My wife and I are headed to France in September for the first time. I've been told by others who've been there that the people in the French countryside were fine, but the people in Paris were very rude. I've heard stories of rude waiters, rude shop clerks, rude taxi drivers, rude hotel workers, rude everyone, to the point that we're somewhat uncomfortable going there and may shorten our original 5-day Paris stay to only 2 days. Advice, opinions and experiences would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

Paul, instead of how rude?, the question ought to be...are they rude? In my opinion, they are not! I have been to Paris twice and have stayed there for a total of 11 days. I can honestly say that I have yet to have one single person be rude to me or my wife. I really do believe that the "Parisians are rude", is similar to "the British food is bad", or "Americans are ugly tourists". These , in my opinion are gross generalities! Go, enjoy your trip, be nice to others and they will in turn be nice to you..my wife and I hope to go back to Paris again this fall.

Paul, instead of how rude?, the question ought to be...are they rude? In my opinion, they are not! I have been to Paris twice and have stayed there for a total of 11 days. I can honestly say that I have yet to have one single person be rude to me or my wife. I really do believe that the "Parisians are rude", is similar to "the British food is bad", or "Americans are ugly tourists". These , in my opinion are gross generalities! Go, enjoy your trip, be nice to others and they will in turn be nice to you..my wife and I hope to go back to Paris again this fall.

Recommend reading two books: "French or Foe" by Polly Platt and "Understanding Europeans" by Stuart Miller. Yes we heard about these comments but after visiting Paris after reading these book, these were in response to the tourists behavior, in other words, we asked for it. To get non rude treatment in Paris, however, it may not be common sense to the outsiders. You MUST say BON JOUR during the day. Once this was done, broken Frence and English were tolerated with smile (so much for the French not liking foreigners butchering French.) Once my tongue was twisted when we entered a restaurant and could not say BON JOUR at the right time. We got a rude service of our life. <BR>

I always say Bon Jour and then apologize in French for not speaking French before I begin to butcher the language. I don't find the French terribly rude, altough those in Paris have less time and tolerance for tourists than else where. A good friend of ours who is French once said, "you will never speak French well enough for a waiter, a bartender or a taxi driver----for the rest of us you will do just fine!!" Plan to be there again in October---remember to apologize for your lack of francais, but remember also, it's not Italy!!! The rest of the trip will make up for it! <BR>

Parisians rude? Preposterous! Rushed, brusque, abrupt, or busy -- perhaps. But "rude?" Never. Once you open the conversation with halting "Franglais," (admit it, you will NEVER speak French) you will find the Parisian more than happy to meet you half way or more. Lost in the Paris subway system (we did not know there are two!), we approached a young man who could speak no English (we later found out). He took us by the hand, showed us how to navigate the RER, walked us a block out of his way, then leaped over the turnstile (he never paid!), winked at us, and was gone in a flash. How very French!

My experience from about 6 (brief) visits to Paris has been uniformly positive. I think it is worth remembering that France is the most visited country in the world and Paris probably the most visited city. Everytime a Parisian wants to use their local services, visit museums etc they are competing with thousands of visitors. Whatever question you ask a Parisian they have probably been asked the same thing dozens of times before. On top of that, Paris is a busy commercial centre. So from time to time I am sure that you will strike a rude Parisian - I once heard of someone who found a rude New Yorker too! The best approach is to take the time to learn just a few words of French - enough to greet someone correctly and to apologise for your lack of the language. This seems like good manners to me and has always yielded a friendly response.

I spent two weeks in Paris in May and can assure you that Parisians are not rude.We found many friendly people and a surprising amount of English spoken.My daughter and I hadn't been there for over 25 years and we were amazed by the cultural changes. At times when we consulted our maps on the street people came over to *offer* help. We were able to chat with people who freely exchanged views on a variety of topics even told their "life stories" offered advice on where to eat and which museums to see. I think you will find Parisians quite pleasant and helpful. <BR>

I was in Paris for 10 days and found no evidence of rudeness. As Arizona said, they are rushed, busy, etc. (just like in NY). Remember, Paris is one of the busiest cities in the world! As in all countries, just learn the basic words: please, thank you, hello, in the Frenchs' case, good evening (bon soir), goodbye, pardon, toilette (a universally accepted word), etc. PLEASE don't cut your trip short. I and many other people believe Paris is the most beautiful ciy in the world and it would be such a shame to miss more than you're going to have to on a short trip.

Cut short a visit to Paris? Good grief! We, too, have nothing but wonderful memories of Paris and its people. We arrived for our first visit in October 1996 by TGV train from Brussels, and as we stood studying the Metro ticket machine, a young man offered to buy our tickets for us. We found the city beautiful and clean, and the people delightful. They tolerated with good humor my attempts at speaking French. I imagine the clerks in Gallerie LaFayette are still laughing about the woman asking for table linens in phrase book French spoken with an Alabama accent! We are really looking forward to October when we will be back in Paris. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Thank you all for the great responses and advice, and we certainly won't cut our trip short. Also, point well taken from Tom - not how rude but are they rude? We'll spend a little more time with French phrase books and less time worrying. Thanks again everyone!

<BR>A couple of years ago we spent 5 wonderful weeks in Paris (our third visit there). My husband is fluent in French (yes Arizonia, such people do exist) so we never had any problems and even helped several shop keepers with English signs they wanted to put up for various reasons. <BR>We did see a few times where some tourist came up to the very busy ticket window at the Metro and would rattle on immediately in English about what they wanted and *they* were treated rudely. But I think they deserved it for they were being rude to just assume everyone speaks English <BR>and will take time to give them long explanations or directions to their longwinded English questions.

