10 essential tips for traveling to France

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With this selection of tips for traveling to France We want to help you, as far as possible, to organize your trip to one of the most spectacular and complete countries in the world.
With cities full of life and as symbolic as Paris, landscapes dotted with castles that take you to another era, such as the Loire Valley, areas with history in all corners, such as Normandy or Alsace, the perfect place to live a fairytale Christmas , France is one of the most visited destinations by travelers from all over the world, which we are sure, will exceed any expectation, however high.

Based on the multiple trips we have made, visiting practically the whole country, such as the trip to Alsace, the trip to Carcassonne and the Cathar Castles, to the Côte d'Azur, the trip to Midi-Pyrenees, the trip to Normandy or the Valley of the Loira in addition to the two visits to Paris, we want to leave you what are for us 10 essential tips for traveling to France. We start!

1. What is the best time?

The first thing to keep in mind is that France is a fairly large country and therefore, with quite notable climatic differences according to what time of the year, so it is difficult to summarize the best times to visit each of they.
Considering this, we will make a general summary, which we believe, can help you determine what the best time for a trip to France:

  • High season (July and August and December in Alsace): these two months of the year are the most crowded in the whole country, especially in Paris, the Loire Valley, Normandy and the Cote d'Azur.
    In addition to this, Christmas is celebrated in Alsace in style, so the last week of November and the month of December are the times when this area of ​​France is filled with locals and travelers.
  • Mid season (from April to June and September): this is probably the best time to make a trip to France if you want to enjoy good weather and tranquility in most areas of the country.
  • Low season (from October to March): Except for the month of December, which we talked about earlier, the rest of the months are the least demanded, causing prices to fall considerably and even, in some areas of the country, close accommodations and restaurants.


2. Entry requirements

If you are Spanish or a citizen of the European Union, you will only need the ID or Passport to travel to France. In case your nationality is different, we recommend you check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Embassy, ​​to verify that entry requirements are necessary.

In addition to what has been mentioned above, it is very important to take the Europe Health Card with you, so that if necessary, they will attend you at any public medical center.
It is also important to consider the option of contracting the best travel insurance for Europe if you want to have medical care in the best centers and have a repatriation included, for example, if necessary.

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Security

We can say that France is a safe country, although as in all destinations, it is advisable not to lose sight of personal and valuable objects, especially in very busy places and it is also important, if you are in a large city, that you do not know , ask in the accommodation if there is any area not recommended to visit including night departures.
As we always say, the most important thing in terms of security and anywhere in the world, is to travel with common sense and when in doubt, ask.

In addition to this before traveling to France, it is highly recommended to upload to the cloud a copy of all the important documentation such as ID, passport, copy of the insurance policy, driving license ... etc so that in case of loss or theft, you can Perform all procedures in a faster and easier way.

Étretat Cliffs

4. How to start the trip to France?

The first and most important thing is to determine how many days you have to travel to France and based on this, decide if your trip is going to focus on a specific area, in a city or on a route across the country. Whatever the option, you will probably fly from your home country to one of the main cities in France. To find the best options we recommend using this flight search engine, with which you will have the best prices.
Once you have solved the point of the flight, the next point is to do a search for accommodation. For this we recommend this hotel search engine, where you can find the best options at the best prices in the market.

In case your trip to France is a route through the country or through one of its areas, you must rent a car well in advance, especially and as with the previous points, if your trip is in high season. For this we recommend reviewing this car rental search engine, with the best options and with which you can also take out Premium insurance, which is like all-risk insurance, but much more adjusted in price than if you contracted directly with the company of car rental.

And last but not least, it is highly recommended to review the tours and excursions you want to do in the area you are going to visit, especially in the busiest areas and in cities like Paris.
You can check and book here the best tours and excursions in France.

Paris

5. Route through France

Although there are few travelers who plan to travel to France to make a route throughout the country, we believe that this is not the most common especially if we take into account that in order to know the most tourist places we would need more than a month.
Taking this into account and according to our experience, most travelers usually choose to make different trips to France through which they discover the best routes by car in France in addition to some of the incredible places to see in France, we want to make a Selection of those that are for us, some of the areas that you can not miss.

Remember that although most routes are recommended by rental car, many of them can be done by train, especially if these include only cities well connected by the rail network.
You can check all the routes and make reservations through this page.

Carcassonne and the Cathar Castles

Perfect to meet her on a weekend, this getaway can be done by rental car or in your own car if you live near the area.
In the Languedoc-Roussillon region is Carcassonne, a medieval complex that will take you to another time and that we are sure, will exceed any expectation.
You can buy the entrance to the castle and walls of Carcassonne without queues here, something highly recommended especially if you travel in high season, weekend or holiday.

