My husband and I and our 8 yo daughter returned from a lovely 2 week trip to Chamonix, Strasbourg and Paris from June 15-29, and just getting around to posting a few thoughts. I had tremendous help on these forums, so thanks to all. I have already posted a trip report for Chamonix, but since there are so many reports for Paris, I thought I would share a few experiences in the hopes of helping someone else.
We attended a wedding in Paris, so a few of our days were taken up with preparations and the actual wedding day. We did stay overnight at Chateau Esclimont, which is about a hours drive outside of Paris. Lovely setting. Saw your typical sites during our time in Paris, Arc du Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, all worthwhile stops. We particularly enjoyed Saint Chappelle and the fabulous stained glass windows.
Our favorite part of the trip was the Fat Tire Bike night bike tour. My daughter had the tandem with my husband, since she%26#39;s just learning to ride, and she was able to keep up with us that way. What an amazing way to see the city, highly recommended. The best part about the evening tour is that you get a Bateaux Mouches ride as well, and saw the tower sparkle at 11pm!
Okay the tips:
1. ATM cards - I read all the advice about using an ATM card for cash withdrawals, make sure you have a 4 digit pin number, etc. What we didn%26#39;t realize is that unlike in the US where you can choose between your checking and savings accounts when you withdraw money, they don%26#39;t offer that option in France. So we had 2 days of stress trying to retrieve cash from our savings account, only to find out that we would never be able to get money that way.
2. DO Travel with some cash - second point to the ATM card, make sure you have some currency in your pocket, no matter where it%26#39;s from. We were able to get about $20 USD worth of Swiss Francs in Geneva to get us on the road to Chamonix, but that was hardly going to get us through the next 12 days. I always carry a bit of US money for when we return home, good thing!
3. DO Make sure you know your credit card PIN numbers - which we don%26#39;t normally use, so we didn%26#39;t know them or we could have easily taken a cash advance on a card until we figured out what to do. Many of the banks in Chamonix would only withdraw money from their own bank card. We finally got Capital One to give us a new pin number so we could withdraw money without penalties, and AMEX agreed to give us a one time cash advance. But this situation caused us a bit of stress our first two days, which could have been avoided.
4. If you don%26#39;t bring your cellphone - make sure you set up your phone card BEFORE you leave, otherwise you%26#39;ll have to buy a French phone card, which does not have English prompts, so you%26#39;ll spend much of your time trying to figure out what numbers to push to dial! Then, you%26#39;ll use your credit card to make phone calls, and get a rather nasty bill upon your return! (This was entirely my fault, I%26#39;ve never really used a phone card and didn%26#39;t realize that you have to get a specific phone number to call for each country you will be in - you are now duly warned!!!)
5. DON%26#39;T worry about your clothes - I did, because I like to blend in, but it didn%26#39;t matter, everyone dresses similarly to Americans, Canadians, etc. Yes, Europeans are a bit more put together, but the notion that everyone wears black is simply not true, at least in the summertime. And jeans are perfectly acceptable. They already know you%26#39;re a tourist, believe me! Don%26#39;t forget comfortable shoes too, whatever the style. And no matter what type of year, be prepared for a bit of rain with an umbrella and rain jacket.
5. DO Try to learn SOME French - we tried our high school French on everyone, and it was always welcome. We expect visitors to the US to speak English, so at least give it a try.
6. DON%26#39;T try to climb the Arc du Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and ride a bike in the same day! - our bike tour day also included about 800 steps (I%26#39;m not kidding!), needless to say, we were mush the next day.
7. DO NOT - ride your bike in Chamonix (or anywhere else) with your Canon pocket size camera on a rainy day and not put it in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet (my husband did this, and thank god we brought two cameras and had removable cards to save the pictures!)
8. Bring a good map with you - we had the Paris Street wise and used it constantly, it also has a metro map on it.
I could go on and on. The one thing we didn%26#39;t do enough of is shop. My husband is not a great lover of shopping, and the day after our bike tour, when we were already exhausted from the night before, is when I wanted to go to the Galleries Lafayette, and of course it was crowded with the sales week going on. Needless to say, we didn%26#39;t spend much time in there. But it is very beautiful, and the gourmet shop in the basement is a fantastic place to wander for a bit.