I didn't find the Parisians rude at all, and I have lived the majority of my life in the southern US where people have a well-deserved reputation for hospitality. It may have helped that I used my limited French as much as possible. Some people can certainly be seen as "not overly friendly," but not necessarily rude. Waiters in French restaurants are very professional for example, and German officials can be very to-the-point. However, this is the nature of the job, and you can deal with it by taking it as part of the experience. In fact, the first evening I was in Paris (in August too when there are so many tourists, and you would think the local tolerance might be low), we were standing outside the Musee d'Orsay looking at a map, and a local gentleman absolutely insisted on helping us with directions. People were generally helpful in the metro too before we learned the ropes. I am not convinced though that one wasn't trying to rob us, but that is another issue (in any big city). <BR>

I have only had good experiences with people in Paris. I've been twice, and both times, Parisians have gone out of their way to help me - get me on the right train or point me in the right direction - while struggling to understand my very broken French. I do believe my attempts at speaking French made them more willing to help. Paris is wonderful!

I too had trepidations about going, and found some of the Americans to be quite rude, cranking up the volume of their English to natives who either did not speak English, or chose not to. <BR>As I understand it, 8-10 years ago, the French tourism industry took a look at where the British and other English speaking tourists were going to spend their money, and discovered they were losing lots of francs to Spain, Portugal, Italy etc. There was a concentrated effort made to say to those who disliked/distrusted the English Speakers, "hey, you may not like them, but you like their $$!" Since then, all of the reports I have heard, as well as my own experience, are like the ones posted. <BR> <BR>Bon Appetit!

I have been in Paris on several occasions. I was there two weeks ago. No one has ever been rude to me in Paris or in any other part of France. Like many of the others who have replied to your question, I try to speak a little French and apologize for my lack of fluency. I speak with a southern accent, I probably dress like a tourist, I am middleaged and somewhat overweight, and yet the Parisians have been very nice to me. Please don't cut your trip to Paris short. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and there is so much to see. On my most recent trip I went to Ste. Chapelle, the 13th century chapel built by Louis IX . The stained glass alone is worth the trip to Paris. Remember, when you say "Bonjour", it should be followed by either "Madam" of "Monsieur". The French are more formal than Americans. <BR>onsieur <BR>The golden rule is still good advise.

I was in Paris 6 years ago, and I found a lot of people rude then. My friend and I both made concious efforts to learn the important words and phrases in French and always spoke French when first speaking to someone. However, we were brushed off a lot and in trying to get help at places like the major train terminal found us being sent from one person to the next. Everything was a hassle and no-one was willing to help. <BR> <BR>So it was with much trepidation that I went back last year. And I found the French people to be the kindest and the most courteous of the whole trip. I remember going to McDonalds one morning for breakfast (OK - not the way to get the "French" experience, but we were racing to the airport and it was convenient!) and doing what I thought was a pretty good job in ordering in French! The attendent just looked at me and said, "Is that all?" in English. I said "Yes, thanks" before I realised he had replied in English. He just had a big grin on his face! At the train station, they were very patient with us, helping us buy the correct ticket. When the attendent saw our worried faces about how to get our luggage through the turnstilies, he opened the door for us and took care of our luggage whilst we went thorugh the turnstiles. So many little things like that, which I remember as being all hassles and drama in my first trip, were so easy and handled so courteously that they are part of my good memories of Pairs.

We're just back from our 3rd trip to Paris - and no, don't shorten your days there - you'll love every one! And that comes from a traveller who usually likes to get OUT of the cities and into the countryside as soon as possible! In our 3 trips we've met one rude person - a ticket seller at the Eiffel tower! No wonder, right? <BR>It definitely is important to learn as much as you can of French - Bon jour to start with will get you far! <BR>We spent our first week in France this time in the Dordogne region and recommend it highly!! As we were on the train to Paris we looked at each other with a smile and excitement for visiting again. It's such a marvelous city! <BR>Have a wonderful time!

I found the Parisians to be very friendly during my two weeks there in 94. I think perhaps those who just assume everybody speaks English might strike some indigation (justifiably, I think), but, as said above, if you "bonjour", "merci", "excusez moi" etc. it will be greatly appreciated. After all, when Parisians come to another country I'm sure they wouldn't ask questions of the locals in French!

Trying to speak the language is part of the fun. Where else can you put those years of high school French that have long been sent to the cobweb corner of your brain to use. In 1995 with my husband and two teenage daughters we rented a house in Burgundy and tried to live like a French family for a week. We took our time slowly exploring the local area around our house, walking a lot and giving a Bonjour to whomever we passed in the street. We bought and cooked our own food and spoke our very broken French to each over our a glass of wine in the evening. The kids laughed at the cartoons on the TV in French. We became quite friendly with the owner of the small local grocery store that we visited often twice a day for provisions. Each time we entered the store we would wish her Bonjour Madame and then proceed with our order, often using sign language, and always giggling when our efforts produced some strange results. On our last day in the village we went to say goodbye to our friendly shopkeeper and she said something to me that I didn't understand. I apologised and she repeated it again but still I didn't understand and shrugged my shoulders and raised my eyebrows in the universal sign saying I have no idea what you are talking about. Then in the most perfect English she said that she hoped we had enjoyed our stay in her village and what a shame it was that the weather was so bad and we didn't get to see her village at its best. She said from the moment we first entered her shop she had been trying to place where we were from. We knew we weren't from the US and at first thought we may be British. She was having fun trying to place our accent each day but said nothing. She said on the second last day she recognised that we were Australians but asked would it have been the same experience if she immediately spoke to us in English when we saw we were struggling with very basic French. Rude - no, abolutely delightful - yes.