Sue4

I usually go for Burger King in the US instead of McDonalds - always predictable, and easy at the drive-thru!

However, I will admit(thank goodness we are all anonymous!) that I did pick up something from McDonald's to take back to my room, on a Sunday night when everything around was closed- and I was
dead-tired, and it was raining besides.
I sneaked it clandestinely into the hotel under my raincoat. And it tasted so good in the solitude and secrecy of my room. I never thought I would share this secret with anyone .

michigandra

I too must confess to eating at McDonald's in Paris! I was still in college and for me, the novelty of having les pommes frites, McDonald's no less, in Paris was an urge I could not resist. Of course, I had to have a burger as well. While I didn't need an excuse, I did indeed have one: I absolutely craved fast food--especially French Fries--since this stop in Paris was on the way home (back to the US) after having spent the summer studying in then-Leningrad, Russia. Western food was divine after a summer spent eating dorm food (yuk! mystery meats and lots of starches) at the University of Leningrad. Any French fries would probably have done the trick, but McDonald's called to me! Moreover, as a student, my funds were low, low, low. The French fries were great, but even better were the various pastries at les patisseries! Yum!

Although I must also confess that the ice cream (you just asked for an ice cream and got whatever flavor was available) and the pirozhki (little meat pies) you bought on the street in Leningrad were great. Not to forget the blini--I think in the Ukraine!

Must stop now--making myself hungry! Can't wait to eat my way through Italy this June.

Digital_Traveler

While I have never eaten at McDonald's in Europe, I did eat at one in Tokyo(my wife made me as she said I wouldn't believe it) and regardless of what anyone may think, it was delicious. I had a teriyaki burger that had a steamed rice bun instead of bread. If McDonald's anywhere in the world served this item I wouldn't hesitate to eat there. Alas, In the states, it is so awful I rarely eat anything from there other than fries.

Melnq8

I'm hardly a food snob, but I'm not a huge fan of fast food either.

Having said that, I seem to eat more American fast food when I travel than when I'm in the US - mostly out of convenience and curiosity.

I'll admit that I've eaten McDonald's in Oman, Saudi Arabia (we lived there for three years and rushed to the opening of the first outlet, but never returned), London, Paris, Switzerland New Zealand and Singapore.

With the notable exception of Singapore, the food was generally disappointing. I don't know what they do at McDonald's in Singapore, but the food there was very good, so much so that we actually went back!

I've lived in Kuwait for four years, and while American fast food outlets abound, I just can't bring myself to eat at any of them. My American friends think I'm weird, but I'd much rather have chicken tikka, Lebanese food or a nice, spicy curry.

StCirq

We took our kids to a MacDonalds in Périgueux once years ago - not one of us could stomach burgers. I remember thinking it was probably horsemeat or something worse. The fries were fine.
And on my recent trip earlier this month I stopped at a MacDo's in Rodez for breakfast. It was 11 a.m. and I'd been driving for a few hours and was starving, and a sausage McMuffin with egg suddenly seemed like a culinary dream after 4 months on the South Beach Diet. Well, they didn't have anything like a Sausage McMuffin. Instead, I got a kind of thin English muffin with a tough slice of ham and Eggbeaters, with a side of pancakes. One bite was enough - the amount of salt in it was astounding!
Most of the offerings on the menu did not resemble those in American McDos.

Calamari

I once ate at a McDonald's in Bologna. It was really a beautiful place even for a McDonalds. marble floors, soft lighting, cool tables & chairs and the best milk shake I have ever had hands down! They are starting to build "European Style" McDonalds here in California. They offer the regular menu in add't to a "Bistro" style menu.

KatWoman

Nothing like a Big Mac and a beer while itting in Paris.

francophile03

Another thing I notice not only in Paris McDonalds and also other chains like Quick, the kids' meals include a yogurt drink. This was apparent in Bern and Brussels also.

bookchick

I have used the bathrooms in some European McDonald's on some of my trips. I feel that in return for use of their facilities, I should purchase something, so usually it was a Coca-Cola. Same goes for a Wendy's in Venice we came across when I was a student in Italy.

