The Paris Traveler

Three Magic Words

by Lynn on May 10th, 2007

I’ll let you in on a little secret. There are three words that you need to know when you are traveling in France. No, they are not “Parlez-vous Anglais?”! Nor do you need to speak French, although I will say, it does help tremendously if you do! These three little words will show you that all those clichés about the French being so rude, just aren’t true.

As a matter of fact, the French find most foreigners to be rather rude. Why? Because most tourists will go up to someone and say something like, “Can you tell me how to get to the Eiffel Tower?” So you ask, what’s wrong with that? Well, would you go up to someone in your country and say, “Can you tell me how to get to the nearest gas station?” No, of course not! The first thing you would say is, “Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the nearest gas station?” Right?

A little politeness goes a long way in France. Try it out when you’re asking for directions, or buying a baguette or tickets for the Métro; you’ll be amazed at how friendly Parisians can be. They’ll smile at you like a long lost friend. Okay! So what are these three magic words, you ask? Bonjour, merci, and au revoir.

Don’t take my word for it, do your own little experiment. (This isn’t rocket science here!) Stop and ask three people on the street for directions and start off with a friendly “bonjour”. Then stop three more and don’t say “bonjour.” You’ll be amazed at the difference!

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POSTED IN: Getting Around, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized