France - 10 Culture Shocks Tourists Have When They Visit France

The smoking thing has changed totally in the past few years. And Paris isn't at all large. I've walked across it in a day. What will amaze Americans is that most people is the we say please and thank you.

French smoke less than us people, per a statistic survey of 2012

I pigeon pooped on me in marseille. A guy walking bye said immediately "jour de chance, joyr de chance" meaning, its my lucky day 😂 they also said if your left foot steps in dog poop, its also your lucky day. But it must be left, not the right 😂😂😂 it made me laugh and helped me to get over it pretty quickly.😅

why be shocked when you visit another country? why should it be the same as your country? parts of a larger country aren't even the same.... we were disappointed because we didn't find a famed rude waiter in paris.

Smoking used to be a thing in Canada as well

Item 3 on your list is also very true, lunch is a big deal in France many shops and offices will close for 1, 2 or maybe even 3 hours.

The second item on your list is definitely true.

Even if you aren't very good at French at least make the effort, because they will see that you are trying and they really appreciate that.

Isn't asking for the bill when you've finished, in a restaurant normal in the US? How do they know you want to pay if you don't ask for it?

I loved when you said there are many places one has to see in France : have you visited le Périgord Noir (south east of département de la Dordogne) ? Lots of Castles, old magnificent villages, caves with gorgeous concretions and incredible good food !
Tell your followers not to plan to visit other countries during the same journey because visiting France could take a lifetime !

I took French for 1 year at my local L'Alliance Français, but I've moved on to Chinese. I love how French can communicate with like, Africa. So cool.

The dog poo thing surprised me when I visited Paris years ago.
I was surrounded by such beautiful buildings, but I couldn't look at them because my eyes were on the ground trying to avoid the poo!

It's still a beautiful city ;)

Your perspective is très bien. Great vid!

When visit Paris, be careful because there are soooo many pickpockets and scammers roaming around.

Not all tourists have the same experiences, so here are some things you should know:
- Some restaurants won't let black, brown or Asian people in.
- If you are black, brown or asian ask other black or brown people about direction, because the native white population will just give a disgusting look and walk away hoping you will get lost.

Very informative and useful advice's :)

I was last in Paris in 1990 and I did not notice dog poop everywhere. In Amsterdam yes, dog poop everywhere. Gross.
How do you enjoy a meal outside with a darling pet pooping in front of you? Ick. How do you sit in a park with dog poop everywhere? This is coming from a long time dog lover who has large dogs but I also have property that my pups roam.

How do you say 'windbag' in French?

I'm half French arcadian and grew up around French speakers. when I went to France, in my navy uniform, I didn't have to pay for anything. I could understand French but didn't speak it well, that's a throwback to my childhood when I didn't want to be like my parents and grandparents. I would only answer them in English. what a brat I was. they gave me a pass because my name is Chaudoir - French and knew where my people were from. dog poop, sounds like the French Quarter where I lived. I so envy your life of travel!!

Lol I laughed at the "free range children" 🤣

Funny about the smoke: I am French. One of the reason I left France to move to the Silicon Valley is the smoke and the dog sh.t everywhere !

Well, most people begging will be in big cities and they are mostly homeless. So not giving money is technically more encouraging them to do it again, poverty will not depend wether you give or not (unless you give a million). Being a busker myself, i usually don’t put myself in the same category as i feel it is a job like any other and pretty different than waiting for money to fall in a pot.

lol during english class my classmatse be like "Why do we need to learn english? Can't they learn french?"

I'm french and all of tis is real, I hate the dog poop and the topless womens. And It's funny how tourist love the first baguettes they taste but me I'm like what's wrong with you this is undergrated? There is better baguettes.

I was in france for a month solo and my suitcase went through the dog poop on my wheel... spent a whole day cleaning it... no joke!

The french smokes a lot! When I traveled to Paris in 2015 this was one of the things that caught my attention the most. I am from Brazil. In my country people tend to smoke a lot less and in several commercial establishments smoking is prohibited.

If you want good food, go to Lyon, it is considered as the capital of french gastronomy .

As a French, I hope that someday, French people who don't pick up their dog poop will eat dog poop for breakfast and start picking it up. Because, God, this is so annoying to walk down the street and do parkour to avoid poops. It takes only 1 minute at most to pick it up.

Are they still big smokers today?

Thank you Mark!

I thought pissing in a street cylinder was bad enough - but the canine street dumping is just gross. I must have been too drunk during my last visit to notice..

France is a failure country
French people so rude
Greetings from Morocco
God bless USA and Israel

This man is a legend.

Thank you for the video. I just want to correct something : we do grab fruits and veggies freely in the markets! Noone minds that 🤔 haha

Bonus: As a tourist, do not use RATP/Transilien (Paris region public transit) during rush hours. It could shock you how rude and aggressive French can get during these times wanting to get into the train in an overcrowded station.

And do not use short trousers when going dining. Please don't!
And try to use SNCF/TGV to get around when going to bigger cities. It is worth it!

I have always learned a few phrases in whatever language is spoken in the country I am visiting. I bust it out when I walk in a shop or restaurant and then ask kindly if they speak English. I have never had anyone rude because of it. Usually they are appreciative that I do not start in English and that I have attempted their native language. This was particularly true in Paris. Most everyone I met was very kind.

French helped us in America defeat the British. Fun fact.

Thank you. This video made me want to go to France.

io italiano quando ha detto che il cibo migliore è quello francese: OOOOFFFF ha fatto male...

About the dogs poop I think this is very bad and nasty. They should clean up after they poop. This gives a bad impression.

You don't tip the people playing music on the streets?

France is much more than Paris, and it's a lovely place to live.
But one thing is true, you can experiment 2 ways your meetings...you speak straight in English without telling a single word in French like "Bonjour", and people will be really upsets and won't help you, at the opposite if you're respectful and say "Bonjour pouvez-vous m'aider?", French will do the impossible to help you and to make you discover their wonderful culture...even with their bad English understanding!😅😂

nightmare trying to get a beer late

I love France. I don’t get the rude thing that I’ve always heard. People have been friendly, and one guy starting teaching me the language as I was doing some photography. I’ve been to Paris and I get to Nice every year - I can’t get enough of the place. I even took the train from Paris to Nice once. That was a trek and I loved every moment of it. Any many wouldn’t believe this, but some of the best pizza I have ever had was in Paris, at O’scia Pizzeria Napoletana. I can’t wait to go back, post pandemic restrictions.

But the French speak Spanish.

BEAUTIFUL FRANCE !

The grubby gruesome character universally collect because drug strikingly whirl per a unwritten utensil. , amazing swordfish

I think they just instantly like you a tad more if you do speak french 😉.

The smoking in Paris it ridiculous. It's difficult to get a bite to eat in a cafe with any outdoor seating without having someone blow smoke in your face. It's so disgusting and I don't know how they don't realize it.

As a frenchman one thing that shocked me while I was in the US was how prude the americans are, yes in france we have topless girls on the beach, even naturists beaches, but I don't see the problem, we all have the same body features there's no need for shaming them, but great video your points were spot on :)