A cultural travel guide to the world

Etiquette & taboos

Etiquette & taboos

Understanding local customs is where a journey begins. Find the topics that matter to you and feel at ease wherever you go.

France

2 rules found

Local customsRestaurants & barsCountry-wide guidance · 法国

France: Put bread on the tablecloth and tear it by hand

Do

  • Wait until everyone is served and the host says Bon appétit
  • Put your bread straight on the tablecloth beside your plate
  • Tear off bite-sized pieces by hand
  • Rest your wrists on the table edge with your hands in view
  • Make eye contact when toasting and say Santé
  • Ask for une carafe d'eau for free tap water

Don’t

  • Don't put bread on your plate or cut it with a knife
  • Don't bite into a whole piece of bread
  • Don't plant your elbows on the table during the meal
  • Don't cut lettuce with a knife; fold it into a small parcel with your fork
  • Don't switch your fork to your right hand after cutting, American-style

Nothing happens if you slip up, but you will come across as unfamiliar with French table manners. Tap water is free; bottled water is charged.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: La Minute Française: French dining etiquette

Local customsTippingCountry-wide guidance · 法国

France: Service is included in the price, so tipping is optional

Do

  • Look for "service compris" (service included) on the menu or bill
  • If service was good, you can leave a small tip (pourboire) as thanks
  • Round up to the nearest euro for coffee; leave €1–2 per person at ordinary restaurants
  • At upscale restaurants, leave 5%–10% for especially attentive service
  • Tip in cash where possible, so it is sure to reach your server

Don’t

  • Don't assume you must pay an extra service charge; it is already in the price
  • Don't wait for the bill to arrive on its own; signal when you are ready to pay

Tipping is entirely voluntary and not tipping is not rude; knowing what "service compris" means saves you from paying twice. French law requires restaurant prices to include service (commonly said to be about 15%), and meals are unhurried, so servers rarely bring the bill unasked.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: AFAR: When and how much to tip in France

Site-specific notes 18

Taken from the "don'ts" on each site page here. Open a site for its full etiquette and background.

Eiffel Tower

  • Never carve or scribble on the tower's ironwork
  • don't crowd around for photos at Métro entrances or sight entrances
  • beware the 'friendship bracelet' scam — if someone accosts you insistently, just walk away.

Louvre

  • Don't touch the works or lean on display cases
  • don't hog the best spot in the 'Mona Lisa' room for long
  • don't eat or drink inside.

Nice Carnival

  • Climbing over the parade barriers
  • throwing objects at the floats
  • walking through the float procession

Bordeaux

  • Pressing companions to drink more
  • entering winemaking areas without permission

Strasbourg

  • Making loud noise in the old town's residential streets at night

Cité de Carcassonne

  • Climbing over railings or parapets
  • photographing private courtyards and residents' windows

Loire Valley Castles

  • Touching the furniture and furnishings indoors
  • trampling flowerbeds or lawns
  • talking loudly inside the historic buildings
Show 6 more

Musée d'Orsay

  • No flash photography — strong light damages 19th-century paint layers
  • do not lean close to or touch the paintings — the galleries maintain a viewing distance and staff will remind you
  • do not eat, drink or occupy the benches for long sleeps in the galleries

Mont Saint-Michel

  • Never go down onto the flats alone: the incoming tide can move several times faster than walking pace, and the quicksand and fog have killed — a safety taboo locals stress again and again
  • do not feed the island's many gulls, which will dive to snatch food
  • do not use flash, talk loudly on the phone or eat and drink in the abbey cloisters and church

Arc de Triomphe & Avenue des Champs-Élysées

  • Never walk across the circular traffic of the square — the many radiating streams of traffic have no pedestrian crossings and it is extremely dangerous
  • do not climb the stone railings at the base of the arch or carve or scribble on the reliefs
  • do not sit or lie on the tomb steps, eat there or take loud selfies

Palace of Versailles

  • Do not touch the furniture, tapestries or gilded decoration in the galleries — silent infrared alarms run beyond the barriers
  • no flash photography inside the palace, and no eating, drinking or loud phone calls
  • do not climb the garden sculptures, picnic on closed lawns or pick flowers from the beds

Baguette

  • Don't walk in and order without a greeting
  • don't squeeze the loaves one by one to choose

Notre-Dame de Paris

  • Don't talk loudly or use flash during services
  • don't enter in revealing clothes
  • don't block the queue lanes in the square for long