I'm French, and today I'm going to tell you 14
things you need to know before coming to Paris. and if you're visiting Paris you're probably going
to spend a lot of time in restaurants. And it can be a pretty confusing experience unless you know
what I'm about to tell you. So, in France there are specific eating times: usually these are from
12:00 to 2:00 p.m. for lunch and starting at 7:30pm for dinner. Most people will actually make their
dinner reservation at 8:00 p.m. and their lunch reservation at 1:00 p.m. So if you arrive outside
of these times, you might find the restaurant empty, the kitchen not even open, and people just overall
surprised to see you so early. aAnd when you arrive in a restaurant in Paris, I recommend you go see
the waiter, say hi to them and ask them for a table. Then they'll bring water and bread. So this is free,
you can fully enjoy it, unlike in other European countries where you have to pay for it. And I'll
tell you more about it in a bit, but the service can be a bit different from the US. So if you need
something, you have to flag down the waiter and specifically ask them for it. Like for example when
you're done eating, you have to ask for the check. They will not bring it to you unless you ask. And
also in France, there is no tipping culture like in the US. The service is already included in the
bill, but if you're really happy with your meal and with your waiter, you can leave a one euro coin or
a 2 coin on the table when you leave. Also on the topic of good service, what's considered good
service in France and what's considered good service in the US can be very very different. So
in France, people want to have plenty of time to enjoy their meal without being rushed. They also
want some privacy. So don't expect the waiter to always be there serving you water and asking you
questions like in the US. Actually that was the one thing that surprised me the most when I was
living in the US, was how hands-on the service was. At first I was really surprised at why the waiter
was talking so much to me and always asking me questions, and being really overly friendly. But now,
I've grown to like it, and I understand why the service in France can be a tiny bit cold sometimes.
There's a cultural reason to that, which I'll tell you in the next point. But the other reason is
that people don't work for tips. So they don't have to make you like them to get a fair wage.
However if you want to make sure you get good service, just say hello and thank you, and overall
treat your waiter like a human being. And before I get on the topic of why French people are not very
friendly (at least to you), I want to tell you about a question I always get. Which is: "What should I do
if I don't speak French?" So don't let that scare you off, a lot of people speak English. Maybe not
enough English to have a full conversation, but at least enough English to tell you the price of
stuff and maybe give you directions. And a lot of people people working in the service industry
speak at least a foreign language like English or Spanish or even Italian. And you'll find that
if you try to speak French to us, we'll answer in English right away. It's just because we think
the conversation can be made more efficient if we speak English. And I personally do that all the
time because my boyfriend is American, I've lived in the US. So if I hear someone speaking French
to me with an American accent, I'm excited to talk to them in English. So please do not take
it personally. And if you want to practice your French with us, just let us know. Say you want to
speak in French and that you're learning and we'll be happy to speak French to you. Also one thing
is, if you try to speak French, please do not take yourself too seriously. Because French is hard to
understand even for native speakers If you don't have the exact correct pronunciation. And it's
really easy to say a word instead of another. An example, is my American boyfriend wanted to say
"I have a chair". He mispronounced the word very slightly and he accidentally said he had troubles
in the bathroom. So yeah that can happen. People will laugh at you, it is objectively funny. I can't do anything for you if you say stuff like that. And there's also a cliche that French people
are very rude and snobbish. And you know, having lived in the US for a while, I understand how we
could be perceived this way. But actually, what's considered nice and polite is a bit different in
France than in the US. So for example, small talk is not a thing in France not at all. You know in
the US, and I was surprised at first when I lived there, people will randomly ask you questions maybe
in the elevator in line and you'll start a random conversation. That's not as much a thing in France,
because especially in Paris, people will be a bit suspicious if you are too friendly or asking
personal questions. There's a few questions that are just considered small talk in the US like
what do you do for work or where do you live, which you shouldn't ask to a random French person
if you've just met them. And I've read somewhere that in France, you're friendly with your friends
and polite with strangers, and I think I kind of agree. I feel sometimes that one of the reason
why people have such a bad experience in France is because they forget to brush up on the basic
rules of politeness in France. And maybe they just skip the politeness and go straight into
being friendly. Which as I was telling can be a bit scary for French people. Let me make that clear
you absolutely, absolutely, absolutely need to say "hi" or "bonjour" which is "hello" in French when you
are starting an interaction with people. Maybe at a shop, asking for directions, any interaction with
someone. This is super important because people will get annoyed if you don't say bonjour to them
or hi. And they will answer you kind of in a sassy way they will say "bonjour" like this or "hello". You
know like as in "you're bothering me". If you forget to say hello people will be rude to you. It's not
personal, nothing to see with you. That happens to me as well if I forget to say bonjour, I get the
same exact treatment. And you know everything I've just told you is particularly true for parisians.
