And I am not just talking the sights. I am talking behavior, gestures, clothing, requests, or anything else that would label me an UGLY American, which I am not. We want to go and blend in with the locals and just "be", if you know what I mean.

NO, no, don't speak a word of French, a little airline Spanish is all I know. But plan to learn a bit before we go at the end of April. So any tips on how to not to draw negative attention while in the most beautiful city in the world?

First of all, speak quietly. I will always remember the American couple yelling to each other across the food halls of a Monoprix department store.

Second of all, dress more nicely than you would in the states for a comparable activity. Another memory is of the lady who collected admission to the toilet in Luxembourg Gardens--dressed in what looked to me to be Chanel. This is very typical.

Most important, say "Bonjour Madame (or Monsieur)" when you enter a shop, and ASK before you touch. Unlike the states, in Europe being customer does not make you the boss. You are the guest of the shopkeeper, and it is expected that you comport yourself as such.

Hope this helps!

Whatever "more nicely" means...this does not mean you cannot wear denim because it is all over the place in Paris.

If you aren't an "ugly" anything you won't suddenly become one when you land in another country.

What I would NOT do is go over there with some sort of pre-conceived notions about the French as conjured up on FoxNews, etc. They aren't demons and they don't all "hate" Americans. They are reasonable people who will treat you with the same degree of respect that you show to them.

What's "airline Spanish"? I'm just slightly curious, because I've never heard that expression. I've heard "tourist Spanish" (or other language), "restaurant Spanish."

Hi H,

Do not ask in a loud voice, "How much is that in real money?".

"Airline Spanishquot; Sujete sus correas de asiento!

<in Europe being customer does not make you the boss.> how funny! we always say "le client est roi" (customer is king..)but it doesn't mean he/she has got all the rights. But I agree with being polite. there were other threads about that.
this one could help:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34614646
et bienvenue en France! ><

Ira: LOL

Paris is a big metropolis. You're probabaly not going to draw much, if any, attention at all.

Be polite, talk quietly, dress appropriately, and don't squeeze the fruit.

If you don't learn another WORD of French, get this down pat:

<i>Bonjour/bonsoir, monsieur/madame.</i>

Use it EVERY TIME you begin ANY exchange with a French person (including when you enter a shop, as noted above). Whether you're walking up to order <i>panini</i> at a street stall or asking a cop the way to the Op&eacute;ra, it is <i>de rigueur</i>, and you will be considered uncivilized if you don't say it.

I guess by &quot;dress more nicely&quot; I meant &quot;with a little style,&quot; that is if you don't want to be seen as an American. I am NOT a great dresser and, living in a warm climate, I had a very dowdy parka-like coat for a winter trip to Paris. I quickly felt quite conspicuous and would, quite honestly, have had a slightly nicer time had I brought more stylish clothes. Perhaps Heavens is already a stylish dresser and will fit right in!

If you talking about how to dress.. :
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34622921

Most Americans are used to picking up the clothes to look at them closely, in Paris you greet the sales staff and request which item you would like to look at. Neat and polite will let you &quot;be&quot; Relax and have a wonderful time.

I agree with St. Cirq. You'll see all sorts of dress in Paris and don't forget, you aren't going to be the ONLY &quot;foreign&quot; visitors in the city. Paris gets visitors from all over, including France so you are bound to see a wide variety of clothing styles.

If you absolutely MUST &quot;blend in&quot; the first place to look is at your SHOES..and I'm not talking about Nikes necessarily..you'll see every coceivable type of &quot;athletic&quot; shoe being worn for that matter...but I'd leave the penny loafers behind.

Yeah, Fox News makes them appear smug, cowardly, and cold, and CNN makes them appear modest, brave, and friendly.

They are what they are: city folks in a hurry, all dressed in black and upset they had to wait two hours for the bill at dinner and being hit with another union strike!

Gestures? Pick up fruit at a market or a clothing item in a shop and you will learn many new facial expressions and hand gestures.

Requests? &quot;Fix the ice machine, clear the bums out of the METRO, stop all that smoking, and find that lazy waiter&quot; are a couple that will pop up while you are there.

Clothing? No german uniform shirts or all the over forty crowd will start moving towards Nice.

Seriously, this lame ugly American bit is tired and largely over done. And the French are good people.

Well as you can see, I am a little intimidated by Paris. Have never been. I have traveled the world, literally... I used to fly, for ten years, for the Blue Ball. Let's see how many of you remember that one.

Hence, the &quot;airline&quot; Spanish and most of the time I didn't pull that off very well. I got the job faking it in the interview. That 2 1/2 years in college paid off, but I was far from fluent. Thankfully other FAs on the plane were fluent, so I hardly ever had to use it, except for the flight to Miami and let's just say during one of my announcements, I had the whole plane laughing, not intentionally.

I have heard horror stories from some friends: one lady who accidentally upset the shopkeeper by knocking over some fruit and he yelled at her and made her pick them all up. And once in London we were travelling with my BIL and at a restaurant he asked for just about every condiment you could think of for the table. We must have had ten jars. I felt very conspicuous. Once in Rome I asked a waiter for Fettucine Alfredo (I was young) and he got mad at me bc we were not at Alfredos. Oops. So, just some bonehead things that tourists can do unknowingly and make an arse out of themselves...

&gt; in Rome I asked a waiter for Fettucine Alfredo ... and he got mad at me bc we were not at Alfredos. &lt;

I liked that, H.

Don't go into Hermes and scream, &quot;Is this the place where y'all threw Oprah out into the street?&quot;

I am not one of these &quot;Liberty Fry&quot; Americans, but, let's face it, Europeans are much more formal than we are. I earned the wrath of one shopkeeper by handing her folded money. I literally had the clerk of the shop adjacent to Berthillon's Ice Cream (don't miss the shop on the Isle St. Louis) come from around her counter to grab a napkin out of my hand that I mistakenly took from the wrong dispenser! So, while I adore France and the French, they can be a little easy to exasperate, in my experience.

&quot;They are reasonable people who will treat you with the same degree of respect that you show to them.&quot;

Interesting observation.