10 Culture Shocks Tourists Have When They Visit France | American Couple Reaction

[@knucklehoagies]

I went to France twice (Paris, Marseille, Nice, everywhere in between).... The "rude" French thing is one of the biggest myths we've ever been sold as Americans. French people are very helpful and very nice people. Just 2 important tips. 1. ALWAYS say Bonjour before speaking to someone or even just entering a store. The French take formal greetings very seriously. It's treated as sort of an ice breaker establishing that you are equals and not 1 person EXPECTING the other person to respond like someone's personal servant. (France has a more egalitarian culture than the US so the whole "customer is always right" thing does not fly there at all.) 2. Make the effort to at least speak some French even if it's a few words. Just to show that you're respectful and not some cocky self centered tourist.

[@Pakal77]

As a French I can say you are right. And we don't eat tourist 😁

[@willycarle3088]

merci , best advice for rude tourists ;)

[@suzannecollie7632]

You have probably heard that the french are rude and i can tell you when you really get to know the people in france the french people are the most lovely and friendly people i ever meet and iam European from Switzerland

[@elyass_5529]

As a french myself i'm gonna "react" to all of these points : 1. so yes, in France a lot of people are smoking, even if the prices of cigarettes are becaming more and more highter, when there's really a lot of persons, you can be sure that you'll see at least one person smoking, even in front of high school, students are smoking (not all of them of course). 2. for that one it's 100% true, french people aren't as rude as people are saying, we aren't more rude than anyone else, but in really huge cities (totally talking about Paris), you can hear some really rude people, but most of time they're really nice, and if you get to the countryside, you'll see the most incredible person ever, people that are super nice and kind, and if you speak french, everyone at any places will be super kind. If you are going to meet a french family, you'll see by yourself that we aren't as rude as the stereotypes are saying. 3. about sunday, yes, pretty everythings are closed, and shops decide if they are closed 1 or 2 days during the weekend, for example, if they're open the saturday and they're closed for 2 days, it'll be closed monday, so sunday and monday, that's the case for a lot of bakery. 4. he just said everythings ;) 5. 100% true, on pretty every sidewalk there's at least one, but everyone found that annoying, but they don't do anything even if they're suppose to, like, if their dog poop, they clearly have to pick it up, but they don't, so, really annoying but, i'm not sure it'll change. 6. yes, but pretty rare nowaday, depend on where you are, etc.. and as the title said, not everyone does it. About what you said, yes, men have to wear speedo, but only at the pool, not at the beach. 7. he said everythings, but even if they can open late, they do close late too for diner ! 8. Cleary, at 100%, yes it's one of the best cuisine in the world, even at the UNESCO for our gastronomy, which is fantastic (even if the pictures he showed don't look incredible), and fun fact; there's more than 1.200 differents cheeses in France. Our food is different from where you are in the country, so there's really a lot of diversity. For the rest he said, yes he's right, but in french families, the lunch time can be for 4 to 10 hours, it depend from every family, but for me, it can start at 12, and finish at 1am for the very long ones, but most of time you'll start at 12 and finish at 4pm, but continue to talk at the table. 9. he's right, imagine a german going to usa and he's talking in german and you're suppose to respond to him, it'll be impossible, here it's pretty the same, we are in our country with more than 80millions tourists each year so more than how many we are, and pretty no one are talking in french, so it's really annoying sometimes, so if you're talking in french, it's very respectul and nice ;) ! but we still can speak english, the "new" generation (less than 40), can barely speak english, and for the more younger one (less than 30), they can hold a conversation more easily than back in the days when it wasn't proposed at school, so that's why old persons aren't speaking it 'cause they never learned it. 10. and finally, he's right, but when you're younger than 10/11, most of time there's still an adult (parents) to look at them if there's a problem, but when you get to be 12 and more, you're just free to hang out and do some stuffs. about what you said, the "go ahead see you later", it's really that but it can be if they stay in the neighborhood or around the house when they're young, but as i said, when he'll get older, it's totally that and they can go pretty everywhere etc... 11. THANKS YOU MAN ! for real, we have a beautiful country with pretty every time of nature there can be, and people just know Paris, it's super sad, just get to : "Les alpes, la côte d'azur, les pyrénées, la méditérranée, Les Calanques, Corse, les Gorges du Verdon, les volcans d'Auvergne, Le méandre de Queuille, le jura, Le Cap Blanc-Nez, Le Mont-Saint-Michel, versailles, a lot of cities like strasbourg, nice etc.. , Les falaises d'Étretat, Les Dunes du Pilat, Le Canal du Midi, and much more ! 12. yes we do get a lot of immigration, and so a lot of persons in the street, but pretty only in big cities because it's more attractive for them, so in the countryside, they're not a lot. If you read all of that, i hope you learned a lot about France, we hope that tourists will still continue to visit us, but, if you have to go to France, Don't forget about visiting others things than Paris, and you'll be amazed !🇫🇷🇫🇷

[@senddree]

Agree with you but not regarding Paris. I’ve worked there for 4 years. They were so Nice.

