Then menu scam really hurt my feeling my first time in Paris lol. I went to a restaurant with some friends and they gave us an English menu without even asking. I then went the next day alone, feeling brave and wanting to practice my French, so I asked for the French menu and was super confused at how much the prices had gone down from what I ordered yesterday. 😅😢
When traveling......or any time, anywhere actually.......I find the best practice is to simply ask the price before you order. And that includes asking if that's for the whole enchilada or by the person, by the day or by the hour, or whatever they can fudge to screw you.
Very good advice. I was hit with 'The Gold Ring' scam on my first day and it was a warning from a Taxi Driver that made me ready. If I might just add, I was approached by a beautiful young girl, about 6 years old who was crying, she handed me a note in English, stating that her mother was in hospital and she needed help, as she handed me the note, there was a scuffle behind me and I found that three 'Roma' women had come up behind me and were grabbing at my camera case. A local business women, was pushing them away in a manner I would have never done. She then scolded me about allowing anyone to distract me in that way and walked off. She very likely saved me the loss of my camera.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel True. I saw a large group of young Gypsy children overwhelm a tourist standing in line at the louvre sticking their little hands in all his pockets at once and pretending to hug him but his daughter lived in Paris and she recognized it immediately and start smacking them and their hands and screaming at them to protect her father which she did. They were an Asian family so looked like tourists.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel Yes, they certainly should. Most people will be unprepared for how pushy these gypsy kids can be ( this is a speciality of the Roma ). They are especially dangerous around cash-machines ( ATM ) where several of them try to distract you and then they try to grab the money,.
I was alone waiting for my son when a woman approached me showing me a ring on the ground close to my foot. I told her it was not mine and I didn't want it in a polite but no nonsense way and she could have it, she left, no need to be rude.
You need to also mention groups of young people with clipboards collecting for “charity”. We politely declined in French, but they swarmed us and wouldn’t go away until we started yelling and got kind of nasty. Alarms went off in my head telling me we were going to be pickpocketed by them, so many all around us. Don’t hesitate to make a scene.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel why? I went to Greece and I was only bothered by Africans. Is this racist? just a true statement. no wonder Europe going down weak culture has no right to exist
I knocked a pick pocket out in Amsterdam when I was 16. The dude looked shocked that someone actually stood up to him. He was bleeding everywhere and the cops got involved and arrested him. I couldn't say enough good things about the Amsterdam police world class.
Reminds me of a friend of mind, somewhere in Spain, having a cyclist drive past and trying to grab his bag. My friends is a huge dude, and did not appreciate it, so kicked the other and the bicycle into the street. But...had a surprise aroumd the next corner when bicycle dude waited and hit him over the head with a pottery potplant😮.Still did not get the bag bit my friend ended up with stitches on his head. Being a commercial diver it affected his work, so I assume any future pick pockets would not have gotten up again😂
Was in Paris in 2009. Was approached about both the gold ring and friendship bracelet scams and told them both to go away. Also had a woman try to distract me with a letter written in English she needed 'read' outside Notre Dame Cathedral but kept my back to some planters and told her to keep her distance. She too went away. Lastly, we were enjoying Dinner at a restaurant on the street and watched a 'crippled' beggar get up and walk away just before another 'cripple' sat down in her place and resumed begging. It's all very organized with schedules, territories and lots of teams. I haven't felt any desire to return.
When me and my husband went to Paris, I wore a cross body bag. I always kept it in front of me and always kept my hands on the bag. I never it hung it on my chair in a restaurant. We kept everything in it we needed. Never kept our phones on the table either. I'm one of those very cautious peeps that locks their doors on the vehicle when getting gas.
@@PixelPerfect3 I travel internationally and l never put my wallet in my back pocket or any pocket, use a pouch that goes underneath your shirt. Best thing is to blend in, don't look touristy, they look for people wearing ball caps ect., l have traveled and you can spot tourist; just have your wits about you, look at your surroundings. Never indulge in conversation with people you don't know.
@@slimshady94 with a name like that, one would expect you to have some street smarts, but guess not. That person is not frightened at all. They are street smart. Hope if you ever travel that you don’t lose all your money and your passport in a foreign because of your cocky attitude. It’s a terrible thing to have happen. Pickpockets are reality.
Those scammers are not french, they should be out of the country and send back home! we need a big tidy up in Paris and after you will definitely see less scammers!
@@chrishayes312 God forbid, don't say that or you'll have the politically correct police onto you. God forbid, we actually admit it publicly and tell the truth.
In Paris right now, and I had the gold ring scam crossing the bridge over the Seine from the Louvre and someone try to stop me to sign a petition. Thanks to these videos, I spotted and easily avoided both. Having a fab time here 🎉
Another one I had that is not mentioned so much. Again walking near the Louvre. Boy who looks about 12-14 sitting on the ground in front of the souvenir shops, very thin and covered with a blanket. In front of him is a clear cup filled with some coins. You don't notice it and accidentally kick it over. You are supposed to feel bad, and bend over to help pick up the coins. Which is when you are targeted. Keep walking.
Great advice. I had an attempted pickpocket on the train from CDG to Gare de Nord. Thanks to you I knew they were fishy and kept a tight grip on my luggage and had my wallet in my front pocket(I always do). The train stopped and one guy tried to grab my bag while the other tried to put his hand in my pocket. I yelled "hey, hey, hey" and they ran away. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
There is also a scam going on at the Disney Eruo in Paris. While visiting Paris, we bought train tickets to go to Disney. When we arrived there (which was the last station) we (and almost every tourist) were approached by a group of young adults in security uniforms claiming to be “metro security” and stated that we had broke the law and bought a ticket for 1 zone but traveled to 2 zones and that we had a pay a fine of €75 per person. When we explained to them that we specifically bought the tickets from the train station and we should have to be penalized for their error, they told us that because it was a mistake that they would only charge us €150 instead of the €300. At this time I realized that I was a scam because if we had truly broken the law, they would not be giving us a discount, and no country expects you to pay right there and then but rather ticket you. So I told them if we have broken the law then call the police. At this time they got agitated and told us if the police come they will take us to jail. I insisted that they call the police. Shortly after that, another person came claiming to be a supervisor and told us he will let us through this time but next time to buy the proper ticket. Sadly we saw too many people that actually paid them. I guess it helped to live in NYC for 3 years and learn the subway tricks!