In addition to completing this list of places to see in Carcassonne, in which we recommend you to spend the night to enjoy it illuminated, it is highly recommended to extend the visit by visiting Queribus Castle, Peyrepertuse Castle and Arques Castle, some of the Cathar Castles better known in addition to the Abbey of Fontfroide, a real wonder.

You can find more information about this route in the travel guide to Carcassonne and the Cathar Castles.

Carcassonne

French Riviera

This is another of the most visited areas when traveling to France, especially for short breaks of less than a week, since with this time you can know the most tourist and important areas.
As in Carcassonne and the Cathar Castles, depending on the area where you live, you can get here in your own car or fly there and rent a car, to make this route that includes the visit to Avignon and Saint Tropez, Cannes , Saint Paul de Vence and Nice, a route through the places to see in Monaco in one day and back, a stop at the Verdon Gorges.

If you do not have a car or want to explore the area comfortably and with a guide in Spanish, it may be highly recommended to book this Excursion on the Côte d'Azur.

You can find more information about this route in the travel guide to the French Riviera and in this list of essential tips for traveling to the French Riviera.

Monaco

Midi-Pyrenees

Until a few years ago, this is one of the areas that were least taken into account when traveling to France, probably because of the little information that could be found on the internet.
Like the previous ones, depending on your place of origin, it is perfectly feasible to arrive here in your own car or fly to a city in the area and rent a car.
We recommend you have 4-5 days to get to know its most tourist places like Albi, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie or Najac, which you can travel on a car route through the villages of Midi-Pyrénées.
Another of the essential stops is Rocamadour, one of the most beautiful villages in Midi-Pyrénées, which we are sure, will surprise you and make you go back in time.
In addition to all these places, you cannot miss the visit to Conques, the most beautiful town in France, which will be the perfect icing on this trip to France.

You can find more information about this route in the travel guide to Midi-Pyrenees.

Conques

Normandy

Known to many for its incredible history and Mont Saint-Michel, one of the most beautiful locations in France and the world, Normandy is another essential on any route through France.
In this case we recommend flying to Paris and after picking up the rental car, approaching the cliffs of Étretat and Honfleur, two places that we are sure, will leave you speechless.
The next day of the getaway will be dedicated to know Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, La Cambe, Arromanches, Batteries de Longues, some of the Normandy Landing Beaches and then finish the day near the icing on the cake of this getaway, which is none other than the impressive Mont Saint Michel, where you can enjoy one of the most magical places in the world.
You can buy the entrance to the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel without queues here, something highly recommended especially if you travel in high season, weekend or holiday.

If you have extra time, it is highly recommended to complete this list of places to see in Normandy essential or other towns and landscapes in the area of ​​Brittany, next to Normandy, in the north of France, which we are sure, will not disappoint you.

You can find more information about this route in the travel guide to Normandy and in this list of essential tips for traveling to Normandy.

Mont Saint Michel

In addition to these areas that we have highlighted previously and that are perfect to travel within a wider route through France as with more specific getaways, we leave you at the following points 3 options that we believe, are some of the most demanded and that deserve a mention special like Paris, Alsace and the Loire Valley.

6. Paris

Undoubtedly, Paris is one of the most demanded destinations for travelers from all over the world who come to the city seeking to know the City of love and one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Although it depends a lot on the days you have to travel to France, in principle and after our experience, we recommend a minimum of 4-5 days to know the city and even be able to make some escape around.

With hundreds of places to visit, among which the Eiffel Tower, the Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre, the Champs Elysées, Montmartre and the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the Pont Neuf and the Seine river, as well as many others, that enter within From the list of essential places to visit in Paris, Paris is a unique city, which never disappoints.

In addition to all these places, we recommend you complete this list of the best things to do in Paris, with which you can get to know the city much more thoroughly.

You can also follow these optimized guides for days that will help you enjoy the city of the canals to the fullest.

You can combine these routes by booking one of these tours or guided tours in Spanish that will allow you to know the history and curiosities of the capital of France, among which are:

  • Tour of Paris, boat trip and Eiffel Tower
  • Paris night tour
  • Free tour of Paris Free! considered as one of the best free tours in Paris.
  • More tours and excursions in Paris here

In addition to these excursions, it is very important to keep in mind that it is one of the most visited cities in the world, so some of its tourist attractions are often crowded, being highly recommended to book tickets in advance to save time. Among the most prominent are:

You can find much more information about the city in the post 10 essential tips for traveling to Paris, the post on How to go from Orly airport to Paris and the post on How to go from Beauvais airport to Paris.

