Paris - France

Paris for some, represents a city of romance, for others, the French capital is a sparkling mix of writers and artists. The city's people are stylish and flirtatious, its architecture seductive, its restaurants and nightlife devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and its streets are scattered with dreams. On all levels – historical, architectural, and cultural – this is a fascinating city.

Currency Exchange
The cheapest and most convenient way to change money is via ATMs (Automated Teller Machines), known in France as DABs. Money is drawn from your home account at a better exchange rate than offered at banks and moneychangers. Most ATMs will also give you a cash advance on your Visa or MasterCard (though this is a more expensive option). There are plenty of ATMs throughout the city with international links to Cirrus, Plus and Maestro networks. Standard banking hours are 9 am to 4:30pm. Closed Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Many banks exchange foreign currency in the morning only. Banks and moneychangers often give a better rate for travellers cheques than for cash. Post offices also give a good rate for travellers cheques. Major train stations and upscale hotels also have exchange facilities that are open when the banks are closed, but tend to offer poor rates.

The most flexible travellers cheques are those issued by AmEx (in US dollars or Euros) and Visa (in Euros) because they can be exchanged at many post offices as well as banks and moneychangers. Note that you will not be able to pay most merchants with travellers cheques directly, even if denominated in Euros.

Customs
The usual allowances apply to duty-free goods purchased at airports or on ferries outside the EU: tobacco (200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250g of loose tobacco), alcohol (1L of strong liquor or 2L of less than 22% alcohol by volume and 2L of wine), coffee (500g or 200g of extracts), tea (100g or 40g extracts), and perfume (50g of perfume and 0.25L of eau de toilette).

Electricity
220 V, 60 Hz with 2-pin round plugs.

Health
France is basically a healthy place. Your main risks are likely to be blisters on your feet, insect bites, sunburn and mild stomach problems if you’re not accustomed to copious amounts of heavy cream and oil-based sauces, but you’ll get used to it after a while.

Tap water is safe to drink all over France and generally of excellent quality. However, the water in most fountains is not drinkable nor the taps in public restrooms. There will be a sign reading eau non potable (undrinkable water). No immunizations are required to enter France. However, if you are coming from a yellow-fever infected country, then a yellow fever vaccine is required. It’s always best to consult with your local physician if you have any specific health concerns.

France has an extensive and excellent public health care system. The World Health Organization recently rated France’s health care system as the best in the world, delivering high quality medical care at a relatively low cost. Anyone, including foreigners, who are sick can receive treatment in the service de urgencies (emergency room or casualty ward) of any public hospital.

The American Hospital at 63 Bd Victor Hugo Neuilly-sur-Seine. Tel: 01 46 41 25 25 (Metro: Anatole France / Pont de Levallois) www.american-hospital.org

The Hertford British Hospital at 3 rue Barbès Levallois-Perret Tel: 01 46 39 22 22 (Metro: Anatole France) www.british-hospital.org

If you just need to see a doctor quickly, call SOS Medecins (01 47 23 80 80 (English)) which will send a doctor to your hotel room, 24 hours. The doctors do not dispense medicine, but they can write you a prescription. Pharmacies are marked by a green cross.

Language
French is the official language and English is not widely spoken. Nonetheless, some people speak some English and a crash course in French or a French phrase book will certainly come in handy.

In an effort to preserve the French language, the French government has passed a slew of laws since 1975, banning foreign words from advertising, official documents, radio, television, scientific publications and meetings.

Safety
In general, Paris is a safe city and random street assaults are rare. However the riots of 2005 have raised concerns of personal safety. It would be wise to check with your embassy to see if there any active travel warnings posted on France.
 
Non-violent crime such as pick-pocketing and purse-snatching can occur wherever there are crowds, especially packs of tourists. Places to be particularly careful are: Montmartre (especially around the Sacre Coeur), Pigalle, the area around Forum des Halles and the Centre Pompidou, the Latin Quarter, below the Eiffel Tower, and on the metro during rush hour.