Same in London, groups of youths in supermarket-generic tabards claiming to charge “penalty fare” discount if you pay on the spot. Real Staff are alert & chase scammers away but a few tourists pay up. Also beware sad -eyed beggar women with a “hungry baby” that’s just a rolled up bundle of rags!
I had something similair in Italy. They told us we didnt checked in while we just bought tickets. They told us pay now or we send the fine to your home adress. We chose that option and never heard of it again. Later that week we Saw the guy in the same bus and hé didnt dare look at us. It was our first holiday abroad…
I have been to Paris several times.Never been scammed,although came close.Got into a”taxi” at the airport and he took off with us then charged us some outrageous amount.I started to yell at him to take us back to the airport or I would get the police. He took us straight back.You have to be assertive and question when things don’t feel right and be highly attentive to what’s going on
I was in Paris once with my brother and we paid in a restaurant with a 50 euro note. The bill was 40, including tip. The waiter never came back with my 10 euro, so on our way out I 'accidently' trashed a glass box with apple pie... that's just my way of reacting...I think their damage went way beyond the 10 euro's...people from the restaurant looked so scared they didn't come after us...I felt pretty good...we call that 'The Soprano Reaction'...
Parisian here. The "gold ring" technique is used all over the planet in bit touristic cities. I've oberved it in Venice recently, with variants in items but basically the same thing all the time.
Another scam I saw was at Notre Dame. I was in the forecourt and a youth came up to me and said 'English?' I said 'yes', and they held up a sign saying that their brother had been detained at the border and they needed money to got him released. I refused. Later I saw a different youth walk up to a couple and say 'English?' They replied 'Nein". Then the youth said 'Deutsch?' They said 'Ja'. Then the youth proceeded to hold up a sign in German saying the exact same story, fishing for money.
Not sure if you’d call it a scam, but always check your restaurant bill for items you didn’t have, and also to see if they’ve already added service charges. Applies everywhere, I guess, not just on vacation.
Lots of wisdom there! When I was in Paris you’d always have these guys come up to you with a Polaroid camera and they would take your picture and then make you feel guilty if you didn’t buy it. When I saw them coming I would raise my camera and take their picture first. I actually did this and the guy cracked up laughing because he knew that I had him figured out!
I still enjoy travel, but I am finished with the big cities. Now I budget for a rental car, and head for the countryside. Authentic food, great scenery, much cheaper prices, and I don't have to spend my entire trip saying, "Eff off!" in Senegalese.
A few years ago me and my family were in Paris in a museum. A pickpocket was slowly creeping up on my dad to grab his wallet and make a run for it, but fortunately my dad was quick and caught the pickpocketer before they could steal anything
@@LongTran-sg9vc my dad caught the pickpocket but unfortunately they ran away. My dad told the French police there and they didn’t do anything about it. On the good side though the pickpocket didn’t steal anything😅
Myself and a friend were in the McDonald's near Gare Du Nord, and we were being sized up by a 'family' of pickpockets. I saw one guy nod to his friend, and point to the pocket I had pulled my change out from. So, I sat down and pulled out my phone, pretended to make a call, and said 'Police' quite loudly..............they backed off!!
Thanks for confirming the gold ring scam. My first walk by the Arc of Triumph I was approached by a desperate-looking young woman who claimed she had found a ring - and I sensed this must be a scam and forcibly walked away. I am so glad that I did.
@@subaruadventures I kept thinking of the line "you can't cheat an honest man." But really, the first thing you think is if some local finds a valuable, why on earth would they approach a tourist about it?
Same happened to us with the ring scam in Paris, except I took it and pretened to throw it in the Seine, should off seen their faces! I threw back at them as we walked away. Seems to be a common one.
@@robdangerfield7129 the only ones I've seen there is the cup shuffle scam, which are mostly operated around the Eiffel tower. You can find videos on how they work if you are curious. They are really strange
We have been to Paris twice and it is a beautiful City. The first time we didn't encounter any problems but the last time was during December and someone tried to pull the gold ring scam on us and we just walked away and we almost got caught up in the braclet scam at the Eifle Tower.. So sad that so much goes on at a place like Paris.
This advice pretty much sums up all of the European cities that I have visited. Zips on inside pockets are a godsend. A couple of the things we do are, we keep loose bank notes in pockets which are not seen and have an empty wallet in the place that you usually have your wallet because when you get bumped you instantly feel your pocket. Go to a local grocery shop and buy a couple of bits and carry your plastic bag, people assume you are local.
We were in Paris in 2015. We arrived on the Eurorail from London and had to get a taxi to our hotel. The first driver I asked wanted 100 euro so I said no way. The second driver looked up our hotel and said 60 euro so I said OK. After we reached our hotel we talked to another couple who did the same trip. They got a real taxi and it cost them less than 20 euro.
I don't understand why you would think it's acceptable to pay €60 for a taxi trip to hotel in any country around the world. Even taxis in Europe's most expensive country, Norway, don't cost that amount. It's crazy that anyone would agree to pay such an amount. A bit out of touch aren't we?
@@Dom4z not sure how you can make any claims about the price without knowing the distance. Paris is large and depending on your destination, it can easily be a 35km travel from the airport to the hotel.
One I had not thought about happened to two British UA-camrs going to Paris. They had their bag stolen not at the train station or walking but at the hotel lobby. As they were signing in a guy just walked off with their bag. Bottom line you really need to stay alert until you lock your stuff away.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel They showed hotel security video of the guy. Used his foot to slide the bag over and off he went. It can happen anywhere but when people are traveling their senses are overwhelmed by a new environment. What made me laugh was the hotel didn't even give them a free meal.
Paris Tourist Board must be so proud. I visited the city over 40 years ago, it was beautiful. Wouldn’t bother going back now. Holding onto my bag for dear life and making sure I’m not being ripped off not my idea of a holiday.
