Useful information to help smooth your stay in France
| Currency | The Euro replaced the Franc from 1st January 2002. All bills are in Euros and cash machines dispense Euro notes only. If you use a credit or debit card, make sure you are charged the correct amount and that the transaction slip is correct |
| Cash Points | Most cash points in France recognise foreign cards and provide on-screen help in several languages |
| Shops | Shops closing for lunch will generally close for at least TWO hours. 12:30 - 14:30 or 15:00 |
| Small supermarkets | Closed 12:30 - 15:00 but will then stay open to 19:30. Some open on Sunday morning 09:00-11:30. Check the times on the door of a small supermarket |
| Centre
Commercial (Large Supermarkets) |
Do not close for lunch and are generally open 09:00 - 19:30 |
| Public Holidays | Many shops now open for a few hours in the morning. Banks and Post Offices will close |
| Banks |
Most are open 09:00 - 12:30, then 13:30 - 17:00. Some are now working a split system opening Saturday morning and Monday afternoon, but many of the smaller banks still close all day Monday Nearly every bank in France has a cash point machine that accepts all cards. Many supermarkets also offer this facility |
| Post Offices and Stamps |
General post offices in France open Monday to Friday 9am - 12.30pm and 2pm - 5pm. On Saturday they open 9am to 12 Noon. Major post offices may have a cash point on the wall or inside, so you don’t have to search for a bank to use your plastic. Small village post offices set their own days and hours of opening. They are displayed outside along with last posting times. Some out of town supermarkets include a small post office and most have a post box. Post boxes are yellow. In small villages they are very small and attached to a wall. At major post offices, you will see two post boxes: ‘Tarif Normal’ is for internal and overseas post. 'Tarif Reduit' is 2nd class post for delivery in France only. A stamp for your postcard home will cost €0.46. If you have several, ask for "Un Carnet des Timbres Poste" which contains 10 self adhesive stamps. Stamps are also sold in ‘Bar Tabac’ and some newspaper/magazine shops. |
|
Boulangeries |
Closed on Mondays but operate a rota system whereby one will always be open in an area Look for the sign ‘Depot Pain’. These are places where bread can be bought when there is no boulangerie in the area |
|
Pharmacy |
Look for the Green Flashing
Cross They are very helpful with minor ailments such as bites, stings and scratches. They are experts on snake bites and carry supplies of Serum |
| Doctors | The E111 form for UK visitors to France has been replaced by the European Health Insurance card, or EHIC. The card entitles you to treatment at a state-provided health faciltiy. The EHIC is free and you can apply on-line by going to the NHS web site HERE For full details of entitlement, click HERE Be careful if searching the internet for help. There are some sites which look official but will actually charge you for this free NHS service. |
| Telephone |
Emergency numbers: Phone booths: Mostly phone cards which can be purchased nearly everywhere. Look for the sign ‘Telecarte’. If you see a sign with blue Bell symbol, it means you can receive incoming calls |