We are heading to Paris in May!!! I have not found a map that shows the public facilities?
Does anyone have a list or landmarks that will giude us to the "Water Closet, bathroom, toilet, restroom etc." near the biggest tourist areas in Paris?

my bladder thanks you!
sunny

Google "toilets paris" or "restrooms paris".

When we were in Paris last year, we had no problem just using the facilities in cafes. No one even looked at us funny!! And cafes are everywhere!!! The worst restroom in all of France was a "public facility" in Arles!!

Yes, cafes and big hotels, usually just off the lobby and easy to find. I once was desperate and the line to the ladies at MacDonald's was out the door. A bit further along the Rue de Rivoli was the 5* Hotel Meurice. I went in, was greeted and graciously escorted to the ladies room, one of nicest I've ever been in. On my way out again to the street a lovely well dressed man wished me well. An altogether memorable experience and never for a moment made to feel like I didn't belong there. If I'm ever in a position to stay in such a hotel in Paris, Le Meurice it will be!

as Mme Perdue says, head for the best hotel in the place!

seriously, we always take the opportunity to use the "facilities" in every museum, gallery, cafe, and restaurant we frequent. there are also public toilets - I found this map of Paris on the bathroom diaries:

http://thebathroomdiaries.com//

Cafés are fine if the bathrooms have been upgraded. I recall one within the last two years which still had the footstep/hole in the floor system, and it was for customers only. The young American women purchased a drink and then discovered that they simply would not use such a toilet.

"The young American women purchased a drink and then discovered that they simply would not use such a toilet." Michael

Wait a while. There will come a day for them when any hole in the floor will do.

Amen, sister.

You can also find many public and automatic toilets (free...but sometimes out of order).

http://equipement.paris.fr/?tid=37

My theory is that you use the bathroom at every spot (sight, cafe etc) is you need to or not - since you never know.

Larger hotels usually have public toilets on the ground floor, all cafes do - but you really should buy a drink at the bar, as do department stores and major tourist sights.

Do not rely on public toilets - may not be handy - or clean.

On the plaza in front of Notre Dame, as you face the main entrance, there is a statue of Charlemaigne to the right. If you go down the nearby staircase there is a public bathroom with lots of toilets. There is a bathroom attendant to tip. It's well kept up as I remember. I remember using it a number of times on our first trip in 2006.

As others have said, use the bathrooms whenever you can. On our first trip we were going to a lot of museums and had museum passes. Sometimes we found it handy to be able to go into museums just to use the facilities. There's no admission charge at some museums, such as the Carnavalet in the Marais.

Be sure to collect and carry change with you because pretty much all public toilets require a fee or a tip, and they aren't going to change a 20 euro bill.

The toilets along the Rue de Rivoli in the Tuileries are absolutely sparkling, and the museum facilities are always reliable.

Cafes may range from turkish toilets with a footplate and hole in the floor to a standard toilet without a seat (very common) to the sort of facilities North Americans are used to.

Men's and women's toilet facilities often share common spaces for washing, though the toilet facilities themselves are usually (though not always) separate. Stall doors come all the way to the floor, like a closet as opposed to the abbreviated doors in North America. Men usually go to one side, woment to the other, but they come together to use the same washbasins. The last time I was at the Rodin Museum, the backs of men using the urinals were visible to the women waiting in line. Not unusual at all beyond Paris.