Paris is also nowadays very crowded. Huge amounts of tourists, and it seemed to me the locals aren't always as motivated to keep up the places. The cafe at Invalides was horrible, though we enjoyed the museum itself. Just ordered espressos there to be able to sit down. But even in Paris there are still nice places to go, like the Luxembourg park and the area around it. Charming and we ate at a nice, small restaurant. I'd say it's well worth it to visit other places in France. You can find a lot of smaller cities that are great. Last time we were in Blois in 2019, they are famous for the gardens, and you can visit some of the Loire valley castles, though Tours has more variety. In the cities they often speak English these days, and places that don't get millions of tourists tend to be more welcoming.
My first time in Paris, my friends and I went to a restaurant for lunch. It was in a touristy area and none of us spoke much French, but we were able to communicate well enough with the waiter, who spoke a bit of English. At the end of the meal we asked for the bill, and when we got it we saw that we had been charged for several items we didn’t order (or receive). All of a sudden our waiter spoke no English whatsoever, and he kept acting like he had no idea what we were saying when we tried to dispute the extra charges on the bill. I speak English, Spanish, and German fluently, so I told him in all three of those languages, plus some broken French, that we were NOT paying for items we didn’t order. He still played dumb. I made a big scene and even went to the front door so I could scream for the police. That finally got the idiot’s attention and our bill got "corrected." Lots of apologizing from the manager or owner, like he wasn’t in on the whole thing. That was in 1990 and I didn’t return to Paris for 25 years despite traveling to other parts of Europe several additional times. That one experience made me hate France and the French people for decades.
I can totally relate. In 2004 I had a layover at their airport - Charles De Gaulle. I literally felt like I spent 2 hours in hell. ALL airport employees were purely hostile and unprofessional. I still vividly remember their stinky and filthy airport bathroom. Now imagine a restaurant in the US giving two different menus to two different groups of people, or creating a situation like yours? They can say whatever they want, but I am so appreciative that I live in the USA. I was born and raised in Russia, but I am very thankful to America for allowing my family to move here.
@@borisgetman9222 yes, I had a number of encounters in all parts of Paris that were like you described - openly hostile and unprofessional. Back during my first trip to Paris, the Metro still used tokens. As my friends and I were trying to see several areas of the city, I wanted to buy 10 tokens. The woman at the window gave me one. I held up 10 fingers and said "dix." She just glared at me. I said "ten," "zehn," "diez." She said something sternly in French. I said, "I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Ich verstehe nicht." She made a motion with her hand for me to move away from her window. I paid for and took the one token. I had to buy more tokens at the next Metro station, which went better - the guy there apparently knew how to count to "dix." But everywhere I went, I was treated with rudeness. The front desk at my hotel, in shops, bars. Once we left Paris and we’re driving towards Switzerland, the people became wonderfully nice. The very best meal and nicest experience of the whole trip was in some tiny little town halfway between Paris and Basel. Wonderful staff in this small café, delicious food, and very reasonable prices.
@@DaveTexas Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! I have met French people in the US, and they all seemed nice. But I am definitely not going to France. My list of European countries to visit: Switzerland, Norway, Italy and Denmark.
Recently (or not recently), there’s also the “sign my petition” scam, the scammers ask you if you speak English, then ask you to sign this petition. While they keep distracting you, someone will pickpocket you. I found it easy to distinguish from actual petitions because they called me “lady” instead of “miss”
Thank you for the video. Most of people I know experienced pickpockets in Paris. Myself first time went 5 years ago, couldn’t sleep the whole night before the train to Paris. I was doing good, did saw few cases you mentioned in your video; golden rings; 2 guys tried to follow me,one disturbed me, another stole my things; someone tried to tired strings in your hand ...nothing working. I feel annoyed and sad about the situation: you can’t peacefully enjoy the city. I will go to Paris next month for over a month, the old nightmare came back again; good thing is I have my friend with me this time. Thank you again for the video, very well made!
Watch out for card cloning. I went to pay for a meal in a chain restaurant near the Moulin Rouge, the waiter put my card in the machine and immediately a chef popped out of the kitchen and said could he speak to the waiter, all this time my card is in the machine. My instinct was to pull the card out, but then the waiter re appeared, apologised and I paid. This was the only place in Paris I used the card, the card company covered the loss, which was substantial but I was furious with myself for not reacting to gut instinct!
😅😅😅 I'm sure they are still there , next time you go back you can give it a try 😅... but it seems our videos don't stop them sadly . Cheers to you both
I was in Paris on the first week of September. After all my research online, I decided to not look like a tourist and I can tell you, no one bothered me or the rest of my family.
@@BrawndoQC yes to everything you mentioned. It is true that the US citizens are the ones with baseball caps, athletic wear, overweight and loud. I’m overweight, but I worked on the other matters. The only thing that were athletic on me were my shoes, I wore Van slip ons, but my clothing attire was business casual workwear (I’m gay). Dark jeans, nice casual shirts, and matching colored shoes.
Can you imagine a restaurant in the US giving two different menus to two different groups of people? They can say whatever they want, but I am SO appreciative that I live in the USA.
Yeah, i am in no way a scary dude but here in our city (well it's in the north of Germany so actual scammers are rare and not as "professional" as in Paris or Rome) my resting bitchface and the combination of being relatively big, bearded and very obviously a death metal fan is usually enough to make them ignore me. Like, it happened several times that people in front of me and behind me got asked but i got away scot free.
I've gotten a bag stolen at a Restaurant and I swear up and down that the restaurant staff was in on it. The waitress kept trying to distract us and once it was stolen they stalled us deliberately so that we could not catch the culprit.
I grew up in Johannesburg and we put our bags under the table around our feet, so every time we go anywhere in Europe I do this. My husband finds it funny and I get strange looks 😂
Was in Barcelona and had looped my backpack under the leg of the table. When I looked away briefly and looked back, there was a guy crouching trying to lift the table haha. Luckily I still have my bag.
@@ameliab7245 well, thats how you get your liver sliced in half, so i would advise to act more rationally but what shocked me was instead of running away or some normal behavior in such a situation, he just got up and walked over to the table next to me to try to scam them. This was such normal behavior to him.
Good advice on avoiding pickpockets. I always keep everything on the inside pockets close to my body, don't put anything you don't want stolen in your bag or on show. Been to Paris and many other major cities and never once had something stolen.
Here's a good one. You're in Paris and someone comes up to you and says "Be careful. There are a lot of pick pockets around here" You instinctively pat your pocket containing your money/wallet to check and have indicated to his accomplice where your money is.
