APPENDIX

Holidays and Festivals

Books and Films

Nonfiction

Fiction

Film and TV

Conversions and Climate

Numbers and Stumblers

Metric Conversions

Clothing Sizes

France’s Climate

Packing Checklist

French Survival Phrases

Holidays and Festivals

This list includes selected festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout France. Many sights and banks close on national holidays—keep this in mind when planning your itinerary. Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the dates with the festival website, France’s national tourism website (http://us.france.fr), or my “Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in France” web page at RickSteves.com/europe/france/festivals. Hotels get booked up on Easter weekend, Labor Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Bastille Day, and the winter holidays.

Here is a sampling of events and holidays:

Books and Films

To learn more about France past and present, check out a few of these books or films. To learn what’s making news in France, you’ll find France 24 News online at France24.com/en.

Nonfiction

A to Z of French Food, a French to English Dictionary of Culinary Terms (G. de Temmerman, 1995). This is the most complete (and priciest) menu reader around—and it’s beloved by foodies. You can find it cheaper in France (try FNAC department stores) or by downloading the app.

Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris (Sarah Turnbull, 2003). Turnbull takes an amusing look at adopting a famously frosty city.

Culture Shock! France (Sally Adamson Taylor, 2012). Demystify French culture and the French people with this good introduction.

D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches (Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994). Relying on 1,400 interviews with war veterans, Ambrose spins a detailed history of this fateful day.

A Distant Mirror (Barbara Tuchman, 1987). Respected historian Barbara Tuchman paints a portrait of 14th-century France.

I’ll Always Have Paris (Art Buchwald, 1996). The American humorist recounts life as a Paris correspondent during the 1940s and 1950s.

Is Paris Burning? (Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, 1964). Set in the last days of the Nazi occupation, this book tells the story of the French resistance and how a German general disobeyed Hitler’s order to destroy Paris.

La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life (Elaine Sciolino, 2011). Sciolino, former Paris bureau chief of the New York Times, gives travelers a fun, insightful, and tantalizing peek into how seduction is used in all aspects of French life—from small villages to the halls of national government.

The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Day (Cornelius Ryan, 1959). Ryan’s monumental work gives the soldier’s-eye view—both Allied and Axis—of the hours leading up to and during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Marling Menu-Master for France (William E. Marling, 1971). A compact guide for navigating French cuisine and restaurant terminology.

A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway, 1964). Hemingway recalls Paris in the 1920s.

My Life in France (Julia Child, 1996). The inimitably zesty chef recounts her early days in Paris.

Paris to the Moon (Adam Gopnik, 2000). This collection of essays and journal entries explores the idiosyncrasies of life in France from a New Yorker’s point of view. His literary anthology, Americans in Paris, is also recommended.

Portraits of France (Robert Daley, 1991). Part memoir, part travelogue, this is a charming reminiscence of the writer’s lifelong relationship with France, including marrying a French girl on his first trip there.

The Road from the Past: Traveling Through History in France (Ina Caro, 1994). Caro’s enjoyable travel essays take you on a chronological journey through France’s historical sights.

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong (Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow, 2003). This is a must-read for anyone serious about understanding French culture, contemporary politics, and what makes the French tick.

A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence (Peter Mayle, 1989/1991). Mayle’s memoirs include humorous anecdotes about restoring and living in a 200-year-old farmhouse in a remote area of the Luberon.

Fiction

All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr, 2014). A moving tale of occupied France seen through the experiences of a blind French girl and a lonely German boy whose paths cross in war-torn St-Malo.

Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War (Sebastian Faulks, 1993). This novel follows a 20-year-old Englishman into WWI France, and into the romance that follows.

Chocolat (Joanne Harris, 1999). A woman and her daughter stir up tradition in a small French town by opening a chocolate shop two days before Lent (also a movie starring Juliette Binoche and filmed in the Dordogne region).

City of Darkness, City of Light (Marge Piercy, 1996). Three French women play pivotal roles behind the scenes during the French Revolution.

