Restroom Tips for Paris

Restrooms can be a surprising challenge when traveling. In France, a restroom isn't somewhere you go when you need to; it's somewhere you go when you can. Stop by before you leave your accommodation, after a meal at a restaurant or a drink at a café, and after a museum visit. If you've paid to get into a place, it's always worth using the facilities once.

In high season there are lots of pay toilets, costing anywhere from 50 cents to 2 euros. If a toilet costs 2 euros, you're better off ordering a coffee at a café and using theirs. If a public restroom has a basket marked "Merci" or "Thank you" and an attendant sitting there, you pay as much as you like. You can pay less, but at least 50 cents seems to be the norm.

France does have free public toilets, including one here near Notre-Dame. Standing in front of the cathedral with your back to the main doors, walk a little way down the road to the right and you'll find a gray booth labeled "toilette." Paris has 400 of these. They aren't a conspicuous color, so you'll miss them unless you look. There's one right behind the newspaper stand at exit 4 of the Arc de Triomphe, and another where you leave the center of the Champ de Mars toward its edge. Remember what the booth looks like and use one when you spot it. Most are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 150 of them are open 24 hours.

Note that these toilets have no flush button. They flush only after you step out. That's fine if no one's waiting, but if there's a line, the next person may see what you've left behind. So when the person ahead exits, wait a few seconds before going in. It's better for everyone.