My husband and I went to a cafe - we had fruit cups and tea. The couple across the way were obviously friends with the waiter - and when we got the bill it charged us for roti du porc and wine. I think the waiter heard us speaking English and tried to pull a fast one. So I held up the ticket and said to the waiter (in French). You know damn well we had fruit cups - what the hell are you trying to pull?) Those bills were switched back tout de suite!
Another tip about asking for the English menu is NOT to ask for the menu, because the word menu in French is like the daily blue plate special and the “menu” is called la carte.
I traveled through Paris by myself and saw some guys talking. I was going to the train station and one of them showed up next to me. Asked where I was going and he told me that we had about 1.5 hours before the train comes. Then he wanted me to go to a restaurant to get a bite to eat. He would not leave me alone. I finally found a ticket man walking between trains and told him about this guy. I turned around the the guy was gone. The man bugged the hell out of me. I never did figure out what the scam. I had a friend tell me that she went to Paris as a teenager and her and her friend were out and a guy asked them if they wanted to go to a party. The guy brought them to a building and into an empty room and attacked them. She was very petite, but her and her friend fought him off. I think this kept me from really listening to people talking to me. Probably saved me.
i m french living in sweden , i growed up in paris dans le 20 ieme arrondissement and i reconnized all the scams you described except the one with the gold ring , and you re absolutly right paris is a beautiful city but be aware and dont be an obvious tourist . great video .et bonne vacance .
You should be able to walk around any major city in the world, looking obviously like a tourist, and not be bothered by scammers. It's way past time the police were more heavy handed with idiots like these. No words for cafés and restaurants ripping tourists off though. Pleased to say that doesn't happen in New Zealand!
@@kelleywoods5244 New Zealand loll r u kidding me , France is one of the most popular destinations in the world the police cant do alpt and they have better things to do then helping dumb tourists. Paris is a MEGA city just like New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong etc its not s small town.
@@doomergirl3981 obviously English isn't your first language, judging by your dreadful spelling and grammar mistakes. You need to study up on reading and comprehension my dear 😉
@@doomergirl3981 Well, Tokyo may be a "mega city", as you say, but the vast majority of cafés and restaurants don't rip off tourists. There are some sketchy places that seem to scream out, "Don't come in here if you know what's good for you!", especially up to the mid-2000s or so in Ueno, Kabuchi-cho, etc., but I've never had a problem.
My coworker's father got mugged last week while walking around the touristy areas, they took his heirloom gold chain necklace, luckily he is fine. Thank you for this reminder.
I am Parisian and never even heard of the restaurant english menu scam, if i was with some friends and find out i'd take a video of the whole thing and call the anti-scam line to report it.
Getting robbed is not a scam, but the warnings are fair. Summary: Anyone who wants to give you something free should be treated as a potential threat. Don’t be rude, just be firm and reject them.
@@suzycreamcheesez4371 Because a portion of Americans, especially in the south (from what I read online), were brought up with the mentality of it is polite to always say smile and say, "hello" to strangers, and make small talk. They call it "southern hospitality", up in New England, we call it creepy.
If you are in a crowd & a disruption & jostling starts to happen that is a huge warning to hold on to your belongings. Pickpockets are working - got me at the château Versailles 😢
My husband and I sat in a Paris park for an extended time, and noticed a woman ‘working’ the tourists with some scam printed on a paper. Her young daughter was following her looking so sad and embarrassed. Then we saw them talking to what looked like a handler, a young man. They just looked trapped. I felt awful for them. I wondered what might happen to them if they didn’t make their “quota.”
Chivarly is alive too. I'm a bit older. I was struggling with an oversized suitcase down stairs at a subway. A young man didn't say a word, took my suit case and left it at the bottom of the stairs.
Thought I might pipe in with another common trick used by panhandlers sitting on the sidewalks-often what they'll do is sit against a building on a busy sidewalk with a small paper or plastic cup (their favorite is clear plastic that's not easy to see) in front of them, filled with some coins (always copper, 1, 2 and 5 cent pieces-no higher denominations) and as they see pedestrians about to walk past them, they slyly push the cup forward into the path of the person/people walking to ensure that they accidentally kick it over. The cup and coins go flying, and most people will feel bad and stop to pick up all the coins and the cup, all the while apologizing for kicking it over...and then feeling so bad that they offer additional coins to add to the collection cup. In worse cases, there's a second person working this scam, and while the pedestrian is frantically picking up the coins they kicked over and apologizing profusely, the second person steals their wallet, phone or purse/bag/backpack that the pedestrian put on the ground in order to stop to pick up the coins. I realized this scam after it happened to me three times (I was never mugged myself, thank goodness, but I fell for it three times and gave additional coins because I felt bad), and I eventually started observing more closely when walking around Paris-it became very easy to spot when it was happening to other people. Scammers take advantage of people's generally good nature.
True, this is why there should be prison sentences for these people. They are annoying AF, but worse they can ruin someone's lifetime vacation, and for that they should be made to pay dearly.
I've got the "gold ring" hanging in my garage as a reminder of my stupidity, but the young lady was so convincing and looked like she could do with some money.
On Monmartre we encountered a guy who wanted to give me a rose (yeah, right). I knew about that scam and didnt take it. After you take the rose, they say the price ie. 5 euros. When you want to give it back, they pretend that you broke the flower and insist you pay. If you dont, their friends go after you and insist more.
I’m from the UK and haven’t been to Paris since I was 4 years old. I have family there. My mum has been there several times and took us there when we were little. When I go again as an adult I’d have to prepare with a bit of French and on the look out for scammers. I’m quite direct and tend to reject random people coming up to me. I don’t walk around with texting like most people and I don’t leave my bags on the floor unattended
Your enthusiasm for Paris is so catching. Something happened to me in a train station but I’m not sure if it was a scam. I was having difficulty in buying a ticket at one of the machines. This man walked up and offered to help. He moved in so quickly that it didn’t occur to me to refuse. He asked me where I wanted to go and went through the stages very quickly. I then put in my credit card but it didn’t work. So he used his own card. It came to €31. He handed me two tickets and €20. For some reason I thought ’No, I have the exact sum in notes in my wallet’, so I gave him that. He then directed me to the correct platform. I was thinking later maybe that €20 note was fake. Or maybe not. He could just have been a kind stranger.
