1. When I go to a store such as La grande epicerie at au bon marche to buy foodstuff , do I reach for the merchandise or do I let the sales staff do that? I read from a travel guide that you do not touch merchandise at the street market unless invited. Does that apply to department store or stores outside the street market as well?
2. What are the business hours for banks? Are they opened on Saturday?
3. This may sound silly but is it difficult to cross the busy traffic in order to reach the obelisk at the centre of the Place de la Concorde?
Thanks.
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When shopping for food it is like here. You use a cart or basket and fill it yourself. Thenn proceed to the check out stand. Bring a tote bag to carry your stuff. They have bags but they are not practical if you have to travel a ways.
Banks are similar to the ones here as far as the hours go. They all have ATMS. The ATMS at the post offices are always available too.
I don%26#39;t know about trying to get across that street. there is alwaysa lots of traffic there. To get to the Arc De Triompe there is an under ground passsage.
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1) The Bon Marche is the best food store ever but it is very expensive. It is set out with many aisles similar to a US store, you can help yourself to whatever you want. There is also a cheese section, meat section etc where you must ask for what you want. You will be able to tell when you should ask, as it is hard to reach the items.. One piece of advice, when buying veggies you pick what you want and put it in the bag, then you must weigh it and get the sticker and put it on the bag. If you do not do this they can not ring it up at the check out.
In street markets you may point to what you want and the clerk will get it for you. As there are no bags available you probably wouldn%26#39;t just grab anyway.
Always say bonjour to everyone who helps you and after say Merci. The french are very polite and expect it in return.
2) Banks seem to never be open, I would guess 10-3 Monday to Friday, maybe..
3) There are lights to help your reach the centre.
Have fun in Paris!!
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Hello,
Thanks GV... but we%26#39;re not so lazy ;-)
Banks are open monday --%26gt; friday or tuesday ---%26gt; saturday
business hours : 9h-12h30 / 14h30 - 17h.
Thanks
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A lot of banks are open Sat until midday.
%26gt; I read from a travel guide that you do not touch merchandise at the street market unless invited.
If there are bags provided on your side of the fruit/veg then feel welcome to grab one and fill it up. The serevr will weigh all the different bags when finished. Most stalls now provide bags for their customers.
%26gt; This may sound silly but is it difficult to cross the busy traffic in order to reach the obelisk at the centre of the Place de la Concorde?
It isn%26#39;t a problem. Just wait for the little green man to apper on the traffic light :)
Remember though that some cars/bikes will still be driving towards you as you cross the street. They are expected to stop though the odd driver will just drive around you which can be enerving.
Just imagine that you%26#39;re faced with a wild animal that can sense fear. If you see a car driving towards you at speed there%26#39;s a 99.99999% chance that they%26#39;ll stop for you and some will work out how far you%26#39;ll have walked to in the 5 seconds it%26#39;ll take to get to the crossing. Stopping in the middle of the street like a rabbit caught in headlights isn%26#39;t very advisable :)
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I find that still most of the banks are still closed on Saturdays, ans many close around 4pm during the week.
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Just imagine that you%26#39;re faced with a wild animal that can sense fear. If you see a car driving towards you at speed there%26#39;s a 99.99999% chance that they%26#39;ll stop for you and some will work out how far you%26#39;ll have walked to in the 5 seconds it%26#39;ll take to get to the crossing. Stopping in the middle of the street like a rabbit caught in headlights isn%26#39;t very advisable :)%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
A great analogy....but with one flaw. The driver is the one safely ensconced within a ton of moving metal. Pedestrians have little more than the %26#39;shots%26#39; in their camera to protect %26#39;em---and the fact that most drivers hate to be inconveniences by the details of filling out accident reports and the high cost and additional inconvenience of repairing dented fenders caused by smashing touriists like Pinatas. There are persistent rumors that the ghost of Madame Defarge can still be seen sitting on a parc bench on the terrace of the Tuileries, overlooking the place de la Concorde, knitting.
But there are a light-controlled, pedestrian crossings to get out to the restored fountain and obelisk at center of the Place de la Concorde.
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%26gt;I read from a travel guide that you do not touch merchandise
%26gt;at the street market unless invited. Does that apply to
%26gt;department store or stores outside the street market as well?
In France, I%26#39;ve only seen this in little shops like butcheries, fromageries, etc.
I hear that this practice of letting the merchant select your stuff, is much more common in other places like Spain.
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Wrong again, Darth! When I do my weekly shopping at the market I am on seriously thin ice with my primeur if I start touching his produce.
1) As for the Bon Marche, there is a high end fruit stand in the middle of the store where you can NOT serve yourself... the displays are pretty fantastic, so it would be hard to miss. You also have to wait to be served for most baked goods, although there is a large basket of baguettes and shelves for self-service at the end of the counter.
2) Business hours for banks are dubious at best, getting the service you require will often depend on the right individual being present when you arrive at the bank for your transaction. For example, when my mother in law tries to change money at any one of the three banks up the street, she often comes home empty handed because the teller responsible is in a meeting, out sick, or using one of his vacation days. Happens to me at my own bank often enough to know that it is a gambling game.
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Agreed on the %26quot;don%26#39;t touch the produce%26quot; thing. Oddly enough I think it is even more true in the provinces than it is in Paris, but it%26#39;s a pretty strong rule there too.
It%26#39;s not just that they don%26#39;t want you to disturb their display either. If you go to a decent primeur, or a good market stall, looking for a couple of peaches for a picnic, say, the shopkeeper may well ask you when you intend to eat your peaches. If you say right away, (s)he will pick out a pair that is exactly right. If you say tonight with dinner, it will be a different pair, and if the answer is the next day, still another pair.
In the same way, if you are in a good fromagerie and you want a Pont l%26#39;Eveque to eat that night, the fromager will test two or three with his thumb to find the one that is just right. If you will be eating it the next day, he will select a different one.
It is a matter of great pride not to take your money without giving you the best possible product.
I%26#39;ve even been refused a baguette at 11:30 in a little village boulangerie when several were still in the racks because those were the %26quot;breakfast bread.%26quot; You will have to wait, said Madame. My husband will bring the lunch bread from the bakehouse in five minutes. And he did...
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phread, when hmack is talking about department stores, I%26#39;m assuming that she means the hypermarches, monoprix%26#39;s, franprix%26#39;s and the like. The stores could close for the night before any merchants picked out anything for you. You%26#39;d better pick your own stuff. Same goes for some of the street-side stores. If you don%26#39;t bring the stuff in, they might not ever discover that you were out there. Spain %26amp; Portugal are still different stories a lot of the time.
Street markets are universally a different story.
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