The Hotel Majestic (Georges Simenon, 1942). Ernest Hemingway was a fan of Simenon, a Belgian writer who often set his Inspector Maigret detective books, including this one, in Paris.

Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert, 1886). Emma Bovary’s yearning for luxury and passion ultimately lead to her demise in this literary classic.

Suite Française (Irène Némirovsky, 2004). Némirovsky, a Russian Jew who was living in France and died at Auschwitz in 1942, plunges readers into the chaotic WWII evacuation of Paris, as well as daily life in a small rural town during the ensuing German occupation.

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens, 1859). Dickens’ gripping tale shows the pathos and horror of the French Revolution.

A Very Long Engagement (Sebastien Japrisot, 1991). A woman searches for her fiancé, supposedly killed in the line of duty during World War I (also a movie starring Audrey Tautou).

Film and TV

Amélie (2001). A charming young waitress searches for love in Paris.

Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). A homely, romantic poet woos his love with the help of another, better-looking man (look for scenes filmed at the Abbey of Fontenay).

Dangerous Liaisons (1988). This inside look at sex, intrigue, and revenge takes place in the last days of the French aristocracy in pre-Revolutionary Paris.

A French Village (2009). This multiseason series set during World War II effectively portrays life in the rump state of Vichy France during the German occupation, from collaboration to resistance to liberation.

Grand Illusion (1937). French WWI prisoners hatch a plan to escape a German POW camp. Considered a masterpiece of French film, the movie was later banned by the Nazis for its anti-fascism message.

The Intouchables (2011). A quadriplegic Parisian aristocrat hires a personal caregiver from the projects, and an unusual and touching friendship ensues.

Jean de Florette (1986). This marvelous tale of greed and intolerance follows a hunchback as he fights for the property he inherited in rural France. Its sequel, Manon of the Spring (1986), continues with his daughter’s story.

Jules and Jim (1962). François Truffaut, the master of the French New Wave, explores a decades-long love triangle in this classic.

La Haine (1995). An Arab boy is critically wounded and a police gun finds its way into the hands of a young Jewish skinhead in this intense examination of ethnic divisions in France.

La Vie en Rose (2007). Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Oscar for this film about the glamorous and turbulent life of singer Edith Piaf, who famously regretted nothing (many scenes were shot in Paris).

Les Misérables (2012). A Frenchman trying to escape his criminal past becomes wrapped up in Revolutionary intrigues (based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel).

The Longest Day (1962). This epic re-creation of the D-Day invasion won two Oscars and features an all-star cast including John Wayne, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, and Henry Fonda.

Marie Antoinette (2006). Kirsten Dunst stars as the infamous French queen (with a Californian accent) at Versailles in this delicate little bonbon of a film about the misunderstood queen.

Midnight in Paris (2011). Woody Allen’s sharp comedy shifts between today’s Paris and the 1920s mecca of Picasso, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald.

Paths of Glory (1957). Stanley Kubrick directed this WWI story about the futility and irony of war.

The Return of Martin Guerre (1982). A man returns to his village in southwestern France from the Hundred Years’ War—but is he really who he claims to be?

Ridicule (1996). A nobleman navigates the opulent court of Louis XVI on his wits alone.

Saving Private Ryan (1998). This intense and brutal story of the D-Day landings and their aftermath won Steven Spielberg an Oscar for Best Director.

The Sorrow and the Pity (1969). This award-winning documentary about the Nazi occupation doesn’t pull any punches about French collaboration, which is why it was banned by French TV.

Welcome (2009). A young Kurdish refugee in Calais, France, faces the harsh realities of illegal immigration as he tries to join his girlfriend in England.

Conversions and Climate

Numbers and Stumblers

• Europeans write a few of their numbers differently than we do: 1 = , 4 = , 7 = .

• In Europe, dates appear as day/month, so Christmas is 25/12.

• Commas are decimal points and decimals are commas. A dollar and a half is $1,50, one thousand is 1.000, and there are 5.280 feet in a mile.

• When counting with fingers, start with your thumb. If you hold up your first finger to request one item, you’ll probably get two.

• What Americans call the second floor of a building is the first floor in Europe.

• On escalators and moving sidewalks, Europeans keep the left “lane” open for passing. Keep to the right.

Metric Conversions

A kilogram equals 1,000 grams (about 2.2 pounds). One hundred grams (a common unit at markets) is about a quarter-pound. One liter is about a quart, or almost four to a gallon.

A kilometer is six-tenths of a mile. To convert kilometers to miles, cut the kilometers in half and add back 10 percent of the original (120 km: 60 + 12 = 72 miles). One meter is 39 inches—just over a yard.

Clothing Sizes

When shopping for clothing, use these US-to-European comparisons as general guidelines (but note that no conversion is perfect).

Women: For pants and dresses, add 32 in France (US 10 = French 42). For blouses and sweaters, add 8 for most of Europe (US 32 = European 40). For shoes, add 30-31 (US 7 = European 37/38).

Men: For shirts, multiply by 2 and add about 8 (US size 15 = European 38). For jackets and suits, add 10. For shoes, add 32-34.

Children: Clothing is sized by height—in centimeters (2.5 cm = 1 inch), so a US size 8 roughly equates to 132-140. For shoes up to size 13, add 16-18, and for sizes 1 and up, add 30-32.

France’s Climate

First line, average daily high; second line, average daily low; third line, average days without rain. For more detailed weather statistics for destinations in this book (as well as the rest of the world), check Wunderground.com.

Europe takes its temperature using the Celsius scale, while we opt for Fahrenheit. For a rough conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit, double the number and add 30. For weather, remember that 28°C is 82°F—perfect. For health, 37°C is just right. At a launderette, 30°C is cold, 40°C is warm (usually the default setting), 60°C is hot, and 95°C is boiling. Your air-conditioner should be set at about 20°C.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE FOR PLACE NAMES

When using the phonetics: Try to nasalize the n sound (let the sound come through your nose). Note that the “ahn” combination uses the “ah” sound in “father,” but the “an” combination uses the “a” sound in “sack.” Pronounce the “ī” as the long “i” in “light.” If your best attempt at pronunciation meets with a puzzled look, just point to the place name on the list.

