Know before you go: France

Quick answer: Most visitors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and similar countries can still enter France visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, pay in euros almost everywhere by card, and reach most of the country by an excellent train and metro network; just double-check entry rules before you fly, since the EU’s new travel-authorisation system is in a state of flux.

Visa & entry

France is part of the Schengen Area, and the baseline rule for visa-exempt nationalities (US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and dozens of others) has not changed: US passport holders do not need a visa to visit France for tourism, short business trips, or family visits lasting up to 90 days within a 180-day period, and France is part of the Schengen Area, which allows visitors to travel across multiple European countries under a shared entry framework. The 90-day allowance applies to the entire Schengen Area, and time spent in other Schengen countries counts toward your total stay, so track your days across all Schengen states, not just France. Passports must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area, though some airlines and border officials informally prefer six months’ validity, so err on the safe side.

The big wrinkle for 2026 is ETIAS, the EU’s planned pre-travel screening scheme for visa-exempt nationals. It was originally slated for late 2026, but in July 2026 the EU quietly removed that target from its ETIAS pages, which now say only that the specific date will be announced several months before launch. Reporting citing the EU agency building the system described a 2026 start as no longer feasible, with a 2027 launch the realistic outcome. Once it does launch, the rules provide for a transitional period of at least six months after launch, during which you can still travel without an authorisation if you meet the other entry conditions. Bottom line: as of September 2026 you do not need to apply for anything called “ETIAS,” and any page, agent or email telling you to get an ETIAS now is at best stale and at worst a scam, since there is nothing to apply for yet and no fee to pay anyone. Because this timeline keeps moving, always confirm current entry requirements on the official France-Visas and EU Travel-Europe portals a few weeks before departure, and check whether you need a visa at all if you hold a passport from a country outside the visa-waiver list.

Getting around

France’s rail network is one of its best travel assets. High-speed TGV trains link Paris to Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and beyond in a few hours; book through the national operator’s site for the best fares.

Within Paris, the metro, RER, buses and trams are run under Île-de-France Mobilités. Paper tickets are being phased out: magnetic paper tickets stopped working on buses in May 2026 and on the entire rail network, metro, RER and trains, in June 2026, so you now need either a Navigo Easy card or the RATP smartphone app. As of the January 2026 fare update, single tickets cost €2.55 for Metro-Train-RER, €2.05 for Bus-Tram, €14 for Paris Region to Airports journeys, and €12.30 for a day pass. Metro and bus tickets are separate systems: if your journey involves switching from metro to bus, you need to tap two separate tickets, since there’s no free transfer between the rail and surface networks on single tickets. For a short stay, a Navigo Découverte weekly pass costs €32.40 as of January 2026, plus a one-off €5 fee for the physical card, while the unlimited monthly Navigo pass is €90.80 from January 2026. Note that a weekly pass runs Monday to Sunday regardless of when you buy it, so it’s best value if your trip spans a full week starting on a Monday. If you land at Charles de Gaulle, the old RoissyBus has been discontinued, so the direct bus between Opéra and CDG Airport stopped running on March 1, 2026; use the RER B or Metro Line 14 instead.

Outside cities, regional TER trains, long-distance coaches (Flixbus, BlaBlaCar Bus) and car rentals fill in the gaps, especially in rural Provence, Normandy or the Alps.

Money & costs

France uses the euro (€). Cards are the default payment method almost everywhere. In France, cards cover about 90% of daily spending: restaurants, trains, hotels, supermarkets, and most bakeries all take contactless, and Apple Pay or Google Pay works as reliably as a physical card. Note that contactless card payments have a €50 limit, though there is no payment limit if you pay with your phone or watch, because this is considered a higher level of verification. Still, keep €50–€100 in cash for outdoor markets, public toilets, small bakeries with card minimums, taxis in smaller towns, and rural parking meters with finicky readers. When paying by card, decline “dynamic currency conversion” and pay in euros, since declining DCC saves 3-5% per card payment; for ATM withdrawals, look for ATMs attached to major banks to minimize local fees.

Tipping is not the American-style obligation: service is already included in restaurant prices, and there’s no expectation of 15–20% and no pressure to calculate anything. Rounding up the bill or leaving a couple of euro coins is the norm, and since most French restaurant terminals don’t show a tip step and the server can’t adjust the amount after the chip is read, the practical workaround is to pay the bill by card and leave a small cash pourboire separately.

Best time to visit

There is no single “best” month, but the best time to visit France is generally from April to October, with April, May, September and October ideal for sightseeing, wine tours, and outdoor activities with fewer tourists. June to August brings warm weather, lively festivals, and long daylight hours but also crowds and high prices, especially around Bastille Day (14 July) and peak Riviera season. For value and quieter sights, November to March is best for budget travel, winter sports, and festive experiences, though some regions may feel quiet as many businesses close. Skiers should target the Alps and Pyrenees in the winter months, while wine-country visitors often prefer the September–October harvest season, when September wins on value on the Riviera with warm sea temperatures, prices well below August, and harvest season across all wine regions.

Emergencies & safety

France has a simple, reliable emergency system. The main emergency number in France is 112, the single European emergency number; it is free, works from any phone, even locked or out of credit, and operators are trained to answer in English before routing you to SAMU (15), the police (17) or the fire brigade (18). For specific services, SAMU (medical emergencies) is 15, police emergency is 17, fire brigade is 18, and the emergency number for the deaf and hard of hearing is 114, which can be reached by SMS. In rural areas, the pompiers (18) often arrive faster than SAMU and are equally trained for medical first response. France is generally very safe for tourists; the main risks are pickpocketing in crowded tourist areas, on the metro, and around major landmarks, so keep valuables secure and be alert in busy stations.

Official sources

• France-Visas, official visa information portal
• EU Travel-Europe, official ETIAS and EES information
• Île-de-France Mobilités, official Paris-region transport authority
• SNCF Connect, official French national rail booking
• France.fr, official French tourism board
• Service-Public.fr, official government emergency numbers information