Unexpected things about France for an American?

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WISE OWL

The first thing that will strike you is that people are far more reserved and less exuberant and loud there than in the USA. They do not smile at strangers and keep their distance until they know you better. People who actually accost you in the street in Paris are generally street vendors, beggars or other tourists, and not necessarily French. Taxi drivers live on their nerves all day and can be very abrupt and even rude.

When you go in shops it is customary to say "Bonjour" and "Au revoir, merci" when you leave, even if you have not bought anything. The French take a dim view of tourists that take everything off the shelf and just throw it back any old way. It is also usual to use other greetings such as "Bonsoir" in the evening for instance at the hotel desk, or when you are entering a restaurant.
Between themselves the French shake hands, or kiss each other on the cheek as a form of greeting but they would not do it to a total stranger.
You address people as Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle (if the person is young), even waiters and waitresses.
The bath thing depends very much on where you stay, and showers are becoming more popular as it is more ecologically friendly, even if it is an over the bath one and you choose whichever mode you prefer.

In food outlets you will not be automatically offered a glass of water as in the States when you sit down. Table manners are important. In most establishments unless it is a fast food outlet, tables have a cloth (paper in modest places and proper napery in smarter ones). Once you have helped yourself to bread, you put it on the cloth not on a side plate, unless you are in a very smart restaurant where side plates are provided. You may be finding yourself in front of a bewildering assortment of eating tools. Work your way from the outside towards the centre for each course.
Meals come in a certain order: starter, main course, cheese, dessert or fruit. Napkins are always provided and one should not eat with one's fingers. Familiarise yourself before you leave with the names of typical French dishes so as not to have too many surprises or have to guess what they consist of when ordering.
If you are invited somewhere to eat, take some flowers or a box of chocolate as a present. Wait to be shown your place at the table and do not start eating till your hostess has invited you to do so or started herself. Do not leave the table till the meal is finished and eat everything on your plate. French helpings are much smaller than in the USA and in a family context the dishes are passed round to help yourself and you just take one chop for instance and think of the other people who will help themselves after you. If you do not drink wine or beer there is usually a carafe or jug of water on the table.
In restaurants they will sell you bottled water, but this is not obligatory and you can ask for tap with your meal. Tap water is perfectly safe to drink by the way. Normally service and taxes are included in the bill but if you want to tip a waiter or waitress they will be pleased. You tip usherettes, taxi drivers, porters, and people who render small services.
In public transport there are reserved seats for incapacitated persons and pregnant women and if you are sitting in one of those seats you have to surrender it if asked .Public toilets are usually supervised by a woman and you leave a little tip, or there are individual cabins here and there in the streets that you pay to go in: they are automated and superclean as they are washed all over betwen users.
Whilst in Paris, keep your valuables out of sight and your money in inside pockets. Leave valuables, money and important things in the hotel safe. Like in all capitals there are lots of opportunists and petty criminals eager to exploit others. At the moment there are hordes of East European gypsies and illegal immigrants begging in the streets and pick pockets that prey on foreign tourists. Keep your bag on your lap or in front of you, and never leave it on the ground, even with the strap wrapped around the leg of a chair whilst in an outdoor cafÃ©, or hanging the back of your chair indoors. Ignore people who try to sell you some "real" gold object in the street: it is a well known scam, or those who pretend to have found a ring or such thing to catch your attention whilst a mate gets hold of your bag. The same distraction techniques exist in all big cities worldwide.
Otherwise you will be pretty safe, as the muggings that take place are in the less savoury areas. Bags are snatched or wallets stolen in the subway and particularly in the very large stations were there are hundreds of people circulating between lines, but the same kind of advice could be given to you for any other capital or big city. My bag was snatched in the subway in New-York.
You can buy a tourist pass which gives you free and immediate entry (pass by the queues) to most Paris attractions that also gives you unlimited transport in the mÃ©tro for a number of days, on line from the States.

Be conservative in the way you dress. Whilst renouned for their style , French women do not go for excentricities, brash colours, too much flesh, hot pants, shorts or what would class as beach wear in towns, and tourists are immediately obvious because they do. Take some practical shoes with you.
The best way to prepare yourself is to brush up on your French and try to communicate with others in their language. In Paris there are many people who speak some English but they appreciate tourists who make the effort to speak French.

Have a wonderful time. There is so much to see, admire and do in Paris that you will see the time fly by.

Sabine

Hotels tend to have bidets and consequently there is no moist lavatory paper in the supermarkets (I'm English but this was a shock to me too)

Bidets are not to be confused with Turkish (squat) toilets, which are also a shock to us poor Anglo-Saxons

You need to stamp your train ticket in the yellow stamping machine before you get on it.

manners are more formal

You do not tip people other than in taxis, hairdressers and restaurants.

You do not talk in a loud voice or expect instant service.

You'll need to work out what kind of coffee you want and learn its name. There are some Starbucks in Paris but few elsewhere, I'm pleased to say.

The food is divine but go careful with the cheese till you are sure your digestion can handle it.

If you order carpaccio de boeuf, make sure you are happy to eat raw beef cos that's what it is (and very yummy too).

I've been in plenty of hotels in France with only shower, no bath, rather than the other way on, which caused me pain, being English.

The French tend not to snack between meals or eat in the street, which is why they tend also not to put on weight.

On the Mediterranean, topless sunbathing is the norm. Nobody looks at it, they just get on with it.

In some places you will find they don't speak much English.

'Dressing down' in France is still a very great deal smarter than in the UK (I don't know about the midWest). I take five pairs of black trousers and two black skirts and a dozen good blouses with me to France on holiday. Dress more casually and you'll stick out like a sore thumb.

Important one, joking aside: MANY small French hotels do not take credit cards. Check when you book.

And enjoy. France is a wonderful, wonderful place!

ChloÃ© T

Portions in restaurant and especially in fast foods are way smaller in France than in the USA. You don't have the drink as much as you want in McDonad's they will charge you for each glass of Coke.
French people don't tip. A thing that the American love about France one can drink in public so one often get to see American tourists drinking in public in Paris, they seem absolutely delighted to be able to do so.
Enjoy your stay

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