12 Tips for Visiting Paris You Will Actually Use! #joinusinfrance #firsttimeinparis #parisadvice #IDontSpeakFrench On this episode I am delighted to welcome my first guest from the Philippines, Eric Chao. Eric brings a fresh new perspective on traveling to Paris for the first time and mentions ideas I have never considered! Eric and his wife visited the City of Light between Oct 27 and Oct 31, 2018. He started listening to the podcast after the plans were made, but he went through as many episodes as possible. Those episode helped him get familiar with the "biggies": all the things that trip-up uninformed visitors. But while on his trip he noticed even more things that are confusing to first-time visitors to Paris and those are the ones he shares with us today. #1 Plan Your Transportation To and From the Hotel When you arrive in Paris with suitcases is not the time to figure out the public transportation system! I always suggest taxis. Eric decided to try public transportation and he explains how that went badly. I am not surprised, especially since they were arriving at Gare du Nord from London. This is a rookie mistake you should not make when arriving in Paris! #2 The Bus System in Paris Is Easy but Can Be Confusing At First I've been taking the bus in Paris for a long time. To me, it seems quite straightforward. But Eric managed to identify two things that can make it confusing: On one-way streets for cars, it is possible that buses will run in the opposite direction because they use separate bus lanes. You need to pay attention to the final destination of the bus displayed on the bus. All bus stop names are unique, but some are long hyphenated names that may seem the same at first glance. #3 A Restaurant With a Great View to the Eiffel Tower Everybody wants to know what restaurant has the best view on to the Eiffel Tower! Eric mentions Maison Pradier in the Foyer Chaillot. He reports great food (better than at Les Deux Magots anyway), great service and an amazing view. See the show notes for a photo. The Palais de Chaillot is part of the Trocadero, really easy to find! #4 Always Say Bonjour It is not necessary to speak French to have a great time in Paris. What you need to do is train yourself so the first word out of you mouth is always "bonjour". That's it. Say "bonjour" first. And then switch to English. By the time you are done saying the word "bonjour" they know you're not French. So no need to say "je ne parle pas français" or whatever. The magic word in France is always "bonjour", use it liberally. And have a friendly demeanor, that never hurts as well! Should I Worry About Credit Card Fraud in France? As a side note to our conversation, Eric mentioned that he used cash a lot in Paris because he was worried about credit card fraud. You must know that of all the ways you might get ripped-off while on a trip to France (we also mention scams later in the conversation) credit card fraud is not the one that is likely to happen. Thieves can't do anything with your credit card number alone. They also need your address, the expiration date, and the security code for an on-line transaction.  Those things do not appear on a credit card receipt. But, you must do what feels comfortable and safe to you. I wish I had thought to mention this in the episode, but I didn't. I think it is vital that you don't carry all your credit cards in your wallet all at once. Only carry one and a little bit of cash just in case. #5 If You Can't Say It in Words, Take a Picture! A few shows back I talked about a person who had a terrible time in Paris. One of the things she hated is that when waiting in line at a busy bakery, she could never explain what she wanted fast enough and French people went ahead of her. Eric found the perfect solution for this: when in line at the bakery he would take a picture of the items he wanted to buy. Then all he had to do is show the photo to the person serving him. Problem solved! At this point in the conversa