Tips for travelling to France and travel in France
Transportation
- The best ways to get around regional France are via:
- car - hiring a car in France is relatively inexpensive especially compared to other countries and if staying for three weeks or more, leasing a brand new French car from any of the major car companies (Renault, Peugeot, Citron) works out cheaper. Petrol probably works out double the cost of Australia - deisel (gazole) is much cheaper than unleaded (sans plomb). Additional costs will be for road tolls (on most A roads, major highways with 3-4 lanes) and parking in city centres (best to leave the car and either walk or take public transport). Some key road rules include:
- drive on the right not left
- speed limit 50km/hr; D&N roads 90km/hr; highway 130km/hr (110km in rain)
- toutes/autres directions mean all/other directions, so if in doubt go that way
- blood alcohol limit is the same as Australia i.e. 0.05%.
- train - France's train network SNCF reaches nearly every part of the country - if not on the network most towns have buses that link up with it. The TGV, high speed train, services run pretty much NSEW from Paris. www.voyages-sncf.com
- air - often Air France has discount flights which can cut a lot of the travel time down; Ryan Air and Easyjet flights are very cheap and take you to a lot of destinations in France but the air travel time is extended by having to go through the UK mostly.
- In Paris there are:
- metro - Paris' underground rail network which connects the whole city; tickets are only a couple of euro each (best to buy group of ten if you are there for a few days)
- bus - on the back of bus stops you will find the map with coloured network of bus lines; better than the metro for seeing the sights but slower putting up with the traffic
- taxis - while rather expensive can be good when you arrive in CDG airport very tired (cost 50-70 euro to get to centre of Paris); best to have your address written down.
Money
The best way we find to get euro cash is to take it out of credit cards from automatic bank tellers; some vendor's credit card machines do not accept Australian cards which need to be swiped as they are on the credit card chip recognition system we are moving to.
For exchange rates/currency converter: click here
Food
You can buy food from supermarkets, specialty stores (boucherie, boulangeries etc) or open street markets. For tips on eating out, click here.
Holidays
Care should be taken on most Monday's in May (which can be public holidays), most of August (summer holidays) and all Sundays/Mondays as many shops are not open.
Language
For language tips, click here.
Visas
If travelling to France on holidays for less than 90 days, a visa is not necessary but if wanting to stay longer or for other purposes, you will need to contact the consulate in Australia.
For other travel information
Go to France's official tourist office in Australia, http://au.franceguide.com/
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