[@Micade-bn9xc]

If businesses (including museums) close on certain days, it's because we consider that all people deserve free time to live ... and not die working!

[@louse_strrs]

The Louvre and Versailles are closed at least once a week because this allows them to organize private events such as film or documentary shoots as well as interviews And the lawns are closed but not eternally you have to check before sitting because they are closed in turn to allow the grass to grow and not end up with a land with only soil

[@lucywho1038]

Tuesday is the closing days for nationals museums, because they are open on both saturdays and sundays

[@sylvain173]

if you come to my country, you can enjoy the castles of the Loire Valley ( Chenonceau, Chambord are the finest ones ) and many places more

[@Adrienmon]

8:42 It's "Go ahead, see you later". I was authorized to roam by myself at 7 y-o, especially to go to school or just doing my own buisness (friends, playing outside...) as long as it was not too far obviously.

[@chucku00]

The thing about not touching fruits and vegetables to serve yourself is only valid for open air markets and specialized shops. Most of the time you can pick fruits and vegetables in supermarkets but you have to weight them by yourself on specific scales where you select what you're weighting and are available close to the vegetables aisle instad of the cashier doing it near the cash register. The advantage is you can precisely check the weight and price of the products beforehand instead of having a guess and knowing it when you're paying. The speedo requirement only exist in most public (and some private) swimming pools for sanitary reasons because too many teenagers used to come with the shorts they were wearing in the city without changing it before bathing. On the beaches, lakes, rivers or ponds you can wear whatever you want (except maybe on private beaches).

[@christianc9894]

This is an honest video, it describes reality, without exaggerating to create a buzz but without hiding the bad. This is rarely the case because most videos of this type are filled with errors or even lies. Thanks to this KZbinr who raises the level.

[@torkshowgaming1599]

Hello from France ! 😇6:01 🤣🤣I'm done 😂😂No, that's a foie gras (duck or goose), for Thanksgiving 😁👍

[@JohnResalb]

Cheese baguette can have a selection of as many as 6 different cheeses, and when I myself ordered a small plat in a café for an afternoon snack, the garçon spent a while advising me on the order in which the cheeses should be eaten, from the mildest to the strongest. My favourite is brie and I went out to a Paris suburb to a small farm with a working process demonstration. Ideally cheese should be eaten with a sip or two of red wine as the flavours are highly complimentary to each other (I wouldn't mention it if it wasn't the case). So, I think those are the most things you were curious about in your video. Bon voyage.!

[@JohnResalb]

Yes, he means sitting on the grass. It happens where they maintain a 'bowling green' type lawn, and I would call this a public 'jardin' (garden) rather more than a park, but in France it's often difficult to observe any difference between the two.!!

[@ambroiseperret6460]

In french pool swimming shorts are sometimes not allowed because they are less hygienic than dedicated swimm suit .

[@champagnesylvie-lavieenfra1378]

🌎🗼💒 *I'am sooooo proud to be a FRENCH amazing woman from because my magnificient France is so beautiful! Such a diversity in landscape and everything looks so amazing. I have always considered France to be the most beautiful country in Europe because it takes a bit of everything the nicest from Europe. Not to mention the culture, tradition and history that only emphasises how big the French nation is!* 🥐🥂🍾 best regards! 🍵🥖🌾

[@pierren___]

C'est la France qui a donné aux autres plus que le contraire

[@Alex-mp1zb]

@@pierren___ En tout cas, ce n'est l'humilité qui étouffera certains de mes compatriotes!

[@pierren___]

@@Alex-mp1zb c'est un fait

[@lesjolissouvenirs7751]

N'oublions pas que la première plage naturiste a été ouverte en France et que la France est la première destination pour les naturistes.

