French Taxis...I don't speek French
 

Are using french taxis a huge issue if I don't speak French. I am prepared with many of the address of restaurants/hotels that I will need taxis to. If I show the taxi driver the name and address, will that work?

Worked for me in Montreal AFTER I tried to say the name of the hotel :))

no problem, all taxi drivers know that if you show them a piece of paper with an address and hotel name on it, etc., that's where you want to go. A lot of drivers will know enough English to understand you saying "I want to go here", but they will definitely get it.

Hi L,

>French Taxis...I don't speek French<

and I don't spell English very well. :)

>If I show the taxi driver the name and address, will that work?<

Absolutely.
It's best if you type it out or print block capitals.

You can also get a card from the hotel to show your cabby and anyone else who needs to know where you are staying, including members of your party.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Most of the taxi drivers are not French. Do you speak Wolof or Arabic?

>> Most of the taxi drivers are not French. Do you speak Wolof or Arabic? <<

It's quite dubious, to say the least, to infer from their ethnic origin that they are not French. Being French is a legal status, and even if I don't deny the fact that many of them are from other ethnic origins, there is absolutely no statistical data showing that most of them are legal aliens.

I speak French (sort of) and I still can't pronounce the name of the street I've lived on for the past 18 months in a way that is intelligible to taxi drivers.

But taxis are an expensive and time-consuming way to get around Paris. Except maybe for the taxi to your hotel, with luggage, from the Air France Airport Express bus, why don't you take the metro (or buses) instead? Once you master the basics (i.e. knowing the name of the last stop in the direction you want to go in, as well as your destination stop), it's quite easy.)

If you do take taxis, remember to greet the driver politely (Bonjour Monsieur/Madame). You'll be treated better.

Ditto on the idea of not using taxis. You can easily move around Paris using the metro or buses. Buy a good map and you are on your way.

Coming from the airport, you can use the Air france shuttle, the Roissybus, the RER train, shuttle buses as alternate means of getting around. The first three of these options would be the most economical. Mostly, it will depend on how much baggage you have. At rush hour, coming from/to the airport, the choice of vehicular transport becomes more problematic.

That being said, print out on a piece of paper the name, address, and perhaps the arrondissement of where you want to go, or we could help you with some basic pronunciations here...

Kate,

I plan on using the metro as much as possible, but for obscure locations, and for a few dinner reservations, I plan to use taxis. I will be there in January, so after bearing the cold all day, and taxi in the evening is a nice treat.

Normally it should work fine. But I remember the time I handed the driver a note that clearly said "Hotel Left Bank, rue de ancien comedie" (sp?). He kept asking the name of the hotel, and I kept saying it was named Hotel Left Bank. He didn't want to take me until I could tell him the name of the hotel as there are a lot of hotels on the Left Bank. I knew the hotel and that's the only name it has, and that street is only a short block long. So finally I said "Le Precope" -- the restaurant next door. He was happy then, and off we went.

And for those who take it upon themselves to discourage people from taking taxis (I rarely do use taxis, by the way), did it ever occur to you that we don't all like to travel the same and that for some people their personal comfort is MORE important than the cost? I missed the part where the poster asked anything at all about cost.

For the OP...be aware that in Paris (if you should be going there) taxi drivers do not pick fares up on the street, only at designated taxi ranks.

I had a very bizarre experience with a Paris taxi-driver.....I had to meet a walking tour that I had paid for, at the building called "The Pantheon"....I waved down a taxi because I was getting confused by my street map...And I did not think that I would make it on time by walking....I said to him that I wanted to get to the Pantheon,and I proceeded to open my guide to show it in the Top Ten things you have to see in Paris....He seemed to think that I was trying to get to a Pension,that I had not been to before...He just drove away without apologising or anything....By this time I was mad with rage,and panicking.....Thankfully ,I got another taxi ...Driver said that it was only about four minutes away by taxi......He told me that there was a minimum amount that he had to charge,even though it was a very short journey .....Just glad to get there on time !!!

>> For the OP...be aware that in Paris (if you should be going there) taxi drivers do not pick fares up on the street, only at designated taxi ranks. <<


Uttlerly false. Taxi drivers may refuse a ride up the street -only- if there is a rank nearby (less than a ncertain distance which I don't exactly remember).

In all other cases, you can hire them from the street as in any other city of the world. I'm very surprised that you came to this conclusion based on, it seems, ONE personal experience.

For places I know I'm going via taxi, I print a map at www.pagesjaunes.fr

This is especially handy for handing to the driver if you take a taxi from the airport.

Actually, I print many maps whether or not I plan to take a taxi.

Maybe the poster didn't come to that conclusion from "one personal experience" but rather read it from any of a number of tourist guide books or online resources. It is often stated that "taxis in Paris cannot be hailed on the street but must be gotten at a taxi rank". Why that is reported I don't know. But google Paris taxi rules and you'll find it a number of times. I'm sure that I first read it in either a Fodors or Frommers guide myself, and was surprised to see people hailing taxis on the street.
By the way, the distance from a taxi rank where you cannot hail a taxi is less than 50 meters.

Well, we tried hailing a taxi on the street, and no one would stop. Our hotel told us we needed to go to a taxi rank.

We've been unable to hail taxis in Paris successfully, except late at night, and once - right on Blvd St-Germaine at dinnertime when it was pouring down rain.

I asked a taxi driver to take me to Hotel de Ville and she said, "Which one?" And, once, we asked to go to Place du Tertre. When it became apparent the driver was going in the wrong direction, it turned out he thought I said Place du Ternes. Bless him, he adjusted the fare.

Taxis aren't that expensive in Paris. And, when you're dead tired, all dressed up and headed out for a nice dinner, the many bus and/or metro connections are all awkward to your destination, or it's pouring down rain - why not?

good points djbooks. Sometimes I wish I weren't so cheap. I've often arrived at a distant restaurant in July dripping wet after a ride on the un-airconditioned metro or busses -- and no, it wasn't even raining. Most taxis have AC.

As a philosophical point...I guess my point with taxis is yes, they are one means of transport, and should not be ruled out. But I think sometimes people think that the metro or bus system in a new place may be difficult to use or understand, so take a taxi and not have to worry about that. In Paris, I believe this may not be so. So I encourage people to use it.

The other point, which came to mind... as I was taking the Air France bus to the airport 10 days ago, mid-morning,we rushed along, but I looked over and saw truck and cabs stopped on the highway, so I thought that my previous decision upon mid morning landing of taking the RER was a good one, both for cost and not spending an inordinate amount of time in traffic, since I had such a short visit planned.

Cabs are comfortable, the metro can be crowded, with a scent of "eau de humanite" and there can be many stairs and long walks. I try to keep my non-essential costs low, which occsionally comes with some discomfort, but occasionally also is more time efficient.

Cheers
Mike

We use the metro an d bus systems extensively on our Paris trips, but I do understand wanting to taxi . Sometimes after a long , winey dinner, I don't want that walk back to the hotel or to climb the metro stairs. The 5.50 euro minimum is a small price to pay for comfort.

I've had problems flagging taxis but have also had success, so if you are walking toward a taxi or bus stop and se one coming , try to flag it down.There's no LAW!