Already making plans (in my head!) to go back someday soon and possibly get to the French Open (we did get to Roland Garros, if anyone needs to know how to get there!) Thanks for all the help, and let me know if you need any more info, glad to share!
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I almost forgot - my husband had the bracelet scam used on him at the base of Sacre Coeur, only he didn%26#39;t realize it at the time! I had read about the scams, but I guess I didn%26#39;t mention it to him. The one time I was shopping at the trinket shop by the funicular, he was waiting for us, and they tied a bracelet on him. They asked for cash, but I had the money at the time, so he says he got a bracelet for free! The store owner started to tell us that these men hang out here, and sometimes ask for, and receive, up to 20 Euros from tourists!
We also had a gypsy come up to us with the note (in English of course) about how she was stranded here, etc. etc., we just waved her off.
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Good to hear you had a good trip and thanks for taking the time to post.
Several points:
1. I have seen no evident that one must use a 4 digit PIN, indeed several posters have reported that their 6 digit PINs have worked well. However, the fact that French ATMs do not offer an account choice from which to withdraw funds is mentioned regularly on this forum. If ever one has a problem at a specific ATM, try a different ATM.
3. I strongly urge travelers to never make a credit card cash advance at an ATM. These are effectively loans which are charged interest from the time of withdrawal until your account is paid in full. There may be no transaction fees but interest rates on withdrawals of this type can approach 30%.
4. There is no need to set up roaming on a cell phone, in fact this can be a very expensive way to %26quot;keep in touch%26quot;. Minute costs can reach $1.60 for both out-going and inbound calls.
If you have an unlocked, GSM tri or quad band phone, purchase a Breizh SIM from PhoneHouse (there are several locations in Paris with other locations throughout France). Cost is 6.90€. Minutes are sold prepaid in increments of 5€. 52 minutes for 10€ or .19€/min. Inbound minutes are free.
Your observation is true that to recharge the phone, you will need to be able to understand what is being said in French. Solution: either load sufficient time when purchasing the SIM, Phonehouse personal usually speak English, or ask the front desk at your hotel to load it for you. Most will be happy to assist.
Another phone option is to purchase a phone from Virgin Mobile. Cost 29€, inbound calls are free, outbound calls cost .40€/minute. These phones are dual band only and will not operate in the Americas but they can be unlocked to work with any network while in Europe.
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Hi Jennalulu, sounds like you had a great trip.
Good tips you%26#39;ve provided there, especially the one about not being given the option of withdrawing from different accounts. In the UK this option is only given if you%26#39;re using ATMs that belong to your own bank. I am curious though, do you not have internet or telephone banking where you can manage your accounts online or over the phone, this way you could have found an internet cafe and transferred money between accounts (if I use a public computer for this (very rarely) I always delete the history after using the PC).
Anyway glad you had a great trip, hopefully you will post a report for Strasbourg as I am interested in going there sometime.
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Sarastro - never saw any mention of the checking/savings feature, but that doesn%26#39;t mean it isn%26#39;t somewhere on the forums.
We didn%26#39;t look into the cell phone options because we didn%26#39;t think it would be a big deal. We figured we could buy a phone card, use it for when we needed to call home every other day or so, and we%26#39;d be set. If I had known before leaving that I needed to have specific numbers, we could have avoided some of the stress. And since we stayed in an apartment without the aid of a front desk, we didn%26#39;t have that help either, as the apartment owners in Chamonix live a few towns over. So hopefully that will help someone else.
As for the online banking, we do have that. However, the account is with a military banking system, and for some reason we couldn%26#39;t change things attached to this accound, even over the phone. But it did work out in the end, thanks to some very helpful people at Capital One card. Highly recommend it, and I do NOT work for them!
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With a phone card, it costs about 0.02€ a minute to call the two northern countries of North America.