[@sylvain173]

we do not give tips after paying the bill because a "service compris" because the price includes the service of the waiter

[@pesasyann927]

NON, tu te trompes, il n'y a que les gens qui ont des oursins dans les poches comme toi qui ne donnent pas de pourboire/tips ... les autres, quand ils savent reconnaître un service de qualité sont reconnaissants et laisse un pourboire/tips ... c'est juste une question d'éducation et aussi de tradition qui se perd avec la nouvelle génération car les temps sont durs. Triste ton commentaire...

[@onissius3615]

At pool, you can not wear a swiming short, but a speedo (translate as "swiming underpants" or "swiming jersey"). This is for hygiene reasons. You can wear shorts all day (apart from swimming) but you should not swim in these same shorts. For the food parte, this is not a potato, this is a entire "Foie gras". ;-) Another fun fact about cheeses. We do not know exactly how many different cheeses we have, but it is over 1200 different cheeses. So you can eat 1 different cheese every day for more than 3 YEARS without ever eat 2 time the same cheese !

[@Alex-mp1zb]

Remember that state museums are free on the 1st Sunday of each month! Might save you some money... Speedos are compulsory in public pools for hygiene and make sure swimmers are not in shorts or bermudas they might have worn in dirty places.

[@theRAV4000]

there is nowhere a requirement to wear a speedo at the beach in some places in Europe you are required to wear those in aquaparks or swimming pools for hygienic reasons

[@superpieton]

Reality is, smokers are a minority in France. We are 67 millions French people, and only 12 millions smokers. The region of Paris concentrate 12 millions people (1/5th of whole France lives in "île de France", which is Paris and the surrounding cities), so if you confuse "Paris" with "France", you'll see a lot of smokers.

[@Niouclo]

Yes, the Speedo thing is real, but only for public swimming pools

[@Weederzful]

Yes its the grass that you some time cant walk on. Speedo is asked in much pools, you can wear what you want on a beach

[@adeleg4759]

Yes mandatory speedo (and one pièce for ladies) in Olympic pools. At 9 i was going to and back from school on my own by public transportation. In the middle of Paris or traffic then there yes a "stay within my sight" policy.

[@IronFreee]

"(You can't seat) in the grass or the bench?" Why wouldn't you be allowed to sit on benches in public parks? Do you think they put them so they can yell at you when you sit? Like some tourist traps :D It's required to wear a speedo or slim-fitting boxer shorts in public pools, for hygiene reasons.

[@IAmFat1968]

French people don't smoke that much, they use now to vape, I know fewer and fewer prople who smoke

[@kath6720]

Ok as a French person the part of smoking is sooooo erroneous. Smokers has totally decreased. And it is mostly women and you can barely see that.

[@TaoCovillault]

4:54 Yes, "speedo" is mandatory for public pool. And topless is... not super commun actuallym not as much as spain (spain usually sell top and bottom swim suit separately, just because nobody wears the top ^^ Especially in the islands...). But there is a lot of naturist beaches too, totally naked. 6:03 Looks like "foie gras" to me :P This is litterally duck's "Fat liver", it's delicous but very unethical 😅 8:44 Yes kids roam around by themselves. Most kids walk to and back from school alone, and meet friends on the way, and play all together and only meet the parents back at home a bit before sunset. 9:38 Yes, lot of beggars... French or non-french... But i would like to make a distinction because he mentionned the musicians in the streets, those aren't beggars, they are performers and they are super good, stop for a moment and give if you like it ;)

[@SemakoHiichida]

For tobacco and dog poop, this is no longer really true. People smoke less now and cities do a great job getting people to clean up after their dogs. Also, it is still somewhat true in big cities, but very rare in small ones so rather than visiting Paris, do not hesitate to come to the smaller towns of our beautiful regions

[@GillesB92]

Nice reaction video , really ,like your vision and open mind to the outside. If I can add an advice when I visit a foreign country in general is trying to learn a bit of their language like saying hello ,good bye, thanks , please , etc... because you show in some way you are interested in the place you are visiting and the people will help you more easily. And of course Paris is a wonderful place but like in any other countries, capital cities are not the only point of interest to visit, it would be the same as saying going to UK and only visit London or going to USA and only in New York or Washington etc... that's what bothers sometimes locals when you come visit and don't even try to say anything in their language ( not meaning having a whole discussion but just some basics, it helps). Great video by the way and the dog poop is unfortunately true it's the dog owners that really have to be educated for that.

