France Travel Guide: Schengen Rules, Service Compris, and What to Know Before You Go

France is in the Schengen Area. For visa-exempt travellers (US, UK, Canadian, Australian passports among them), the limit is 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen zone — so days in Italy or Spain on the same trip count against the same allowance, not a separate one.

The EU's planned ETIAS pre-travel authorisation is not yet required as of this guide's last update, despite earlier announced dates that have since slipped. Check travel-europe.europa.eu directly for the current status.

Cards and contactless cover the large majority of everyday spend in France — restaurants, trains, hotels, most bakeries — with a common PIN-free tap limit around €50. Cash is still genuinely useful for outdoor markets, public toilets, some small bakeries with card minimums, and taxis or parking meters in smaller towns, so carry a modest amount as backup.

High-speed TGV trains connect major cities well and usually need a paid seat reservation even with a multi-country rail pass. In Paris, contactless bank-card tap-to-pay is rolling out directly at metro and bus validators, prioritising tourist-heavy lines first — alongside the existing Navigo system and multi-day tourist passes. Fares are revised periodically, so treat specific numbers as illustrative rather than current.

Tipping is not expected the way it is in the US — by law, a service charge is built into restaurant menu prices ('service compris'). A voluntary top-up, like rounding up the bill, is a bonus for good service, never an obligation.

Many small restaurants, bakeries and boutiques — especially outside major tourist zones — close for two to four weeks around August, often centred on the August 15 Assomption holiday. This is a decades-old, stable pattern, not a one-off closure, so plan around it if your trip lands then.

Formal greeting norms are well established: a handshake or, among acquaintances, cheek kisses (la bise, though the exact number varies regionally and isn't worth stressing over), and saying 'Bonjour' on entering any shop, which is genuinely expected rather than a nicety.

April to June and September to October are the commonly recommended shoulder seasons for good weather with fewer crowds than peak summer. July-August is peak heat, peak crowds, and the widest business closures outside Paris. September is frequently cited as a particularly good single month for Paris specifically — warm, with crowds and prices down from the summer peak.