In Paris

Arc de Triomphe ark duh tree-ohnf

arrondissement ah-rohn-dees-mohn

Bateaux-Mouches bah-toh moosh

Bon Marché bohn mar-shay

Carnavalet kar-nah-vah-lay

Champ de Mars shahn duh mars

Champs-Elysées shahn-zay-lee-zay

Conciergerie kon-syehr-zhuh-ree

Ecole Militaire eh-kohl mee-lee-tehr

Egouts ay-goo

Fauchon foh-shohn

Galeries Lafayette gah-luh-ree lah-fay-yet

gare gar

Gare d’Austerlitz gar doh-stehr-leets

Gare de l’Est gar duh lest

Gare de Lyon gar duh lee-ohn

Gare du Nord gar dew nor

Gare St. Lazare gar san lah-zar

Garnier gar-nee-ay

Grand Palais grahn pah-lay

Grande Arche de la Défense grahnd arsh duh lah day-fahns

Ile de la Cité eel duh lah see-tay

Ile St. Louis eel san loo-ee

Jacquemart-André zhahk-mar-ahn-dray

Jardin des Plantes zhar-dan day plahnt

Jeu de Paume juh duh pohm

La Madeleine lah mah-duh-lehn

Le Hameau luh ah-moh

Les Halles lay ahl

Les Invalides lay-zan-vah-leed

Orangerie oh-rahn-zhuh-ree

Louvre loov-ruh

Marais mah-ray

marché aux puces mar-shay oh pews

Marmottan mar-moh-tahn

Métro may-troh

Monge mohnzh

Montmartre mohn-mar-truh

Montparnasse mohn-par-nahs

Moulin Rouge moo-lan roozh

Musée d’Orsay mew-zay dor-say

Musée de l’Armée mew-zay duh lar-may

Notre-Dame noh-truh-dahm

Opéra Garnier oh-pay-rah garn-yay

Orsay or-say

palais pah-lay

Palais de Justice pah-lay duh zhew-stees

Palais Royal pah-lay roh-yahl

Parc de la Villette park duh la vee-leht

Parc Monceau park mohn-soh

Père Lachaise pehr lah-shehz

Petit Palais puh-tee pah-lay

Pigalle pee-gahl

Place Dauphine plahs doh-feen

Place de la Bastille plahs duh lah bah-stee

Place de la Concorde plahs duh lah kohn-kord

Place de la République plahs duh lah ray-pew-bleek

Place des Vosges plahs day vohzh

Place du Tertre plahs dew tehr-truh

Place St. André-des-Arts plahs san tahn-dray day-zart

Place Vendôme plahs vahn-dohm

Pompidou pohn-pee-doo

pont pohn

Pont Alexandre III pohn ah-leks-ahn-druh trwah

Pont Neuf pohn nuhf

Promenade Plantée proh-muh-nahd plahn-tay

quai kay

Rive Droite reev drwaht

Rive Gauche reev gohsh

Rodin roh-dan

rue rew

Rue Cler rew klehr

Rue Daguerre rew dah-gehr

Rue de Rivoli rew duh ree-voh-lee

Rue des Rosiers rew day roz-yay

Rue Montorgueil rew mohn-tor-goy

Rue Mouffetard rew moof-tar

Sacré-Cœur sah-kray-kuhr

Sainte-Chapelle sant-shah-pehl

Seine sehn

Sèvres-Babylone seh-vruh-bah-bee-lohn

Sorbonne sor-buhn

St. Germain-des-Prés san zhehr-man-day-pray

St. Julien-le-Pauvre san zhew-lee-ehn-luh-poh-vruh

St. Séverin sahn say-vuh-ran

St. Sulpice sahn sewl-pees

Tour Eiffel toor eh-fehl

Trianon tree-ahn-ohn

Trocadéro troh-kah-day-roh

Tuileries twee-luh-ree

Venus de Milo vay-news duh mee-loh

Outside Paris

Abri du Cap Blanc ah-bree dew cap blahn

Aiguille du Midi ah-gwee dew mee-dee

Aïnhoa ī-noh-ah

Albi ahl-bee

Alet ah-lay

Alise Ste-Reine ah-leez sant-rehn

Aloxe-Corton ah-lohx kor-tohn

Alsace ahl-sahs

Amboise ahm-bwahz

Annecy ahn-see

Antibes ahn-teeb

Apt ahp

Aquitaine ah-kee-tehn

Arles arl

Arromanches ah-roh-mahnsh

Autoire oh-twahr

Auvergne oh-vehrn-yuh

Avignon ah-veen-yohn

Azay-le-Rideau ah-zay luh ree-doh

Bayeux bī-yuh

Bayonne bī-yuhn

Beaucaire boh-kehr

Beaujolais boh-zhoh-lay

Beaune bohn

Bedoin buh-dwan

Bennwihr behn-veer

Beynac bay-nak

Biarritz bee-ah-reetz

Blois blwah

Bonnieux bohn-yuh

Bordeaux bor-doh

Brancion brahn-see-ohn

Brittany bree-tah-nee

Bruniquel brew-nee-kehl

Caen kahn

Cahors kah-or

Cajarc kah-zhark

Calais kah-lay

Camargue kah-marg

Cambord kahn-bor

Cancale kahn-kahl

Carcassonne kar-kah-suhn

Carennac kah-rehn-ahk

Carsac kar-sahk

Castelnaud kah-stehl-noh

Castelnau-de-Montmiral kah-stehl-noh-duh-mohn-mee-rahl

Caussade koh-sahd

Cavaillon kah-vī-ohn

Cénac say-nahk

Céret say-ray

Chambord shahn-bor

Chamonix shah-moh-nee

Champagne shahn-pahn-yuh

Chapaize shah-pehz

Chartres shahr-truh

Château de Rivau shah-toh duh ree-voh

Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg shah-toh dew oh-koh-neegs-boorg

