• Travel France

  • 🇫🇷 France: bunq Community Travel Tips

✈️ Heading to France? We've gathered some tips from the bunq community to make sure your trip is the smoothest it can be. 😎

Check them out below! 🌈 👇


Using your card

💳 Do I need cash in France, or can I use my card everywhere?

You can pay nearly everywhere by card in France. Mastercard generally has better acceptance than Maestro.

It's worth having taking some cash for smaller businesses that may not accept card.

Sometimes small businesses only accept card for payments over €10.

💰 What currency do they use here?

The currency here is Euros! The symbol is € or EUR.

🏧 Which ATM’s can I use for free?

The bunq community has reported free withdrawals at these ATMs.

  • BNP Paribas

💵 If I want cash, how much should I take out of an ATM?

€30 should be enough for a few days, since you can use your card for nearly everything.


Staying connected

📱 Can I roam, or should I get a local SIM?

All EU mobile plans should let you roam for free.

If you don't have an EU plan, you can learn about your local SIM card options here.


Useful things to know

💁‍♀️ How does tipping work?

A service charge will be automatically added to your bill in France. This is included in the advertised price, and by law it must be passed on to the service staff.

If you would like to tip you can leave around €1 for every €20 spent. This is not expected, but is appreciated for good service.

🍺 How much does a 0.5L beer cost?

€6,00

🍽 How much does an average meal cost?

€13,00

🚨 What’s the emergency number?

112

🔌 What type of plug do they use?

France is slowly transitioning to the standard European plug.

This is the standard for the European plug.

They also still use the following two in older buildings.

🚗 What side of the road do they drive on?

They drive on the right side of the road here.

🗺 How do I navigate my way around?

Google and Apple Maps both work well in France.

Otherwise, we recommend Rome2Rio as the best way to find out how to get anywhere. It even tells you the cost of each option. 🙌

👀 Any other good tips?

  • French toll booths often require a credit card so make sure to bring a bunq Travel Card or Metal Card. They likely won't accept a Maestro.
  • Look for the toll booths that have the CB logo. These are the ones that you can pay with card.
  • If you're driving, you can calculate the tolls in advance here. Make sure you also have a yellow vest and at least 2 alcohol testers in the car, French law requires it!

Travel Perks

🎢 Visit famous attractions with 10% off

We've partnered with Tiqets to bring you discounts on attraction tickets in France 🇫🇷. To get your discount, simply follow the link here and use our coupon code BUNQTIQETS10 at checkout. That's it! 🎊

Travel hands-free with a 20% discount on Stasher

Our partnership with Stasher will allow you to enjoy your destination to the fullest without having to worry about your luggage. You’ll be able to drop off your bags at trusted shops and hotels in France with a 20% discount through this link 👌🏻.

If you've been to France 🇫🇷 share your experience! The following would be really useful for other bunqers to know:

  • Which ATMs are free to use?
  • What card should I use and where?
  • Any other info you think may be useful.

Share your experience with us in the comments below! 🌈 👇

    7 months later

    Es sollte darauf hingewiesen werden, dass das Mitführen der Alkoholtester seit 2012 zwar gesetzlich vorgeschrieben ist, das Fehlen aber derzeit (seit 2013) nicht bestraft wird. In der Regel wird das Mitführen der Tester nicht einmal überprüft.

      Unlike it is for example the case in Germany, there is no ATM preference in France. That is to say that a card can be used at any ATM without additional fees - not only at my own bank's ATMs. It may probably be the same for bunq card users, who should therefore be able to withdraw at any ATM free of charge.

        a month later

        Notez tout de même qu’en France, la mention CB est en effet le type de paiement local, qui est en fait concurrent de MasterCard et Visa, assez souvent les banques françaises proposent des cartes CB associé de Visa ou Mastercard afin d’augmenter le taux d’acceptabilité mais la mention CB ne veut nullement dire qu’une carte juste MasterCard à toute ces chances de fonctionner

          6 days later
          a month later

          Just a thing you should know: dual PIN won't work in France except for ATMs. This is not related to Bunq, it's by policy on payment terminals configuration (they do not allow online PIN checking)

            Danke für die Antwort. Ich habe es zweimal im Supermarkt vergeblich versucht, die duale PIN für die Zahlung vom Gemeinschaftskonto zu verwenden. Die Zahlung mit der Haupt-PIN funktioniert aber ohne Probleme bei allen getesteten Zahlungen in Frankreich.

              Dual pin does not seem to work here 😕

                8 days later

                Mijn kaart werk niet in Frankrijk , heb net een mail van Bunq , hoop dat dit functioneert nu

                  Does Apple Pay work everywhere in Paris?

                    10 days later

                    @Koen-Golden-Frog#186425 With the newer PIN machines yes. Occasionally some older machines have issues to accept Apple Pay.

                      24 days later

                      Some fuel stations do an offline PIN check... but If you have never ever used your card this PIN verification attempt will fail while you think “this was the correct code”. So maybe add this warning as a flag on the debit card OR as a warning in this community. Also maestro cards will not work on the highway for TOLL payments

                        a month later

                        Alcohol testers are not required by law any longer.

                        For years at this point, I've been able to use a Maestro card at every location that accepts any cards.

                          @New-Orange-Swan-3465662853#198241 Actually gertjan is right, they may not work at toll booths

                            3 months later

                            Les testeurs d'alcool ne sont peut être plus requis actuellement mais vue la crise actuelle en France mieux vaut il faire doublement attention et prendre toutes les mesures nécessaires. 🍻

                              2 months later

                              Tous ce passe bien avec Bunq 🌈 🙌

                                a year later

                                30 euros cest peux certains marché ou vous achetez des produits bio n'ont pas de serveur bancaire

                                  Write a Reply...