Paris

7. Alsace

Known for being one of the most visited areas at Christmas time, where you will feel like in a story, Alsace is also a destination to consider when traveling to France, at any time of the year.
After our experience during the trip to Alsace by car, we recommend having a minimum of 4-5 days and flying to Basel-Basel in Switzerland, just 25 kilometers from Mulhouse, one of the entrance doors of Alsace or to Baden -Baden, in Germany, just 45 kilometers from Strasbourg. Once there, it is best to rent a car and then start a route through some of the most incredible points in the area such as Mulhouse, and then complete this list of places to visit in Colmar, considered as the jewel of alsace, since it is one of the most fascinating places (especially at Christmas) and where you can make base to know the surrounding villages such as Eguisheim, Turckheim, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, Hunawihr or Ribeauvillé, villages full of charm, that surely, you don't They will leave you indifferent.
After knowing all these fairytale towns and to end this route through the villages of Alsace, we recommend you complete this list of places to visit in Strasbourg, known as the capital of Christmas, where we recommend you spend at least one day, stopping before in Obernai, another beautiful corner, that you cannot miss.

You can find much more information about this route in the guide of 10 tips for traveling to Alsace and in this list of places to see in Alsace.
If you do not want to rent a car, it is highly recommended to choose one of these excursions and tours in Alsace, with a guide in Spanish.

Colmar

8. Loire Valley

Another of the most incredible areas that you can know when traveling to France is undoubtedly the impressive Loire Valley, famous for its impressive castles. Although you could extend the route as many days as you would like, due to the amount of towns, cities and castles that can be visited, we recommend you have about a week to include the most tourist places and also the essential Loire Castles.
It would be best to fly to Paris from there and by rental car start the route with the visit to the Castle of Sully-sur-Loire for the next day to know Orléans, visit the Castle of Chambord and end the day in Blois.
The next stop would be to visit the Cheverny Castle, one of the most famous in the area and the Chaumont-sur-Loire Castle and then visit the Chenonceau Castle, Amboise and end up in Tours.
After knowing Tours, the route continues with visiting Villandry Castle and the Castle d'Azay-le-Rideau, Azay-le-Rideau, the Castle of Langeais and finally, visiting the Castle of Ussé before heading to Chinon , a town that you can not miss.
On the penultimate day of the route we advise you to visit Chinon, the Abbey of Fontevraud, Candes-St.Martin, Montsoreau, Turquant, the Castle of Saumur in addition to visiting the Castle of Angers to finally visit the Royal Citadel of Loches and make a route for the places to see in Montrésor and the places to see in Bourges.

You can find much more information about this route in this travel guide to the Loire Valley and in this list of essential tips for traveling to the Loire Valley.

If you do not want to rent a car it is highly recommended to opt for this Excursion to the Loire Castles + wine tasting, with a guide in Spanish.

Loire Valley

9. French gastronomy

Although we know that it is impossible to make a list or a summary of all the French gastronomy, we do want to leave you some of the dishes or specialties of the areas that we have highlighted in this post and that we believe, you can not miss the Travel to France so that the trip is as complete as possible.

  • Cassoulet: typical of the southern part of the country, especially of Midi-Pyrenees and the Carcassonne area, this dish is a stew made with white beans to which chicken and pork meat is added.
  • Aligot: mashed potatoes that mix when cooked with the cheese of the variety take me fraîche.
  • Fondue: originally from Switzerland and very common in border areas, this dish is melted cheese, served in a casserole, in which different ingredients such as bread or pickles are wet.
  • Ratatouille: originating in the Cote d'Azur, this dish is one of the best known in the country. Made with different vegetables such as pepper, zucchini, onion and eggplant, which are passed through the pan with garlic and oil, it is one of the dishes that you can not miss.
  • Tarte flambée: known as Alsace's pizza, this is another of the dishes you can't miss. It is made with a fine dough to which cream and onion are normally added and to which the ingredients you want are then added.
  • Coq au vin: rooster cooked in wine, although duck is used depending on the area.
  • Galette: originally from Brittany, but very widespread in Normandy, this dish is a salty variant of the well-known sweet crêpes to which any ingredient you can imagine is added.

Tarte Flambée in Alsace

10. More tips for traveling to France

Other of the best tips for traveling to France They are:

  • Although the currency of France is the euro, remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current exchange we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot. You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
  • Although the official language is French, English is spoken perfectly in all tourist places.
  • In case you are going to travel to France doing a route by car we recommend you take GPS or some application on the mobile that serves as offline GPS.
  • As we mentioned at the beginning of the post, France is such a large country with so many incredible places to see, that if you don't have many days, it's perfect to meet in different getaways.
  • In general, hotels in France are similar in quality to the Spanish. Keep this in mind in order to determine the quality / price ratio.
  • In France the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50Hz and the plugs are of type E.

Do you want to make a trip to France for free?
Get it here:

The best offers of Flights to France here

The best hotels at the best prices in Holland: here

Book the best tours and excursions in France in Spanish here

Book your transfers in France here

Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here

Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here

Rent your car in Holland at the best price here

If you feel like helping us complete the list of the 10 essential tips for traveling to France, add yours in the comments.

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Video: 20 Essential Paris France Travel Tips (March 2024).