Châteauneuf-du-Pape shah-toh-nuhf-dew-pahp

Châteauneuf-en-Auxois shah-toh-nuhf-ehn-ohx-wah

Chaumont-sur-Loire shoh-mohn-sewr-lwahr

Chenonceau shuh-nohn-soh

Chenonceaux shuh-nohn-soh

Cherbourg shehr-boor

Cheverny shuh-vehr-nee

Chinon shee-nohn

Cluny klew-nee

Colleville kohl-veel

Collioure kohl-yoor

Collonges-la-Rouge koh-lohnzh-lah-roozh

Colmar kohl-mar

Cordes-sur-Ciel kord-sewr-see-yehl

Côte d’Azur koht dah-zewr

Cougnac koon-yahk

Courseulles-sur-Mer koor-suhl-sewr-mehr

Coustellet koo-stuh-lay

Digne deen-yuh

Dijon dee-zhohn

Dinan dee-nahn

Dinard dee-nar

Domme dohm

Dordogne dor-dohn-yuh

Eguisheim eh-gee-sīm

Entrevaux ahn-truh-voh

Epernay ay-pehr-nay

Espelette eh-speh-leht

Eze-Bord-de-Mer ehz-bor-duh-mehr

Eze-le-Village ehz-luh-vee-lahzh

Faucon foh-kohn

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain flah-veen-yee-sewr-oh-zuh-ran