Generally, John, I agree that their facilities are pretty good, until last year in Italy when I used the facilities in the McDonald's inside the Florence train station. OMG, it was soooooo bad!

BC

illusion321

On my trip I made it a point to eat at a Mcdonalds in every city we were in (paris, rome, amsterdam) I was on a tight bugbet ( i am a recent college grad) and a happy meal filled me up for hours. And I saved all the happy meal boxes and toys. Now I work with children who have disabilities and they LOVE looking at the used happy meal boxes because they are in a different lanuage, also one lists the various happy meals, they are amazed that they have a fish nuggets option (southern france) and a yoget dessert. After eating out every meal for two weeks I did not feel bad having eating at McDonalds, after all that left at least 24 other meals for me to tast the local food

wonderer

I just got back from 2 weeks in France. We took a Trafalgar tour that was wonderful!

One of many things we learned from the tour director is that France has a mandatory 2 hour PAID lunch. So what most people do is take the lunch voucher and spend their own money in McDonalds cheaply for lunch then use the voucher for dinner out. I think that answers the question.

StCirq

Um...with all due respect, no one in France gets a paid lunch or gets a voucher for a meal, that I know of. This goes a long way toward explaining why I would never take a Trafalgar or other tour in a foreign country.
What other myths did they impart? Other than the Orange phone fiasco, which they totally failed to comprehend, as far as I can tell.

wonderer

The tour director was born and raised in Calif and has lived in France for 30 years. France requires many hours of study before you can qualify as a tour operator, of which she was one. What are your credentials that you are so sure that they are wrong and you are right?

amp322

I eat at McDonalds while overseas, also. I've been to franchises in Hong Kong, Rome and Prague, and they do serve different food than just the greasy choices offered here in the US. For instance, in Rome, there was a Greek Pita/Gyro type of sandwich, and in Prague, a very decent chicken salad (served with beer, if you like, as part of the meal deal). Also, Mc D's is a great place to get take out coffee, which has not caught on in many restaurants over there, yet. I wouldn't be so quick to knock eating there. It is a good alternative to a high priced restaurant, and since I stay in one city for several weeks at a time, I do not want a sit down meal, which takes time and money, every day.

francophile03

Regarding local McD offerings, in Rome, my son was happy with their fritto misto (sp?): fried shrimp and calamari. I wish they offered this in the US.

prof_jen

Hi! New to the Fodor's post.

I've travelled to Europe a few times and have eated fast food--not often, but occasionally.

One time I especially remember was in Nice on a Sunday Morning when all other establishments were closed and I needed a quick bite before catching the train.

StCirq-I have some French friends working for computer and engineering companies, and they do get vouchers for lunch. One friend even gave some to us because he had extra! Gotta love how the French treat their employees (especially with vacation time)!

francophile03

We definitely noticed a few office workers handing over meal vouchers to pay for their meals. And there are logos pasted outside the restaurants that accept these meal vouchers.

klondike

If we only ordered two Orangina there because of the plentiful ice and it was sweltering hot outside, have we still "sinned"?

flanneruk

My understanding when I last ran a business in France was that meal vouchers or a staff canteen were not necessarily a legal requirement (and the 2 hour requirement is a simple myth). However, there is a requirement for employers with over 25 people to provide a canteen if the staff want one.

Meal vouchers ordinarily require some employee contribution.But they are a tax-efficient way of paying people.

If StCirq means that no-one in France gets meal vouchers, he's talking complete claptrap: why is the the "tickets restaurants" logo so widespread in Paris? If he means no-one gets free meal vouchers, he may be right: indeed my understanding was that there had to be an employee contribution, but I may have got that wrong.

elina

In Finland MacDonalds sales were dramatically low, and they had to close places. I have noticed from their ads that now they have changed their menu, and now it starts to look more like a salad bar: different salads, whole grain buns, fishburgers, Turkish lamb kebab, skim milk instead of Coke, and so on. Looks like MacDonalds tries to adopt their food according to local tastes.