How much French do you need to know

[Shaun @ Tru6]

to survive Paris for a weekend? Flights are next to nothing and thought it would be a good time to go to Chez Robert & Louise for a steak, Musée d'Orsay for van Gogh and the Louvre just because. And the bread, maybe a few croissants.

Can you get by with an app? Will watch Amelie again too.

[oldE]

I don't know about Paris, but in small market towns in the south of France, almost everyone we met in the service industry spoke English. They seemed to appreciate the fact that we tried to speak French, but were quick to switch us to something they understood.

Best
Les

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

to survive Paris for a weekend? Flights are next to nothing and thought it would be a good time to go to Chez Robert & Louise for a steak, Musée d'Orsay for van Gogh and the Louvre just because. And the bread, maybe a few croissants.

Can you get by with an app? Will watch Amelie again too.

None. You can do just fine in Paris with English.

[996AE]

Spent a lot of time in France.

It is much easier to get by today with a smile and Je ne parle pas français - Parlez-vous Anglais

Learn a few key phrases and with a smile many will help you. Especially the younger crowd who as a rule enjoy practicing their english with you.

Paris in the winter is wonderful. Cold, but few tourist make for a lovely visit.

Enjoy.

[livi]

You will do great with basic arabic or somali..

[wilnj]

At the very least, get your greetings down pat and then switch to English.


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[wayner]

and remember to say merci (mare see..)

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by livi

You will do great with basic arabic or somali..

oh Markus you crack me up.

I've always done well by using a few key phrases. Learn please, thank you, excuse me, can you help me and of course sorry.

[sammyg2]

To start, I'd suggest you learn to count ......

[sammyg2]

[Bill Douglas]

Just yell at them in German.

[LWJ]

A smile. Some big hand motions. Polite acknowledgement that you are monolinguistic.

You will do fine. My wife and I have traveled in France a number of times and had nothing but positive interactions.

Note: My most favorite interaction was in about 1996. We were lost in the countryside and it was getting dark. We stopped to beg for housing at a bed and breakfast. They were full but drove us to another local place. In thanks, we gifted a pack of Elvis playing cards. The person didn't know who Elvis was.

[Rick Lee]

Buy your Louvre tix online. Don't just show up and stand in the queue. It can be a loooonnnnggg wait. And do whatever it takes to get out to Reims and see that cathedral. It crushes Notre Dame.

[mepstein]

I spent a summer in Paris. Didn't speak any french. I had a great time.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

All sounds great, thanks for the good info. Have to get booking a ticket now.

[unclebilly]

Remember, 'loud English' is not 'French'...

If you make an attempt to speak French, they will make an attempt to understand you, or at lease respond in French.

I loved Paris. I hear is has changed but I would still like to go back some time.

Of and if you are sightseeing, remember that you are getting close to the tourist attraction when you start to smell the pee...

[MRM]

You don't need any French to have a wonderful weekend in Paris. If you are polite and respectful and don't insist on engaging people in conversation in English without knowing whether they want to talk to you, you will get along perfectly. Any time you need help or directions, a polite respectful "excuse me" followed by a pause to see how you will be received seems to be the universal key in Paris for locals to take pity on a traveling Yank and be polite.

Now is a particularly good time for Americans to travel to Paris. 2018 was the centenary of the 1918 armistice, so there have been a lot of Americans and Commonwealth tourists visiting the country and there was a lot of public education about the war. There seemed to me to be a genuine appreciation for the American contribution to the war effort and some of that spilled over to people being nice to us because we were Americans.

If you're going for just a few days, stay as close to the center of town and walk as much as possible. I stayed at the Hotel Notre Dame St. Michel, right across from Notre Dame Cathedral, and it was perfect. Easy walk to the Louve, a doable walk to Musee d'Orsay. Just down the street from Shakespeare & Co and the Latin Quarter. https://hotelnotredameparis.com/en/ Ask if you can get one of the top floors with a skylight. They have a view of Notre Dame and the river.

A couple of suggestions. The Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre are must-sees. The Louvre is so big you can get overwhelmed and waste the day wondering if you're not careful. If you have a plan and an idea of where the things you want to see are, you can really have a nice time there. The restaurant there is very nice. Not too expensive for a nice lunch and very nice for dinner. But also see the Rodin Museum. It's in his old estate and has a sculpture garden in the back yard of the mansion. Napoleon's Tomb and the French military museum are great if you want a little historical stop. As you walk the streets be on the lookout for little plaques that have a name, a birth date the legend "Mort pour la France" and a date of death some time between 1939 and 1940. They are commemorations to Resistance fighters who were killed by the Nazis. You can stop and Google the names and learn a little about each person. If you want a really fun, historical dinner, go to Le Procope. It's reputed to be the oldest restaurant in Paris and is famous for having Napoleon's hat. He apparently left it to secure his bill one evening and it has been on display ever since. It's also the restaurant that Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams and the other American diplomats ate at when they were trying to get French support for the Revolutionary war. There are plaques by each of their favorite tables.

[bivenator]

Wear yellow, I believe it is all the rage currently.

[pete3799]

où est la bibliothèque
Only thing i remember from french class. Waiting anxiously for the day it will come in handy.

[ckissick]

The only thing I ever learn is how to say is, "I'd like a beer, please." in whatever country I'm in. I gave up in Finland, though.