Font-de-Gaume fohn-duh-gohm

Fontenay fohn-tuh-nay

Fontevraud fohn-tuh-vroh

Fontvieille fohn-vee-yeh-ee

Fougères foo-zher

Fougères-sur-Bièvre foo-zher-sewr-bee-ehv

Gaillac gī-yahk

Gigondas zhee-gohn-dahs

Giverny zhee-vehr-nee

Gordes gord

Gorges de l’Ardèche gorzh duh lar-dehsh

Grenoble gruh-noh-bluh

Grouin groo-an

Guédelon gay-duh-lohn

Hautes Corbières oht kor-bee-yehr

Hendaye ehn-dī

Honfleur ohn-flur

Huisnes-sur-Mer ween-sewr-mehr

Hunawihr uhn-ah-veer

Ile Besnard eel bay-nar

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue eel-sewr-lah-sorg

Juan-les-Pins zhwan-lay-pan

Kaysersberg kī-zehrs-behrg

Kientzheim keentz-īm

La Charente lah shah-rahnt

Lacoste lah-kohst

Langeais lahn-zhay

Languedoc-Roussillon long-dohk roo-see-yohn

La Rhune lah rewn

La Rochepot lah rohsh-poh

La Roque St-Christophe lah rohk san-kree-stohf

La Roque-Gageac lah rohk-gah-zhahk

Lascaux lah-skoh

Lastours lahs-toor

La Trophée des Alpes lah troh-fay dayz ahlp

La Turbie lah tewr-bee

Le Bugue luh bewg

Le Crestet luh kruh-stay

Le Havre luh hah-vruh

Lémeré lay-muh-ray

Le Ruquet luh rew-kay

Les Baux lay boh

Les Eyzies-de-Tayac lay zay-zee-duh-tī-yahk

Les Praz lay prah

Les Vosges lay vohzh

Limoges lee-mohzh

Loches lohsh

Loire lwahr

Longues-sur-Mer long-sewr-mehr

Loubressac loo-bruh-sahk

Lourmarin loor-mah-ran

Luberon lew-beh-rohn

Lyon lee-ohn

Malaucène mah-loh-sehn

Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy marn-lah-vah-lay-sheh-see

Marseille mar-say

Martel mar-tehl

Mausanne moh-sahn

Ménerbes may-nehrb

Millau mee-yoh

Minerve mee-nerv

Mirabel mee-rah-behl

Modreuc mohd-rewk

Mont Blanc mohn blahn

Mont St-Michel mohn san-mee-shehl

Mont Ventoux mohn vehn-too

Montenvers mohn-tuh-vehr

Montfort mohn-for

Montignac mohn-teen-yahk

Mortemart mort-mar

Munster mewn-stehr

Nantes nahnt

Nice nees

Normandy nor-mahn-dee

Nyons nee-yohns

Oradour-sur-Glane oh-rah-door-sewr-glahn

Orange oh-rahnzh

Padirac pah-dee-rahk

Paris pah-ree

Pech Merle pehsh mehrl

Peyrepertuse pay-ruh-per-tewz

Pointe du Hoc pwant dew ohk

Pont du Gard pohn dew gahr

Pontorson pohn-tor-sohn

Provence proh-vahns

Puycelsi pwee-sehl-cee

Puyméras pwee-may-rahs

Queribus kehr-ee-bews

Reims rans (rhymes with France)

Remoulins ruh-moo-lan

Rennes rehn

Ribeauvillé ree-boh-vee-lay

Riquewihr reek-veer

Rocamadour roh-kah-mah-door

Rouen roo-ahn

Rouffignac roo-feen-yahk

Roussillon roo-see-yohn

Route du Vin root dew van

Sablet sah-blay

Sare sahr

Sarlat-la-Canéda sar-lah lah cah-nay-dah

Savigny-les-Beaune sah-veen-yee-lay-bohn

Savoie sah-vwah

Séguret say-gew-ray

Semur-en-Auxois suh-mewr-ehn-ohx-wah

Sigolsheim see-gohl-sīm

Souillac soo-ee-yahk

St-Cirq-Lapopie san-seerk lah-poh-pee

St-Cyprien san-seep-ree-an

St-Emilion san-tay-meel-yohn

St-Geniès san-zhuh-nyehs

St-Jean-de-Luz san-zhahn-duh-lewz

St-Jean-Pied-de-Port san-zhahn-pee-yay-duh-por

St-Malo san-mah-loh

St-Marcellin-lès-Vaison san-mar-suh-lan-lay-vay-zohn

St-Rémy san-ray-mee

St-Romain-en-Viennois san-roh-man-ehn-vee-ehn-nwah

St-Suliac san-sew-lee-ahk

St-Paul-de-Vence san-pohl-duh-vahns

Ste-Mère Eglise sant-mehr ay-gleez

Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer sant-mah-ree-duh-lah-mehr

Strasbourg strahs-boorg

Suzette sew-zeht

Taizé teh-zay

Tarascon tah-rah-skohn

Tours toor

Turckheim tewrk-hīm

Ussé ew-say

Uzès ew-zehs

Vacqueyras vah-kee-rahs

Vaison-la-Romaine vay-zohn lah roh-mehn

Valançay vah-lahn-say

Valréas vahl-ray-ahs

Vence vahns

Verdun vehr-duhn

Versailles vehr-sī

Veynes vayn

Vézelay vay-zuh-lay

Vierville-sur-Mer vee-yehr-veel-sewr-mehr

Villandry vee-lahn-dree

Villefranche-de-Rouergue veel-frahnsh-duh-roo-ehrg

Villefranche-sur-Mer veel-frahnsh-sewr-mehr

Villeneuve-lès-Avignon veel-nuhv-lay-zah-veen-yohn

Vitrac vee-trahk

Vouvray voo-vray

Villedieu veel-dyuh

French Survival Phrases

When using the phonetics, try to nasalize the n sound.

In a French Restaurant

For more user-friendly French phrases, check out Rick Steves’ French Phrase Book or Rick Steves’ French, Italian & German Phrase Book.