Another great video! Many thanks! I have a couple ideas for another: Topic: Several common, frustrating logistical/directional issues for tourists. Examples: 1) Walking from Gare de l'Est to Gare du Nord. I've heard that there are no clear street markings for this. Even though the distance is tiny, it would be highly annoying to be taking wrong turns (on foot) while you're dragging along your luggage behind!; 2) How to use a Metro station to take an RER train to Versailles (and which Versailles train stop to use for the Chateau, as opposed to the town). Just some friendly suggestions...
@@LesFrenchiesTravel You're very welcome. We fly to Paris this Dec.1. From your experience, do you mind if I ask you how rainy Paris is in December? I know that you get quite a bit, but is it typically every day and nonstop? (Many thanks from a "lifelong Californian")!
@@LesFrenchiesTravel Thanks! I've convinced my wife (originally from Bangkok) to prepare for a deluge. "It is what it is"! (Give me a shout if you guys ever need any Thailand tourism insights, btw.)
Thank you so much for the tips! Going to France during peak season in less than a week and I’m so scared of losing my belongings to these scams. Great heads up and love your videos!!!
One scam I ran into. You go into a restaurant bar which advertise happy hour 5eur a beer. But when you order you need to explicitly order the happy hour beer. If not they'll bring you "another beer" which costs 3 or 4 times as much. And speaking fluent french doesn't help either...
You completely missed the main way to get ripped off in Paris: working and living there. Seriously, from the moment I moved out from Paris (not the suburb, but AWAY), my financial situation has massively improved.
Your point 6 happens a lot in New York City. At a hotel restaurant for breakfast they’ll ask first if you want juice. Then they’ll give you the menu to find out it’s a $10 glass of juice.
One of the biggest scams is at the airport, you can buy a travel ticket for the metro, bus system for 7 days, and its actually a great deal. You are suppose to go to a photo booth and get your photo taken and stick it to the ticker, however the photo booth is out of order. You think nothing of it and then jump on the train. When you get off at any major toursit station, like eiffel tower, the louve etc there will be inspectors waiting to check tickets, when you show them the ticket without the photo its a 35 euro fine on the spot. You will notice that the inspectors are only at the tourist station spots. This is a government sanctioned scam.
OK the airport scam thing makes me so sad because this is my first week in France and I don't speak strong french and I got lost. I went around asking for help because I got lost so many times and some people were very unfriendly. I guess now I understand why they were unfriendly.
Excellent advise. I have visited Paris many times and by sheer luck I was never accosted by a peddler. In Spain I had my passport stolen even though I was careful. These thieves are like conjurers, quick, very quick.
From a pure parisian (born and raised), who lived 11 years in Colorado tho and love you people : thank you for this very accurate video. All of this is super true ! Be careful also with the "signing a petition" scam : a few young gipsy girls get around you to have you sign a paper, distract you and .... steal your wallet. Basic rule : when someone touches you, he is trying to distract you from another more subtile touch or reach in another part of your clothes. Beside this, enjoy Paris. Sorry for the garbages all over the place, due to actual mayor, unfortunatly...
Was in Paris 10 days ago. I recognise your input. Very appreciated. Nice video Especially one with restaurants where they overcharge AND give you something you NEVER ordered. We did not accept and they were angry. Dont care 🙂 Just stand your ground !!
We went to Paris a few years ago. One day we decided to walk along the river to the Louvre. There were gold rings rolling towards us every 5 minutes. I ended up playing football with them.
My partner and I got lured into an underground car park at Gare du Nord to get a taxi as we were told that the metro was on strike. We very quickly got out of that situation and reported it to a security booth. They just laughed. Bunch of wankers. Couldn't get out of Paris quick enough.
Calm down, drama queen's.. It is part of life someone is taking advantage of you. Learn to recognise, hush them off and enjoy your life. It's not that complicated 😉✌🏻
@@Lucifer-jt8gq The cops don't like those flower sellers either. When I was at the Eiffel Tower one time, two cops with sub machine guns were chasing a flower seller (for some reason). Needless to say, all of his mates ran off too!!
Thanks for mentioning the ways of transport in Paris. We are also 80.000 legally authorized private or shuttle drivers in France. We have to do exams theory and practical to get the cab driver licence.
Such a great and important video. I have personally experienced a few of these myself the last two times I was there. The ring scam happened to me along the river. The bracelet in Montmartre and at the base of the Eiffel tower someone approached me with a 'Petition' to sign (a distraction so they could pick-pocket me) and luckily a large Frenchman very loudly and angrily confronted and scared them off. On another occasion a young woman approached me on a bridge with a piece of paper and shoved it at me, motioning for me to read it. It had a fake sob story on it in english that was meant to convince me to give her money. She got quite angry when I said non and walked away. Just be cautious and skeptical when ever you are approached. I've been living in Europe for 10 years now and any time ANYONE approaches me, my alarm bells ring.
Coworker was telling me her brother and two kids ordered two milkshakes and two daiquiris inside the Eiffel Tower tourist zone. It came out to $110 converted from euros.
Thanks a mil for your videos of Paris. This scam video has helped me avoid these scammers, one scammer from Montmarte was trying to put bracelet on me but I just quickly walked away. I just ignored people calling at me except for the ones that asked me to take a photo of them. Thanks for your recommendation on where to eat.
When we visited Paris, our tour guide warned us specifically about the gold coin scam and another petition scam that was popular at the time (they ask you to sign a petition, and then pick your pocket while you are signing it). I went out exploring on my own and both of those scams were tried on me back to back! The gold coin scam I think I would have avoided without her warning. As soon as they asked for money that would've raised alarms in my head. But the petition scam I might have fallen for without her warning. I love a good petition, lol.
This is how it is in every major cities. In Denmark we have the same issue during summer. Pickpocket is normal and people trying to scam tourists is normal too. ( However these are gypsies not Danes who will try to rip you off.) All you need to do is to keep your bag/purse close to your stomach/chest in crowded spots and always research about a country you want to visit before you even travel to that destination! You can not afford to be stupid in a foreign country! An informative video like this is a great idea.