But there's other French cities where people are really really friendly. I come from Toulouse, and
we speak to strangers in the streets sometimes. There's many other cities around France where
people are known to be friendly I've heard of Lille and Marseille as well as friendly cities. And if you want
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up for Klook today using my link in the description. And a sure way to have a good time in France which
can be a bit surprising to my American friends, is to go out and have a drink in public. This is not
only totally legal but also very normal in France. And people do that a lot especially in summer.
So you can see group of friends having a little picnic, maybe bringing a cheap bottle of wine from
the store, that cost between 5 and 10 euros. And it's just a very fun way of enjoying being outside with
your friends. And while we are on the topic of food and drink you should know that the portion sizes
in France are very small compared to the US. So not only in restaurants, where it's common for my
American friends to still feel a bit hungry after a meal because things are way smaller, but also
in cafes and in stores. But actually everything is really small in Paris compared to the US. So you
have small cars, small sidewalks, small shops, small supermarkets. Everything is super small. And it's
because Paris is very dense and very expensive, so we have a tiny bit less space than in the US.
And obviously hotel rooms and apartments you can rent are on the smaller side. And housing tends
to be very different from the US, so do not be surprised if you encounter some strange stuff
when traveling here. First of all the apartments are really old. The apartment I live in is in a
1890s building, so it was built a long time ago. And it has a bunch of little quirks and things
that are a tiny bit unusual. But even inside the home there's different things. So we have tiny
fridges because we tend to shop more regularly. There's no elevators, and there's also these unique
French windows. So don't be scared if that happens to you, you didn't break the window, it's just a
way of letting fresh air in. And also there's a thing that tends to break people here, is that
we don't have AC. I've never had AC in any home I've lived in in Europe. And you know if you're
used to it, it can really be awful especially if you're coming during the summer. Which leads me to
my next point of knowing when to come to Paris. So a lot of Parisians take their vacation from the
15th of July to the 15th of August. So if you want to experience the local life, coming in summer
is not the best choice, because most Parisians are away, there's a lot of tourists, it's very
expensive, and also it's really hot. And remember we don't have AC, so you're going to sweat a lot. I personally recommend you come during spring which is my favorite season in Paris. People are in such
a good mood, it's lightly sunny but not too hot. You can do a bunch of picnics and walk around. But the
other best season to come in Paris in my personal opinion is fall. Fall is really nice as well, and
both of these times are good times to experience the local life, which is probably why you're
watching this video. Keep in mind that there's two things that can really disrupt your stay. And these are strikes and protests. This is very common in France, there's a lot of strikes, a lot of
protests. This is not a cliché, this is the truth. You can have your train cancelled, you can have your
flights delayed, shops closed... It's really disruptive especially to transportation. And that's just how
it is. So if you're planning your trip last minute, just check on the strikes. But also check on the
protests while you're in Paris. That's my personal opinion, because um I really hate crowds of people.
I do not want to be stuck in a protest. It feels scary to me, so I try to see which protests are
in town and their circuit to just avoid going to that area. This for me, as someone who doesn't like
big crowds, is the only time when I feel a tiny bit unsafe in Paris. But I'd say that overall
Paris is pretty safe. And obviously it's a big city. Obviously there's different dangers to living
in a big city. But I don't think you should worry too much. You should know that violent crime is
pretty rare, and just apply basic safety rules to not get your phone stolen, which can happen.
You know these are the basic rules that I've been taught growing up. So, don't look rich. So
don't flaunt anything that seems expensive in a public space. Don't look clueless. Just walk like
you know where you're going. Always be polite and never confrontational. So if you start arguing
with people, you know you'll get into a fight and we don't want that. And you know of course,
keep your newest iPhone in a zipped pocket or close by. That's the rules I personally follow,
and I've only gotten my phone stolen once in all my life, and it was during a protest. So just bad
luck for me. Another question I get all the time is what to wear in Paris. You know this is a real
City people live in it's not a fashion show. Don't expect anything fancy like in Emily in Paris. People
just dress normally in France, so anything you wear in your country, you can wear it in France as
well. I feel also French people tend to be pretty lowkey when going out compared to big cities like
New York or other places in the US. To go out to a nice restaurant, for example I wear the same
thing I've been wearing all day and just maybe like freshen up a little bit. The only thing I
feel is a bit different compared to um let's say New York is in Paris I don't feel comfortable
going out in tiny shorts and a sports bra because people tend to stare a bit more. Whereas in New
York people really really don't care about you. And I also don't go out wearing my PJs. These
are the only two personal rules I have for being dressed properly in France. Obviously as I keep
saying, Paris is a big city, there's people from all over the world here. It's very multicultural.
So just wear whatever you want. And one thing I recommend if you come to Paris, is that you should
really abandon this stereotypical idea of why a Parisian should look like. Since you know a lot of us
come from a mix of cultures. And just to give you an idea, I'm half French but my dad is from
Spain. And among my friends a lot of people have a parents that's not French and literally coming
from every continent. And if you want to know about things you shouldn't do in Paris you should
watch this video next and I'll see you there