Single women tend to attract more unwanted attention than men. The City of Lights is well-lit, yet you want to avoid any dark streets as you would in any city. You will see women using the metro at night. However, there are certain metro stations that single women should avoid late at night: Chatelet-Les Halles, Chateau Rouge in Montmartre, Gare du Nord, Strasbourg Saint Denis, Reaumur Sebastopol, and Montparnasse Bienvenue. Avoid the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes after dark.

Avoid buying tickets from touts. However long the queue, ticket touts at the Opéra and concert venues are to be avoided due to high prices and the prevalence of worthless fake tickets.

Tax / Tipping
Hotel / Restaurant / Bar: Hotel, Bar and restaurant bills by law must include taxes and service charges (about 10%-15%), but it is customary to leave some small change unless you're dissatisfied. In upscale restaurants, it's common to leave an additional 5% on the table.

If you take a guided tour, it’s customary to tip the guide a Euro or two depending on the length of the tour. Taxi drivers expect a tip of 0.50 Euro, no matter the fare, with the maximum tip being 1 Euro. Tip hairdressers about 10% of the bill. Give theatre and cinema ushers a 1-2 Euro.

Sales: All taxes must be included in affixed prices in France.

VAT (Value Added Tax): France’s VAT is 19.6% on most goods except for food, medicine and books, for which it’s 5.5%. It is as high as 33% on items such as watches, cameras and video cassettes. Prices that include VAT are often marked TTC (toutes taxes comprises, ‘all taxes included’). If you’re not an EU resident, you can get a refund of most of the VAT (TVA, or détaxe in French).

To qualify for a refund, you must be spending no more than six months in France, and you must purchase the equivalent of 175 Euro (including tax) of goods in the same shop on the same day (no more than 10 of the same item) and the shop offers vente en détaxe (duty-free sales). Present your passport at the time of purchase and ask for a bordereau de détaxe (export sales invoice). Détaxe forms must be shown and stamped by a customs official before leaving the country; without this stamp, you will not be refunded. If the refund is substantial, they might want to see the purchases, so be prepared to show them. After you're through passport control, you can seal the form in the envelope provided and post it at an airport mailbox or mail it after you arrive home. The refund can be sent as a check or directly wired to your credit card (the faster of the two options). Note that there is no refund for food, alcohol, or tobacco products.

Telephone
Country code: 33*
City code: 1

*When calling from outside France, omit the ‘0’ at the beginning of the 10-digit local number.

Useful Telephone Numbers
Ambulance: 15
Emergency (multi-lingual): 112
Emergency / Police: 17
Interpreter (72 languages): Toll free within France: 0 800 25 76 90. From outside France: +33 1 43 90 48 99
Lost and Found (Bureau des Objets Trouvés): 01 55 76 20 20
Operator: 13
SOS Medical Helpline (24 hour house calls): 01 47 23 80 80 (English) / 01 47 07 77 77 (French)

Time
Central European Time (CET). GMT/UTC +1. Daylight savings time (last Sunday in March until last Sunday in October): GMT/UTC +2.

Visa
EU nationals have no entry requirements. Citizens of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, UK, USA and several other countries do not require visas if staying 90 days or less.

Most other passport holders (including China, India, Philippines, Russia and South Africa) require a visa and should check with the nearest French embassy for current visa criteria.

All non-EU nationals should have a valid passport for a minimum of three months beyond the date of your departure from France.

Visas are best obtained in your home country to allow time for processing. Visa fees depend on the current exchange rate. Transit visas cost around US$6, a 30-day visa is about US$15, and a single or multiple entry visa, good for 90 days costs around US$22. You will need a valid passport, a return ticket, proof of sufficient funds, proof of prearranged accommodation (possibly), two passport-size photos and the visa fee in cash. If all forms are in order, your visa may be issued on the spot.

If you intend to travel through Europe, the visa process has been simplified with the introduction of the Schengen visa. With a Schengen visa, you may enter one country and travel freely throughout the Schengen zone. The 15 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. All these countries except Norway and Iceland are European Union members.

By law everyone in France, including tourists must carry some sort of ID with them at all times. Foreigners should carry a passport or passport copy. For EU citizens, a national ID is necessary.