Your unique France travel tips roundup!

You’re a great resource! Yes, YOU! Did you know that? I picked your brain last month and asked my followers on Facebook for their best France travel tips and got over 75 replies. I wanted to know what your #1 piece of France travel advice was, so maybe a tip that has never let you down or that impacted your trip in a good way or something you do that others overlook. I’ve compiled the ones that I found to be the most helpful for first-time visitors to France into this big ol’ post. I hope this roundup of best travel tips for France helps you to have a fabulous trip.

France travel tips for your first trip

Thank you to everyone who contributed some travel tips for Europe and specifically France. I couldn’t include everyone’s, and there were some repeats, but I did my best to include a variety of French travel tips in the responses below. If you have some Europe travel tips that have never steered you wrong, share them with everyone in the comments at the end of this post.

France tips: Planning & preparation

Make a plan and be ready to change it. -Judy Arginteanu

Make sure you check the local calendar when traveling internationally. Random bank holidays can really mess up your vacation plans. -Melanie Linn Gutowski 

Bring small token gifts. Especially for the airline crew. They are first responders! Plus they can greatly impact your flight experience. And for the hotel staff & random strangers you meet whom are kind to you. -Sunshine Zöldi Riehl

I start to take vitamin C and Zinc a few days before I travel and always wear a scarf on the plane during long international flights. There is nothing worse than getting sick a few days into your vacation. -Leslie Ramsey Caponigro

It’s tempting to want to plan everything for a vacation, especially when you have limited time, but try to leave some room for flexibility and being spontaneous. I’ve had the most memorable experiences when I’ve just stumbled upon them. 🙂 -Beeta Hashempour who blogs at Mon Petit Four

My France travel tip is just go now. Don’t wait for someone to go with – go alone or with a tour. Don’t wait for the money to go fancy – sleep in hostels if you have to. Don’t forget to visit the country side – it’s cheaper than the big city anyway and there are amazing people and things to see. Go in off-seasons if you can but if you can only get there at the height of the season go anyway. Do your research – prioritize so you do your must sees but then also do the second thing on your list. And don’t try to do it all. You can always come back. -Christina Malm 

Bring a padded wine bag, for that one special bottle you must have at home! Also, a clothespin is a must. For those hotel drapes that never quite close. -Cindy Cae Witerski  

How to bring wine on a plane >>

Invest in good lightweight luggage. If your bag is heavy when it’s empty, it won’t be lighter when it’s full. -Bruce Jewell

Maybe it’s too simple, but for travel, especially looong travel I’m used to, I always make sure I have wet wipes, paper tissues and hand sanitizer in my bag. Also, throat pastilles and a portable charger are life saving when you’re on the road. -Wannabe Francuskinja

My best France travel tip – and when I suggest it people go slightly crazy – is, when you travel abroad, take certified copies of all of your important papers such as your birth certificate and – if female and your name has changed – a certified copy of your marriage license, two passport-size photos of yourself and color copies of your current passport. Place all of these items in your personal item and, when you arrive at your destination, in a safe place. As I say, when I suggest this, people think I’m crazy BUT I was traveling alone a number of years ago and my passport, photo ID, etc. was stolen. I had no way to prove who I was and, ultimately, my family had to call on my Congressman to help. Once I did that, I had to run all over the city to find a photographer to take my photograph. If I had had certified copies of these documents on hand and a copy of my passport, it would have been much easier. -Julia M. Gray

When we arrive, no naps. Stay awake until minimum 9 PM. Walk around get a lay of the land, have a good meal. Then go to bed and wake up at your usual time. So far so good, no jet leg. -Pam Abshere Stoliker

French culture: Big roundup of what you need to know >>

France tips: Experience & mindset

Try to not consider your transit time as a separate part of the travel experience. If you keep your eyes open, you never know what little pleasures you can experience and see on the way. -Peter Dair 

Experience the real moment instead of trying to get the perfect selfie. It is the feeling in that moment you will remember for ever. -Rix Sugarman

Save some time to explore, understand how local people live and connect with them. Don’t make your trip a race to check all the attractions on a list. -Niculina McClanahan 

Pick your 5 must-do things for each trip… things that you would have regrets later if you did not do them on the trip. That helps to narrow down your itinerary. -Lacey Robinson 

Don’t overdo it. Don’t plan so much that you need a vacation when you get back from vacation. And remember, other countries sell clothes and toiletries. I never pack more than a carry-on. -Steven McElyea 

Do something you wouldn’t do at home; do an activity or a tour that might seem a little too expensive. I guarantee you it will be amazing & you’ll talk about it for years! When my husband & I were in Paris last year we did a private guided tour in a vintage Citeron, it cost the same as 2 nights accommodation for 2.5 hours but it was an amazing experience! -Bindi Owen 