[@JohnResalb]

Well, there are 100 different types of cheese to choose from, and wine to go with it - I've often seen it cheaper than Coca-Cola.!

[@SylvesterStaline.]

About independance thats true but less. Im 35. At 6/7 years old my mother sent me or my sister to buy her cigarets and a few sweets 😂 and that was normal. (I was living in Paris!) Now its not the same. There is more insecurity so even if we are not as much around them as USA, we are much more cautious now sadly.

[@champagnesylvie-lavieenfra1378]

🗼💒🥐 *As a french native and living in France. I live in the middle of the vineyards of the champagne region of France* 🍇🍾🥂 🥐☕I can say that: France is certainly one of the most geographically and culturally diverse countries in Europe. There are huge differences in cuisine, 🍧lifestyle, architecture, dialect/language, landscape 🏖⛰and flora🌻🌼, especially between the far north and the far south. When you compare Artois or Brittany with Provence or the Languedoc, it's hard to imagine that they are part of the same country. So they are! If you plan to drive in France, avoid highways. 🚐🏍Buy Michelin roadmaps (or use Michelin online) and follow the green scenic routes (usually Departmentales or National roads), and it saves you money + get great affordable food in local villages as opposed on highways. It will make your journey just as fulfilling as reaching your destination. If you don't like booking hotels, there are also camping sites everywhere in France. 🚲🛺🎪 France is beautiful indeed.🗼I live from 1 hour and a half from Paris ( by TGV) Hight speed trains! 🚂🚃🚃🚃 The Eiffel tower, besides being a viewpoint for paris, it has a restaurant too. Depending on the kind of trip you want to do, you can do it cheaper than that. Go for a weekend, from Friday to Monday, get cheap flights, get cheap rooms and marathon Paris for a weekend. Get subway tickets, a map and a list of what do you want to visit. Buy food at the supermarket or little markets. Walk to places. 🚶🚶‍♂🚶‍♀*AND WE HAVE THE MOST FAMOUS CHAMPAIGNS!* 🍾🥂 ( and wines) 🍷🍇 *I know it because I live in the "champagne region"* 🍇🍷 It is a short period to get to know Paris deeply, but you will be surprise with the amount of things you can do on a flash trip to Paris or to any other European capital. Most of my travelling along Europe has been this way and I don't think I could have done it in any other way...

[@kath6720]

Please ask a French person next time! We’ll explain it all 😂

[@vanessaferey5286]

In witch year did he film ? Since 1991 with a vote of Evin Law it's forbidden to smoke in public places or even to advertised smoking more the last addition of Evin Law is that even forbidden to smoke on your own car if you have child riding with you Yes French people smoke but not like we're themost smoker country in the world

[@declissonolivier9376]

This is tipically, what i call a french bashing...

[@zerkorj]

Ptdrr ils sont choqués que ce soit fermé le dimanche. Les gens n'on pas le droit de de reposer dans leur pays? 🥲

[@denisscheffmann9240]

moi, ce qui me choque chez les Américains, c'est leur exubérance, leur suffisance, leur inculture et surtout ils sont très très bruyants. ce sont des gens qui, en règle générale, ne m'intéressent pas beaucoup.

[@Azmar.]

I'm french and I can talk to you a little bit about where I live, in the event you ever decide to make the trip to France :) I was born and raised in Ariege county, right next to the spanish frontier, in the south-west region of France, a very sunny part of the country where rugby is even more popular than soccer, and bird meat (especially duck) is pretty much a religion ^^ Our main city is Toulouse, from Haute-Garonne county (Garonne is the name of the main river). It is France's 4th biggest city (so, like Houston in the U.S., even though Toulouse's american sister city is actually Atlanta!). Toulouse is know as La Ville Rose ("The Pink City") refering to the color of the bricks used for the buildings. It is famous for its rugby team (Le Stade Toulousain), its cassoulet (local dish of beans and sausage with glazed duck thigh), and also for its rich aerospace culture, from L'Aéropostale to Airbus and the Ariane space rockets, there's even a place called La Cité de l'Espace ("Space City"), where you can come with family and friends to learn about space, rockets, stars, planets, all that good stuff.

[@sheronbuytten7054]

Pickpockets come to others countries,

[@nicoletafrotey7801]

la France ce n'est pas que paris et la tour Effel!

[@pracharm5094]

Nope US citizens smokes twice more than French people according to UNICEF so crap to that Emilie in Paris stupid theory