I totally agree to the scams mentioned in the video. I have been living here since 3 yrs. You just have to be careful. Also be careful with the group of teenagers in metro or in any touristic area. One of the member will try to ask you the directions or anything to distract you and another will try steal from you or open your bag or anything. Keep your bag pack in front and don’t sit/stand with a mobile phone near the metro doors (high chances to be snatched away).
We got surrounded by a group of youngsters on the metro, it makes you feel angry and scared at the same time, they got my bag open but luckily did not find anything of value. We also got charged 50 euros to go from Gare du Nord to another station, a distance we could have easily walked.
@@joyelmes7814 aahh yes i know those kind of people too - they also sell you tickets at the metro station which doesn’t work and you might end up paying fine as well. I am so sorry you faced that. :( take care !
Last time I was in Paris I carried a crossbody bag with double zippers (you can zip from either direction). I used a small carabiner to thread through the small openings in the pulls to link them together. Didn’t mind the extra step when it was time to reach for my wallet!
We were able to foil a pair of pick pockets on the Eiffel Tower while waiting for the elevator to go down. One in front of us trying to distract us and one in back of us looking for the opportunity. I could tell what was going on and looked at both of them, putting my hand very securely on my girl friends back pack. They knew they were had and moved on.
Don’t be a target going around in a backpack / Fanny pack cause they all scream “TOURIST” in any popular tourist spot. Blend in with the locals … and dress like one. Watch “What not to wear in Europe”
I like to carry a tote bag with me. It’s hard to get into when you have it on your shoulder cause your arm is basically holding it shut. It also doesn’t scream I am a tourist so that also helps
My gf and I fell for one on the Champs Elysees when we were very young. A guy approached and said he was an artist and wanted to sketch us for free, it would take 2 minutes and would help with his art. We agreed since we were sat on a bench anyway. Halfway through he called a buddy over who started sketching too. Soon as they finished one of each of us they brought out a clipboard full of bank notes with different rates on and started saying how they should be paid for their time and that they would normally charge x. We haggled them right down but still ended up parting with around £30 for the 2.
Bonjour, Je vous ai découvert depuis peu, et j'apprécie vraiment vos témoignages, pleins d'exactitudes et de bienveillance. Comme ici, tout ce que vous dîtes est juste et très bien observé. Cette 'mauvaise graine' (restons polis) est souvent issue d'organisations mafieuses, roumaines, albanaises, etc. La police les connaît bien, et vous les retrouvez à Berlin ou ailleurs.
Something ive always done to avoid pick pockets was put a rubber band around my wallet. It doesnt slide out of your pocket easily and you can feel it. Also put in front pocket like they said
After just getting back from Paris your 100% correct. I used the metro most of the time but I did need to use a Taxis when I took a night time dinner cruise. The good thing is they have Taxi Stands around most tourist areas so we just grabbed one there. I gave him the name and address of the hotel and off we went no problem. I made sure the meter was running and they took credit cards. For the scammers I just ignored them and walked pass them. For museums I would urge everyone to buy tickets before you leave home. One reason is some are time sensitive so you need to pick a time that isn't full, they only let a certain number of people in. As far as pickpockets they are everywhere I kept a money bag under my shirt. If you do get robbed shrug it off don't let it ruin your trip.
I did not for the 30% or more pricing for the English menu ! It's good to know because it's something I don't pay attention because I am French. Thank you Colleen and Antoine
“No thank you!” In English or the country’s native language goes a long way. I try to say it with a smile but firmly and keep on walking. If they don’t let up, it’s not so friendly anymore lol Sorry not sorry! I’m minding my own business trying to have a holiday. You’re not entitled to ruin it.
I went to a restaurant and KNOW for a fact that I over paid. I walked in speaking English and of course they gave me an English menu. The restaurant was located in a tourist area. I didn't over pay by much but I know I paid more. This was recent like last week. I really enjoyed Paris and your videos helped.
Big thanks for all your tips on visiting Paris from scams to watch out for to metro tickets to buy. Made our family trip to see the final stage of the TDF very enjoyable and wanting us to return to Paris again. The public transport is magnificent and very affordable. We covered so much on our long weekend. Thank you
I had one of those teenagers try to pick pocket me when we were in Aix-en-Provence. Thank God my husband saw her and yelled to me. She had a cardigan on front of her. She wouldn’t have been able to pick pocket me anyway because I was wearing a Travelon anti theft cross body purse.
Great summary of advice. Until the pandemic we visited Paris a couple of times a year and have certainly seen many of these scams. One other not mentioned concerns small groups of adolescents asking for sponsorship towards a race or similar with funds going to a good cause. Obviously they want payment alongside signatures because they know that you won’t be around when the race date arrives. These groups tend to focus on the Gare du Nord and the area around the Louvre. They can be quite verbally aggressive when payment is refused but just walk away, these areas are well policed and generally crowded, I’ve not seen any physical violence. We were taken in by a gold ring first time around, years ago now. I still have the faded brass plumbing fitting for which I paid the ‘finder’ the princely sum of 2€! When these people approach me speaking English, I reply by saying that “I don’t speak English” (in English of course). If they speak to me in French I respond “je ne parle pas français” they soon get fed up! One tip, if you have a handbag with you when sitting at table for coffee or similar I always anchor the bag by putting a chair leg between strap and bag, that way it can’t be stolen quite so easily as pulling at the bag would cause the chair and sitter to be aware immediately. Very sorry to hear about the price differences linked to menus in English rather than French, I haven’t seen that before so perhaps it is a trend that has started more recently? Really do hope that travel to Paris, or anywhere really, will feel safe again as the year progresses.
I've seen the price scam (and the used tickets one) already in 1995. I speak French, but my friend spoke English, so one crepe kiosk (those used to be a thing, selling crepes from a van) tried to charge her double the price. Fortunately she knew what I had paid, so was able to say she'll pay just the same that I had. In more recent years, in Troyes, which is a relatively small city, I saw an antique shop raised their prices for July. That was when a lot of British tourists appeared, so it was quite obvious the shopkeeper was trying to take advantage. Need to add that I've spoken Finnish (my native language) to a scammer on some occasions, like on a RER train from the airport when it was obvious we are tourists and also couldn't get out of the situation.x) It worked well.
True, by accident I came across your channel. This is the 1st time I'm going to Paris this May.visiting London, after 35 years and doing Europe. Thank you for the warning signs.
