Practical Information

Shopping in large French department stores like the Galeries Lafayette in Paris can be a heady experience.  What woman wouldn't want to spend at least one afternoon trying on the latest fashions?  To make the experience even more enjoyable (and less mysterious!) we offer the following conversion charts for women's sizes in the USA, the UK and France.  Please visit again soon for a future article on menswear.

France offers so many tourist attractions, it is difficult to know which ones are 'really good'.  Tourism is big business in France, and every city, town or village will vie for your attention.  At times, uninteresting sites are touted as 'encroyable!' when in fact they are just average or completely unworthy of your time. If you've ever been enticed by a glossy brochure that did not live up to its promise, you know what we mean.  We offer the following list of locations (put together by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, whose focus is on the preservation of cultural sites and the conservation of nature) as 'sure values' meaning, you will not be disappointed. If traveling in a France region near a UNESCO site, it will be worth the detour.

It is now easier than ever to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues at home while traveling in France with a cell phone.

To use a cell phone in France you need a GSM capable phone and a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card. If you travel frequently and wish to keep your regular cell phone number when abroad, it might be best to purchase a phone that supports both your home country and the French GSM frequencies. Nearly all telephone service providers in the United States sell phones that support both their local cellular networks and GMS. Cingular and T-Mobile offer the best choices.

France offers a wide variety of accommodations for tourists. Most people are familiar with hotels and bed and breakfasts, but there is a third option; the "gîte"!

gîte: noun [zheet] (plural gites): a vacation accommodation in France.  A country cottage or small house in France offering fairly simple accommodations that can be rented for a vacation. Late 18th century French: gîte "stopping place"

Although gîtes are sometimes called 'holiday homes' they actually come in many sizes and are often located in unusual and interesting places.  A gîte can be anything from a full chateau or cottage in France to a guest suite built in the base of a windmill, someone's home, or even a single room off of a public building in the village.

Helpful Tool: Currency Conversion Calculator

Huzzah for the Euro!  The Euro has made traveling through a dozen European countries far more convenient.  Long gone are the days when weary travelers had to exchange currencies at every border or juggle mystical, mathematical conversion calculations in their heads each time they needed to fill their rental car with petrol. Traveling outside the Euro area is also easier since the Euro is an international currency and therefore widely accepted in many places, particularly in tourist destinations.

Which Countries are in the Euro Area?

The Euro is the single currency used in 12 EU member states, including Ireland:

	Austria		Germany		Netherlands
	Belgium		Ireland		Portugal
	Finland		Italy		Spain
	France		Luxembourg		Greece