Transcription

Stay tuned until the fifth, because what I'm about to tell you is going to make sure you don't miss your plane.

Before I start, I would like to tell you about the digital book I just released. It is very interesting for you if you have planned a trip to France.

In ten chapters, you'll learn essential phrases and words that will help you get by in France, for example, in a restaurant, in an emergency, when shopping or asking for directions.

Each chapter is also accompanied by a video to make it easier for you to learn these phrases and the different concepts you're about to see.

You also have over 30 audios to help you repeat key words or phrases and work on your pronunciation.

Throughout this digital book, you also have many tips on politeness or culture in France.

And because I really want you all to come and visit the beautiful country of France, I'm offering you minus 20% on this digital book for 10 days.

🚀 You want to save time and make faster progress?

My course will transform your understanding of fast French 🇫🇷

🎧 60 authentic conversations

📝 +1,300 words and phrases 

📊 300 comprehension questions

📖 60 transcriptions 

⭐️ 30 everyday themes

👩🏻‍💻 30 minutes of conversation with me 

🗣️ Conversation tables

All my vocabulary cards

🇫🇷 Discover the course

You can find it at my online school by following the link in the description of this video. If you've already purchased this guide and missed out on the promotion, feel free to send me an e-mail or post a comment below this video so that I can reimburse you the difference.

Let's start right away with the first very important thing to know if you're coming to France. This first piece of information will mainly concern Americans.

In France and Europe, generally speaking, when we write a date, we always write the day, the month and then the year, whereas in American English, we write the month, the day and the year.

If you want to book tickets to see a show in Paris or if you want to book a train from Lyon to Marseille, for example, be very careful to make a good reservation.

I have friends who made the opposite mistake on the American continent. They wanted to book bus tickets for September 5, but in fact booked them for May 9. So be very careful.

Second interesting thing to know, and you'll like it because I'm going to tell you about something that's free. When you go to a restaurant in France, the water in a carafe, the water that comes from the tap, is free.

You can ask the waiter for a free carafe of water. This is the case in France, but not at all in Belgium, for example. It doesn't exist, it's not free.

The second thing that's free in French restaurants is bread. You know that the French love to eat bread. They're very proud of their baguettes. You get free bread, usually all you can eat, when you go to a restaurant.

Of course, when you order food, you can't just walk into a restaurant and ask for bread. But I think you get the idea. So tap water in carafes and bread baskets are free in restaurants.

Thirdly, prices are always inclusive of VAT, meaning you'll never pay more than you see on a menu or in a store.

For example, the price you see displayed is the price you'll pay. Whether it's a service or a product, everything is displayed, all taxes included.

No surprises at the cash register. At restaurants, service and table settings are also included in the price of food and drink.

You don't have to tip the waiter or waitress. You can if you particularly liked the service, but you don't have to.

The fourth thing to know, and this you may have seen in the "Emily in Paris" series, is that floors are counted differently in France than in the United States.

In France, the first floor is the zero level. You go up the stairs once, you have the second floor.

Climb the stairs a second time and you've got the second floor. So we start at zero. And the cellar is usually -1.

And finally, the most important thing not to miss, not to miss your return flight, is to know that the Charles de Gaulle metro stop and the stop for Charles de Gaulle airport are not at all, but really not at all in the same place.

The Charles de Gaulle metro stop is located near the Arc de Triomphe, next to the Champs Élysées, right in the heart of Paris, while Charles de Gaulle airport is outside the city.

You'll have to get there by cab or RER. Be very careful, because it happens every year that tourists miss their plane on the way to the Charles de Gaulle metro station, but don't expect to find any planes there.

Speaking of cabs, be very careful too. As in every country in the world, there are cabs that try to rip off tourists. There was an article published a few days ago about tourists who were conned out of more than €2,000 by a cab for the journey between the airport and the center of Paris.

It's important to know that for this trip, depending on where you're going in Paris, the prices are fixed and they're not set at €2,000.

Not at all. I explain this in detail and give you lots of other tips in my guide "Essential French words and phrases you need to know to survive in France".

Click on the link in the description to find out more.

If you liked this video, of course, put a "like" on it.

Subscribe if you haven't already, and see you soon.