Thanks a lot for this guide Les Frenchies. Helped me and my wife as we are currently in Paris for a week vacation. One scam that was not mentioned is the three cup game scam, which is still very active in the Eiffel Tower area unfortunately. During the time we went there, I counted three tourists that have fallen to this kind of scam - a European, Indian and Turk. The european, I knew she was already scammed because she was about to give cash to an ‘angry’ scammer. Maybe she refused to pay after losing the game but got strongarmed by the scammers.
We almost became a pick pocket victim in the the Metro. I noticed it though that the young lady was up to something but before I told my hubby to hold on to his belongings, a nice passenger reprimanded the young lady in French of what she was about to do. She got off at the next stop & we thanked the nice man for his concern. Btw there were two of them.
They tried the golden ring trick on me in Paris... but I was too stupid to understand what they wanted from me 🤣 so they threw a random "putain" at me and left me alone XD
Pickpockets are everywhere especially popular tourist destinations like Paris, Rome, Barcelona. I've been targeted twice, once in Rome inside a bus traveling to the Vatican. The second time in a restaurant in Barcelona. Always be aware of your surroundings, they do work in groups. Don't get distracted.
I was in Paris Dec 2015 and my wallet and passport was stolen in the metro. Besides the passport they didn't really get much else of value. While I was at the police station reporting the incident, there was a Japanese tourist who told me her story. She was in the restroom at a restaurant, washing her hands with her bag behind her slung over her shoulder, and a young lady came to the next sink and started chatting her up. That young lady had a partner who proceeded to go through her purse - they stole 10,000 euros and 5 passports. She was holding everything for her family. I stopped feeling sorry for myself right away.
Once upon a time in France, I was watching an open air concert. Felt my wallet slide out of my pocket. I turned and grabbed the guy behind - he panicked ! I saw another guy run off in the crowd. I think they were passing wallets to a 'runner'. The guy I grabbed, freaked out, said he knew the kid and that we could go get my wallet back. We jumped on a bus, he even paid for me. In my anger, I hadn't realised that he was taking me away from the scene to God knows where. A bunch of guys he knew got on the bus, I immediately clocked and jumped off the bus. He didn't say a thing, just stared. I followed the bus by foot to the next stop. They all got off, and went down another street. I approached and looked round the corner. There was a gang of them around 10 guys. I immediately bolted ! Gave up hope on ever finding my wallet again but left wondering what could have happened... Just a warning that it's all organised, be wise !
My phone was snatched from my coat pocket in a metro station. Just as I was about to enter the metro station with my ticket a young man bumped into my back (at that very moment he snatched my phone) and entered the metro station with me. I first assumed that he just didn’t have a ticket and that this was his way to get into the metro station, by simply just entering with me at the same time. However, once we were on the other side I got wary and touched my backpack and then the pockets of my coat all while looking at that man. He just stared back at me and did not run away. I realized then, that he had taken my phone. I immediately (maybe a little aggressively) approached him and screamed that he should give me my phone back and he did. He gave it back instantly. This experience kinda left me uneasy since I don‘t know why he gave it back to me. I checked my phone a couple of times after it, since I believed he did something to it, but he didn‘t. This happened to me this year in January and I am going back to Paris this Saturday again. Hopefully there will be no such experiences anymore. So, also be very aware in the metro stations, if someone bumps into you, check if anything was taken, since that is a distraction to snatch something out of the pockets of your coat or your bag (if visible)
As a New Yorker, we have long ignored, and been causcious of, ANYONE approaching you on the street...as being problematic. This is exacrly why. So much for our unfriendly rep...there IS a reason for it. Being a victem can ruin your day...hell, month..I would MUCH rather be considered rude... Still, crooks WILL go where the pickings are good...make sure that ISN'T YOU.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel For a NY'er, this self protection is automatic...i've never let it spoil my enjoyment of the city. The streets are exciting, electric, in their energy, and i love being on them. They are the BEST way to see NYC, because EVERY block is something new and unexpected, that a vehicle will pass by, too quickly. Even before the gradual, and near total reno of NewYork, ( like the amazing redesign of Times Square, as it's hub... making it literally walkable, in relative safety, from end to end)...i sort of enjoyed skirting the more iffy neighborhoods. The NYC stride, and confidence, screams "i'm not a tourist". Crooks look for EASY. Frankly, the only time i was EVER "mugged", was in a small "city"upstate...BECAUSE I FORGOT TO BE CAREFUL, AWARE,.... DUMB. But since my money and keys were always tucked in my front pockets, he got MY MAKEUP. Annoying, but not tragic. I had been walking 2 blocks, "downtown", in daylight, to meet a friend for happy hour.. This crap can happen ANYWHERE...at least, in NYC, or Paris, you're not getting bored to death...TOO. Just be smart. BE CAREFUL. AND ...don't be afraid to be rude, even LOUD, if bells go off... As they say, an ounce of prevention... which is why these guys target tourists, newbees.
I loved NYC when I was there and I managed to not get ripped off during those four days... I would love to see NYC again. The scamming methods seem to be the same everywhere on the planet 😮 Scammers are always targeting people who seem a bit lost and in need of orientation. People who actually live and work in those places will not approach strangers as they usually have other things to do.
Best way to avoid scams is to avoid Paris altogether. I’ve been traveling to France every year for twenty years, and haven’t spent significant time in Paris since ‘05. There is SO much to see outside of the big city. France IS NOT Paris.
Very true. Last time we were in Paris for a longer time we stayed in Vincennes. There's metro and RER lines going there, but it was a much more peaceful neighborhood. This was in 2014. Paris can be a nice city even these days, but I deffinitely prefer to go somewhere else. @Adóre The Loire valley is an easy place for a tourist, there's a lot of castles and gardens to see, bus and train lines, etc. The tourism office in Tours also has a list of minibus companies that organize trips to various places. Also you can get some really good food and wines.
The gold ring scam nearly happened to me many years ago while I was walking outside of the Louvre. A woman walked up to me and tried to give the ring to me and I told her I had no use for it, plus I wasn't carrying any currency.
Applies to most touristy cities in Italy as well, Rome & especially Naples. In fact Roman cities are far worse for petty theft than French cities, especially on crowded trains and buses.
