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FranceFrance

First trip: 4–5 nights in Paris, then one TGV spoke to a second base (Provence, the Riviera, the Loire or the Alps) for 3–5 nights; the trips that fail try to see three regions in a week by car.

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France is built around Paris: the high-speed TGV lines run out from the capital like spokes, so city-to-city by rail is fast, but cross-country links that skip Paris are slow. Rural France (the Loire châteaux, Provence villages, the Dordogne) is car country, so combine a train to a regional city with a short car hire. The traps are Sunday and Monday closures in small towns, the August holiday exodus, and rail or air-traffic strikes that are announced a few days ahead. Book TGV seats early: reservations are compulsory and cheap fares sell out.

All regions, cities and parks in France (Atlas) →

Regions

Île-de-Franceplanned

Paris base; Versailles, Giverny and Fontainebleau as day-trips

4–5 nights

Provence and the Côte d'Azurplanned

Avignon, Aix and Marseille by TGV; Nice as a base for the Riviera and Monaco

3–5 nights

Loire Valleyplanned

Châteaux country: Tours or Amboise base, car or bike between châteaux

2–3 nights

Lyon and the French Alpsplanned

Lyon for food; Annecy and Chamonix for mountains

3–4 nights

Arrive

CDG

Paris Charles de Gaulle

Main long-haul hub; RER B or TGV station on site

ORY

Paris Orly

South of Paris; domestic and European flights

NCE

Nice Côte d'Azur

Gateway to the Riviera and Monaco

LYS

Lyon Saint-Exupéry

Alps in winter; TGV station on site

Time math

4 days
Paris 4 (one day-trip to Versailles)
7 days
Paris 4 + one TGV region for 3 nights (Lyon, Provence or the Loire)
10 days
Paris 4 + Provence 3 + Nice 3 (TGV south, fly or train back)
14 days
Paris 4 + Loire 2 + Lyon or the Alps 3 + Provence and Nice 5

Country rules

Inherited by every page below
  • France is in the Schengen area. Check the entry rules for your passport on official sources; the EU's Entry/Exit System registers non-EU visitors' fingerprints and photo at the first Schengen border, and further pre-travel authorisation rules are being introduced.
  • TGV (including the low-cost Ouigo) and Intercités night trains need a seat reservation: a rail pass alone does not let you board.
  • Paris, Lyon and other large cities run low-emission zones that require a Crit'Air sticker on cars; check before you drive a hire car or your own car into a city.
  • Carry your passport or national ID card: police can ask for identification, and hotels register foreign guests.

Etiquette

  • Say bonjour when you enter a shop, café or bus, and au revoir when you leave; it changes how you are served.
  • Lunch is roughly 12:00–14:00 and dinner starts late; outside these windows, many restaurants do not serve food.
  • Cover shoulders in churches and keep voices low during services.
  • Keep to the right on escalators in Paris and let people off before boarding the metro.
May 1 (Labour Day)
One of the few days when almost everything closes, including many museums and shops.
Jul 14 (Bastille Day)
Parade and fireworks in Paris; roads and some metro stations close.
Mid-July to Aug 15
The French holiday peak: coast and mountains full, trains and motorways busy on Saturdays, and many small Paris restaurants and shops close for weeks in August.
Sundays
Most shops close outside tourist zones; bakeries and markets open in the morning.

Money & passes

Cash necessity: 1/5

  • Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Contactless cards work in most shops, cafés and restaurants.
  • Carry a little cash for rural markets, bakeries with minimums, and village tabacs.
  • Some automatic machines (fuel pumps, motorway tolls, rural ticket machines) reject cards without a chip and PIN; keep a backup card or some cash.
  • Service is included in restaurant prices by law; rounding up or leaving a small tip is optional.

Before you fly: eSIM before you fly · Visas and entry

Safety

  • Pickpockets work the Paris metro, the Eiffel Tower and Louvre areas, and trains to the airports: zip your bag and keep phones out of back pockets.
  • Street scams near tourist sites (petitions, friendship bracelets, the gold-ring trick): keep walking.
  • Strikes and demonstrations: large marches close metro stations and roads; avoid them and follow local news.
  • Summer heatwaves hit the south and Paris: plan indoor stops in the afternoon and carry water.
  • Emergency: 112 (the EU number) works everywhere; 15 ambulance, 17 police, 18 fire.

France sits at the centre of the Western Europe rail network (planned): Eurostar to London and Brussels, TGV to Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Barcelona.

Open Europe

Sources