Note: A price following by + means
the price has not been updated for several years.
TOILETS
“Les
toilettes,” (lay twah-LETT) “le cabinet (de toilette),”
(cah-bee-NAY duh twah-LETT) or “le
water” (luh vah-TARE) (= “water closet” or “WC,” which is what is
often on the doors of toilets). The easiest place to find toilets
is in cafes, but you need to be a customer.
RESTROOMS are
often ominsex,
and you shouldn’t be surprised or offended to find someone of the
opposite or intermediate sex there, or using the “wrong”
cubicle. A woman might be washing her hands in a washbasin right
alongside someone using a urinal. Carry
a little toilet paper, as there sometimes is none. Also there
are still some “Arab” (squat) types (essentially a
glorified hole in the floor).
PUBLIC TOILETS:
There are more and more green coin-operated automated self-cleaning “Sanisette” public
facilities in some areas. These take 40 eurocents and do not make
change (it might be wise to keep some 20 eurocent coins for this
purpose). But if you need to sit, be aware that it will be on cold and
perhaps wet (from cleaning) porcelain. Some of the Sanisettes near
public buildings never seem to be open, perhaps due to terrorist fears,
and none are open all night. Once you are inside, the door will very
slowly close and lock automatically. DO
NOT TOUCH the handle until you are fully ready to leave, as it
will not only unlock the door but open it automatically. You have about
15 minutes, and it seems to take endless minutes to clean itself
between uses. When it is ready, a green “libre” sign will
indicated that it is available. The “occupé”
sign is red.
There are also public PAY RESTROOMS
in a few subway stations and elsewhere, often underground, (usually
closed from noon to 1 p.m. or so). These are about 29+ eurocents for
urinal use, and 41+ eurocents for sit-down service. You may have to buy
slug (jeton) from the attendant and put it in a turnstyle, and you may
have to tell whether you want a urinal or a stall. Most subway stations
do not have rest rooms, but some RER cars do.
In some locations, such as department stores, if
there is an attendant, you are expected to tip — maybe 20+ to 50+
eurocents — sometimes there is a sign that tells you what is
expected.
WATER; FAUCETS
Water from the faucet is safe to drink in Paris.
Be careful with faucets in sinks, baths and showers,
etc.
C
= “eau chaude” or HOT, and is sometimes on the
right, not the left, as in the U.S.
F
= “eau froide” or COLD, and is usually on the right,
but be cautious and test.
DRINKING FOUNTAINS
According to the dictionary, an outdoor drinking fountain is
“fontaine d'eau potable” and an indoor is “jet m
d'eau potable” but we have never seen anything like an American
drinking fountain in France, or if we did we didn’t recognize it.
You will find, however, some public faucets, occasionally in a
fancy wall bracket, that you can try to drink from or fill your bottle.
“Eau potable” means drinking water, and of course
“non-potable” is the opposite.
WATER IN RESTAURANTS
- see RESTAURANTS IN GENERAL
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