Coast, where bright boats, warm stone, and the famous bell tower still echo the scenes painted by Matisse and Derain. It feels artistic without trying too hard.
Collioure is a popular day trip from Perpignan. Arrive before 10 AM or stay overnight, and you will see the beaches and old town relax once the coach groups leave.
France is in the Schengen Area, so entry rules depend on your passport. EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens can travel with a valid national ID card or passport. Many other nationalities can visit without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180 day period, while some travelers need a Schengen visa before arrival. The 90 day limit applies across the whole Schengen Area, not separately in France. Visitors from outside the EU now go through EES biometric checks at the border. ETIAS is not in force yet, so any website selling ETIAS authorization today should be treated as a scam.
France catches people out less with weather than with long days on hard streets. Bring shoes that can handle cobbles, stations, and museum floors, plus clothing that covers shoulders and knees for churches and cathedrals, where entry can be refused even with a paid ticket. A light layer helps on cool evenings and chilly TGV carriages. In the south during summer, real sun protection and a refillable water bottle matter, and in Paris it is worth packing one outfit smarter than shorts and trainers if restaurants are part of the plan.
Mobile coverage in France is generally strong in cities and towns, but it can drop in rural areas, the Alps, the Pyrenees, parts of Corsica, and along some TGV routes. Free WiFi is common in hotels, cafés, stations, and museums, but tickets, maps, transport alerts, restaurant bookings, and payments often work more smoothly with mobile data. Roaming costs depend on your home plan. EU plans usually roam at no extra cost under fair use rules, while many plans from outside the EU roaming zone can charge daily fees or high per MB rates.
France is socially liberal in many ways, especially in large cities, but everyday public behavior is often more reserved than visitors expect. Dress is personal, alcohol is normal at meals, and religion is generally private in public life. Laïcité, the strict separation of religion and state, means public institutions avoid religious expression, and rules around religious dress can be stricter in schools and some public buildings than in the street.
France has strong legal protections for LGBTQ+ people, including marriage equality and anti discrimination laws. Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier, and other large cities feel open and safe, with visible queer culture. In smaller towns and rural areas, public affection may draw more attention, but the atmosphere is usually reserved rather than unsafe.
The simplest rule in France is to greet before asking for anything. Say bonjour in shops, bakeries, hotels, and cafés, then continue. Service is included in restaurant bills, so tipping usually means rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service. Keep voices low on transport and in restaurants, dress modestly in religious sites, and avoid sitting on monuments or swimming where signs ban it, as local fines can apply. The most common tourist mistake is starting a request without saying bonjour.
Eating with dietary restrictions is possible in France, but traditional bistros can be harder than visitors expect, especially for vegans. Butter, cream, eggs, seafood, nuts, and gluten appear often, so be clear when ordering. Halal and kosher options are easy to find in large cities but limited in small towns. Useful phrases include je suis végétarien, je suis végétalienne, and je suis allergique à.
| Cost | When to use it | |
|---|---|---|
| Train and Metro | In Paris, a single Metro Train RER ticket costs a little over €2.50, with bus and tram tickets slightly cheaper. In other French cities, single tickets are usually around €1.50 to €2.20. Fares change, so check SNCF Connect or the local transport app. | Use trains by default for city travel and intercity routes. TGV services beat flying on many trips such as Paris to Lyon, Paris to Marseille, and Paris to Bordeaux once airport time is included. Book ahead for better prices and check strike alerts before travel day. |
| Taxi | The starting fare is around €4, then about €1.20 per km by day and closer to €1.60 at night, on weekends, or in some suburban areas. | Taxis are best late at night, with luggage, or where the metro does not reach. They are metered and regulated, but street hailing is not reliable everywhere, so ranks or taxi apps are usually the safer plan. |
| Ride hail | Ride hail can be similar to or a little cheaper than a metered taxi, but surge pricing at busy times can remove the saving. | Uber operates in major French cities, and Bolt is available in several large urban areas. Coverage is strong in big cities and thin elsewhere. Use it when you want a fixed price in advance or do not want to rely on cash. |
| Car hire | Expect roughly €35 to €70 per day in quieter periods and €70 to €120 or more in high season. Fuel, motorway tolls, insurance extras, and city parking can add a lot. | A car is genuinely useful for the Loire Valley, Provence, the Dordogne, and coastal villages. It is a burden in Paris. Watch for low emission zones in major cities, the Crit Air sticker required to enter them, camera fines that can arrive months later, tolls, and difficult parking in old centers. |
Health cover in France depends on where you are from. European visitors with an EHIC, and UK visitors with a GHIC, can access medically necessary state healthcare on local terms, which often means paying upfront and claiming much of it back rather than being treated free. Visitors from outside Europe usually have no reciprocal cover, so even a routine doctor visit can be paid out of pocket. Insurance is still useful for gaps that state schemes do not cover, including repatriation, private clinics, mountain rescue, skiing, off piste activity, hiking, diving, and scooter or motorbike hire. An uncovered mountain rescue can run into thousands of euros.
French food is deeply regional, so the best thing to eat depends on where you are. In Paris, start with a proper baguette tradition from a bakery and a simple steak frites or croque monsieur at a busy neighborhood café. In Normandy, look for galettes, Camembert, and apple tarts. In Alsace, try tarte flambée and choucroute. In Provence, order ratatouille, soupe au pistou, or market tomatoes that taste like the season. The best versions are often simple, local, and eaten where residents are eating.
Wine is the obvious drink to try, but make it regional. Order Muscadet with seafood, Alsace white wines with tarte flambée, rosé in Provence, and Burgundy or Bordeaux when you are near the source. In Normandy and Brittany, cider is the local choice and usually comes in a bowl or small glass with crêpes and galettes.
The classic dining mistake is eating right beside the biggest sight and expecting quality. Another is arriving between lunch and dinner, when many kitchens are closed, or walking in too late without a booking in smaller towns. Service is included, so do not tip as if it is compulsory. Round up or leave a few euros when the meal was good.
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