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If I might piggyback on this thread, I had an issue with my Visa card that might be of interest to others. In the US and usually while travelling, I carry very little cash and simply use my credit card for everything (which gives me frequent flier miles that I can then use to travel more). I%26#39;ve never had a problem with this approach, though I do travel with two cards in case one goes kaput for some mysterious reason.
However, in France I went several places where my Visa card did not work (a cafe at the Eiffel Tower - though it later worked at the restaurant 58, the ticket machine at the Metro). It was explained to me by an employee that their Visa machines only accepted the %26quot;French%26quot; Visa cards, by which I think she meant the chip-and-pin variety. So more than once I was caught unexpectedly having to use cash, which meant I ought to have been carrying more than I was. Also, there were other self-serve Visa places (ticket machine at Eiffel Tower, I forget where else), where the Visa card did not work for several attempts, but then finally did. I have no idea why this would be, but thought I%26#39;d mention it so others can consider whether they would be affected and how they could avoid this hassle. I%26#39;ve become so used to using my credit cards that I am somewhat at a loss when doing so is not possible.
Like the OP, I also wished I had my credit card pin numbers. There was one case where I needed a large amount of cash for a place that didn%26#39;t take credit cards (unexpectedly, to me). They needed more than my daily ATM limit, and I wished I could have tapped my credit cards for the excess.
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The use of magnetic strip credit cards has become more and more problematic for US travellers as our banking systems refuses to adopt to the evolving world standard of EMV or %26quot;chipped%26quot; credit cards. Currently in Paris we cannot use transportation ticket kiosks, purchase gasoline at %26quot;pay at the pump%26quot; stations or use credit cards to pay tolls along the autoroutes and the problem becomes even more acute when one travels outside of the well worn tourist venues.
Currently as some vendors flatly refuse the cards or fail to keep their magnetic strip reading equipment in good repair, we are subjected to processing delays or being placed in awkward situations that only a pocket full of cash can resolve.
I regularly ask at my bank what is being done to resolve this dilemma. I%26#39;ve received no answer as of yet but if everyone repeatedly asks the question, our combined voices will hopefully stir sufficient concern that a resolution may be forthcoming.
At least, that is my hope.
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It%26#39;s true - you do not have a choice of accounts when withdrawing funds from an ATM. You can only access your Primary Account, so before leaving home you have to transfer fund. Due to security measure, with some banks, you cannot perform your online banking outside the USA.
Almost always, you must obtain a PIN for your credit cards ahead of travel as most credit card issuers will only mail them to you, and will not issue them over the phone. Though, with some, this can be accomplished via the 800 number on the back of the card now, but before leaving home.
Before considering using a credit card for a cash advance, find out if there%26#39;s a fee involved for that transaction (usually there is), if there%26#39;s a currency conversion fee in addition to that (usually there is) and the policy on interest (usually there is no grace period, interest is accrued immediately, and at a higher rate than purchases). Of course, in an emergency, none of that matters so much, but it%26#39;s all good to know.
It%26#39;s also a good idea to know your daily ATM withdrawal limit. You can have it raised if it%26#39;s not sufficient for your travels. There may be a withdrawal limit at the ATM in Paris, as well, but you can always go to another ATM for more. Know whether there is a limit to the number of withdrawals you can make per day with your ATM card.
And, find out when your bank is offline for overnight processing. If it%26#39;s 9 AM in Paris, but 3 AM at home and your bank is offline, you will not be able to withdraw funds at an ATM (until later on). You%26#39;ll get a message something like: Your bank was unable to approve your request.
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Hi Jennalulu, I enjoyed your report. We are thinking of doing the Fat Tire night ride. I have read so much about how bad the traffic in Paris is, did you feel safe riding bikes with the traffic? I am a little relunctant to book for this reason. Thanks.
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Kerouac - what do you mean by a phone card? Do you mean one of those prepaid plastic cards that you dial the number into some other phone before you call?
Does that work with a cellie?
I know it%26#39;s a dumb question. I have no idea how to work phones in general.
I know what a sim is. Is that what it is?
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