Survival Guide - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 775

Toilets
Public toilets, signposted WC or toilettes , are not always plentiful in France, espe-
cially outside of the big cities.
Love them (as a sci-fi geek) or loathe them (as a claustrophobe), France's
24-hour self-cleaning toilets are here to stay. Outside of Paris - where they are free
- these mechanical WCs cost around €0.50 a go. There is no time for dawdling
either: you have precisely 15 minutes before being (ooh-la-la!) exposed to passers-
by. Green means libre (vacant) and red means occupé (occupied).
Some older establishments and motorway stops still have the hole-in-the-floor toi-
lettes á la turque (squat toilets). Provided you hover, these are actually very hygien-
ic, but take care not to get soaked by the flush.
Keep some loose change handy for tipping toilet attendants, who keep a hawk-
like eye on many of France's public toilets.
The French are more blasé about unisex toilets than elsewhere, so save your
blushes when tiptoeing past the urinals to reach the ladies' cubicle.
Tourist Information
Almost every city, town, village and hamlet has an office de tourisme (a tourist office
run by some unit of local government) or syndicat d'initiative (a tourist office run by
an organisation of local merchants).
• » Many tourist offices make local hotel and B&B reservations, sometimes for a
nominal fee. Some have limited currency-exchange services.
• » Comités régionaux de tourisme (CRTs; regional tourist boards), their départe-
mental analogues (CDTs), and their websites are a superb source of information
and hyperlinks.
Useful websites:
French Government Tourist Office ( www.franceguide.com ) The low-down on
sights, activities, transport and special interest holidays in all of France's regions.
Brochures can be downloaded online. There are links to country-specific websites.
Réseau National des Destinations Départementales ( www.fncdt.net , in French)
Find CRT (regional tourist board) websites here.