Information

Language

French is the official language in France. Although people speak English, they prefer to be approached in their national language. So be prepared to speak the French you learned back in high-school.

Name

The country’s full name is French Republic. France borders eight European countries:Andorra, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany,Monaco, Switzerland and Spain. Because of its overseas territories, France also borders: Brazil, Suriname and Netherlands Antilles.

Time Zone

France is on Central European Time, which means GMT+1. Daylight saving time starts on March 30 and ends on October 26. When DST starts the clocks move ahead and fall back one hour when DST ends.

Counting and numbers

Dates in France, as well all over Europe, are written with the day first, then the month, then the year. Hence, 10/03/08 is the 10th of March in the year 2008 and not the 3rd day of October.

With written numbers, commas and decimal points are swapped from what you might be used to in the US. So, ten Euro and thirty cents is written 10,30€ and two thousand five hundred Euro is written 2.500€.
France uses the Metric system for measurements and Celsius for temperatures.

You can find a conversion tool here.

Electricity and plugs

The power supply in France is 230V/50Hz. You might require an adaptor for the round tow-pins sockets used in France unless your electronic appliance takes 100-240V. Otherwise, if you live in a country with 110V electricity –like US- make sure to bring an adapter with you. You also might need a transformer to be able to use your electrical appliances. The plugs are also different than the ones in the US, so you will need an adapter.
Obviously, you should carefully read the information on your electrical appliances –laptop, camera, so on –before you plug them anywhere.

Currency

France uses the Euro (€). The banknotes are exactly the same all through the Euro area, although they show national French symbols on the back side. They come in seven denominations: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. Coins come in the following denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 eurocents, as well as 1 and 2 euros. One face of the coins is common to all countries and the other face shows national symbols of France.

Check this conversion rate tool before planning your vacation.

Banks and ATMs

Credit and debit cards are the most convenient way to carry money around. They are quite safe as well. Visa and MasterCard are accepted pretty much anywhere. American Express is also accepted but not everywhere. Generally you can use your card in shops, supermarkets, road tolls, for train travel and to rent a car.

The cheapest way to change your money is via the ATM (DAB in France). You’d get the best exchange rate if you use your debit card at the ATM and your credit card when you purchase things.

Travelers’ cheques are also widely accepted, particularly in large towns and tourist centers. They are also safe to use and offer better exchange rate than cash.

Note: Restaurants and accommodations add a 10-15% service charge to every bill so leaving a tip is your call.

Using the telephone

The country code for France is 33. To call France from the U.S., you will first need to dial out of the U.S. and then into France - so that is 011 + 33 and then the phone number itself (using the local area code). All France numbers are 10 digits and start with “0”. To call to France from another European country, you will dial 00 + 33 and then the local number or just +33 and the local number. To call a French number from within France, simply dial the local number as you have it. To call the U.S. from within France, dial 00 + 1 and then the area code and telephone number.

Most travelers prefer to use their mobile phones when they travel, which is easy if you just activate the roaming feature. France uses GSM 900/1800 mobile phones, a system which is compatible with the rest of Europe, but not with North America or Japan.

The network of public phones in France is really vast although it’s been reduced because of the use of mobiles. The majority of public phones use cards. Cards can be purchased in a lot of places such as post offices, exchange offices, etc. Some public phones also accept credit cards but it costs more than using the local telephone cards.

Useful telephone numbers

Ambulance/police/fire: 112

Visa information

France is a member of the Schengen Countries. EU nationals do not need a visa to visit France. Also visa is not required for the US, Irish nationals, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders for a stay of up to three months.

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