Top #travel tips for France and beyond as told by YOU, the Oui In France community. On practical stuff, packing, planning, mindset and more!Click To Tweet

What can make a trip to France amazing is the first time you are in an area to pay a tour guide to give you a brief 1, 2, or 3 hour tour or overview of the area. You might even invite them to lunch afterwards; that way you get a true feel for the people and the place. -Margaret Chason Agnew 

Make sure your days are not fully planned for every minute! Have some free time to wander, sit in a cafe & relax and people watch, have a glass of wine or refreshments. Immerse yourself in something local, markets or walk through a park…try and let yourself become part of the community/location…even if just for an hour or two. -Christine Aiello 

My husband and I have traveled a lot around France in the past two and half years. We have traveled by planes, trains and automobiles. What made our trips the best was traveling by car. It allowed us to stop for lunch in a tiny village and get the best beurre blanc I have have ever had. It allowed us to stay in sweet quaint gîtes and cottages. It allowed us to see places and people that are off the beaten path. It led us to a wonderful little village were we are in the process of buying a home. I also traveled with a person I love and enjoy traveling with. -Amy Speers

The thing that made our trips great was meeting people and making personal connections. Having a chance to talk to locals and hear their perspectives and experiences was the best. It made the trip more than just looking at cool stuff, it became a real connection to the place and the people. It’s easy to think of France as a pretty picture or some dream landmark, but it’s also where people live and go about their lives. Having a chance to talk to people and connect with them can really impact your perspective on the country and remind us all just how similar we all really are. -Rob Lahoda

Stay in one place for at least a week. Learn a few gracious words of the language. Find a few favorite places to grocery shop and have a few meals. Be open to conversations with local folks. The wait staff at local restaurants are great sources of local information. These few things have never let us down. We have had some incredible vacations and have gotten some great inside tips on the best places to explore in the area. -Merideth Hendry 

Travel is hard. Bring likable people with you. One sourpuss can ruin a well-planned vacation. -Laura Meissenburg 

The best vacations are when you’ve completely forgotten what day of the week it is, how many days you have remaining, and you are so relaxed you don’t mind taking time off to be sick or just lounge around. Anything less is a trip too short, not a vacation. -Caren Park 

Each vacation has to include something new. I have so many bucket list items for France. Some are super simple. Example. Next trip to Paris, see something new in every arrondissement. It can be a park. A house a famous person lived in. A drink at a cafe. Opens up a new world. -JoEllen Freeman Thompson 

My number one France travel tip is to keep an open mind and be patient with other cultural nuances….not all countries work like your own…a vacation is a time to learn as well as enjoy. -Kerrin-gai Hofstrand-easom

The surprise of the unexpected — keep a positive mind and it will end up a delightful memory! -Debra Tidball 

Don’t be afraid to try new things. This even goes to the point of going to the craziest place you can think of! My vacations are amazing by going with people who’s company I enjoy. I plan specific activities but leave a lot of time for impromptu things. I never run out of things to do and discovered fantastic things I didn’t have a clue about before I left for vacation. -Micki Bogner

Be flexible. Things do go wrong, but go with the flow because often, what happens instead will be an unexpected highlight of the trip. -Rosalinde Tullio 

Treat everyone as though you’re a good will ambassador. Be kind and respectful. You can mark your experience by the response you receive from others. -Michael Ladd 

Probably my number one travel tip for France would be to not set your expectations too high. No matter how much planning and organizing you do, things can and will go wrong. Being flexible and able to go with the flow is very important. And learn to be in the moment, you can take videos of everything where you spend your whole time looking at the screen, but in reality, how many times will you re-watch that video when you go home. Enjoy the moment while you’re in it and those memories will last forever!!!
Oh and definitely learn a few words and phrases in the local language, and don’t forget your manners! A smile will get you a lot further than a scowl!!! -Charmaine Manson 

I used to take my French students to London and Paris. I was the only tour guide. I used to tell them that travel NEVER goes smoothly They were to expect it to go all wrong at any unannounced moment and to be patient. BUT the incident would make the best story once you’re back home again. Worked like a charm. -Pamela Forth 

France tips: Food

In France, eat your main meal at lunchtime, in a workers restaurant as much as possible. It will be great value (significantly cheaper than eating out at night, even in the same restaurant), seasonal ingredients, and you will be surrounded by local French people as a rule. Go for the fixed price set menu (known as le menu, or sometimes la formule — not la carte, which is what anglophones would call the menu). Remember that lunch in French restaurants is strictly 12 midday to 2pm. Turn up at 1.30pm or later and you will be turned away. -Susan Walter who blogs at Days on the Claise

Check out small places to eat that others may overlook. We did that once and drove right past this little place because it didn’t look “right”! We turned around and went. We were sooo surprised because we found out it was in the top 5 places to eat. Don’t stick to plans. -Tessie Bouillion 

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What are your best France travel tips? 

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