SETTLING IN - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - page 180

THE CALL OF NATURE
Although they are slowly being phased out, Paris still has
its sidewalk sanisettes (public toilets), which are easy to
use, sanitary and cheap. Look for the oval structures with
illuminated toilettes signs throughout the city. Museums,
the larger hotels, restaurants, cafés, shopping centres and
department stores all have public toilet facilities; in a bar
or café you will be expected to buy a cup of coffee. Some
toilettes have a coin slot that takes 0.20: this usually

means they are somewhat clean. In a few bars, however,
you may still find the old Turkish toilets with a hole in the
floor and foot rests on either side. Signs on doors might read
Toilettes ; or they might say Dames or Femmes , or Hommes
or Messieurs ; or they might only have pictures of a man
or a woman.

€

SAFETY
Central Paris is generally safe. Tourist areas—the Eiffel
Tower, Pigalle and Montmartre, around the Pompidou
Museum, Sacre-Coeur and Forum Les Halles—see their
share of petty thefts, but violence is extremely rare. It always
pays to be cautious, however, and to stay on well-travelled
streets late in the evenings. Don't carry more credit cards
or cash than you need on a particular day, and if you're
not going to drive in Paris, there's no need to automatically
carry your driver's licence as you would at home. Keep your
passport safe. Note down all credit card numbers so you
can report any loss or theft; don't keep the numbers with
the cards or passport.
Also, except for the occasional pickpocket in crowded
stations (where, too often, unsuspecting female tourists
leave their handbags unguarded, and men their wallets
exposed), the métro is generally safe, even late at night.
Some stations with long corridors without visibility have
mirrors at the corners so you can look down the corridors
before turning. Each quai (platform) has bornes d'alarme
(alarm boxes). Women who ride the métro late at night often
sit in the first car directly behind the driver.
Women should understand that in general, French men