I fell victim to #8 in Gare du Nord. Man approached me emphatically asking for directions as he was lost. When I couldn’t help him he became more agitated and he walked away. Moments later, I noticed my leather folder with my travel itineraries was gone. Obviously there was a second guy waiting for me to get distracted and swiped it from on top of my suitcase. Fortunately we were still able to check in at the hotel. I requested my travel person to email another copy of my travel vouchers. The frustrating thing about this is I was aware about this scam but still failed to recognize it as it was happening. As soon as I noticed my folder missing I knew they got me. Happened first week of June 2017.
Then menu scam really hurt my feeling my first time in Paris lol. I went to a restaurant with some friends and they gave us an English menu without even asking. I then went the next day alone, feeling brave and wanting to practice my French, so I asked for the French menu and was super confused at how much the prices had gone down from what I ordered yesterday. 😅😢
Can you name the restaurant? Thanks!
When traveling......or any time, anywhere actually.......I find the best practice is to simply ask the price before you order. And that includes asking if that's for the whole enchilada or by the person, by the day or by the hour, or whatever they can fudge to screw you.
@Jessie pinkman Lol um I wasn’t robbed at all, what are you talking about?
@@yukichong2260 Sorry, this was over a decade ago, I don’t remember, but it was near the Louvre, if that helps.
The French are just bitter that English, not French, is the international language 😬🌍
Very good advice. I was hit with 'The Gold Ring' scam on my first day and it was a warning from a Taxi Driver that made me ready. If I might just add, I was approached by a beautiful young girl, about 6 years old who was crying, she handed me a note in English, stating that her mother was in hospital and she needed help, as she handed me the note, there was a scuffle behind me and I found that three 'Roma' women had come up behind me and were grabbing at my camera case. A local business women, was pushing them away in a manner I would have never done. She then scolded me about allowing anyone to distract me in that way and walked off. She very likely saved me the loss of my camera.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel True. I saw a large group of young Gypsy children overwhelm a tourist standing in line at the louvre sticking their little hands in all his pockets at once and pretending to hug him but his daughter lived in Paris and she recognized it immediately and start smacking them and their hands and screaming at them to protect her father which she did. They were an Asian family so looked like tourists.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel Yes, they certainly should. Most people will be unprepared for how pushy these gypsy kids can be ( this is a speciality of the Roma ). They are especially dangerous around cash-machines ( ATM ) where several of them try to distract you and then they try to grab the money,.
I was alone waiting for my son when a woman approached me showing me a ring on the ground close to my foot. I told her it was not mine and I didn't want it in a polite but no nonsense way and she could have it, she left, no need to be rude.
@@avagrego3195 sure there is. why not? did she take the ring??
The prices on the menu doesn’t apply to all tourists, just Americans as you’re so hated universally
You need to also mention groups of young people with clipboards collecting for “charity”. We politely declined in French, but they swarmed us and wouldn’t go away until we started yelling and got kind of nasty. Alarms went off in my head telling me we were going to be pickpocketed by them, so many all around us. Don’t hesitate to make a scene.
@@kurrwa wow. No.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel why? I went to Greece and I was only bothered by Africans. Is this racist? just a true statement. no wonder Europe going down weak culture has no right to exist
@@kurrwa the word is coloured. But sometimes they re gypsies. I dont know are they white or not
@@LesFrenchiesTravel Just tell the truth, whatever that may be, it helps.
@@kurrwa yes, they are not native French people
I knocked a pick pocket out in Amsterdam when I was 16. The dude looked shocked that someone actually stood up to him. He was bleeding everywhere and the cops got involved and arrested him. I couldn't say enough good things about the Amsterdam police world class.
Reminds me of a friend of mind, somewhere in Spain, having a cyclist drive past and trying to grab his bag. My friends is a huge dude, and did not appreciate it, so kicked the other and the bicycle into the street. But...had a surprise aroumd the next corner when bicycle dude waited and hit him over the head with a pottery potplant😮.Still did not get the bag bit my friend ended up with stitches on his head. Being a commercial diver it affected his work, so I assume any future pick pockets would not have gotten up again😂
Well done that the language these Romanian understand 👏 👍 👌
Was in Paris in 2009. Was approached about both the gold ring and friendship bracelet scams and told them both to go away. Also had a woman try to distract me with a letter written in English she needed 'read' outside Notre Dame Cathedral but kept my back to some planters and told her to keep her distance. She too went away. Lastly, we were enjoying Dinner at a restaurant on the street and watched a 'crippled' beggar get up and walk away just before another 'cripple' sat down in her place and resumed begging. It's all very organized with schedules, territories and lots of teams. I haven't felt any desire to return.
Tell the mute scammer HEY! you dropped a euro, and watch them break the act.
When me and my husband went to Paris, I wore a cross body bag. I always kept it in front of me and always kept my hands on the bag. I never it hung it on my chair in a restaurant. We kept everything in it we needed. Never kept our phones on the table either. I'm one of those very cautious peeps that locks their doors on the vehicle when getting gas.
Your name "Frye" is short for "Frightened" I guess
For men do you recommend not putting your wallets in your rear pockets?
@@PixelPerfect3 never put your wallet neither your phone into an open pocket.
You need to put them in closing pockets.
@@PixelPerfect3
I travel internationally and l never put my wallet in my back pocket or any pocket, use a pouch that goes underneath your shirt. Best thing is to blend in, don't look touristy, they look for people wearing ball caps ect., l have traveled and you can spot tourist; just have your wits about you, look at your surroundings. Never indulge in conversation with people you don't know.
@@slimshady94 with a name like that, one would expect you to have some street smarts, but guess not. That person is not frightened at all. They are street smart. Hope if you ever travel that you don’t lose all your money and your passport in a foreign because of your cocky attitude. It’s a terrible thing to have happen. Pickpockets are reality.
I wish I had seen this video sooner. I got scammed last year in the summer and these guys are really spilling the truth. Take their advice to heart.
How?
Those scammers are not french, they should be out of the country and send back home! we need a big tidy up in Paris and after you will definitely see less scammers!
@@chrishayes312 God forbid, don't say that or you'll have the politically correct police onto you. God forbid, we actually admit it publicly and tell the truth.
@@gallopinggoose7997gotta love the Schengen zone
In Paris right now, and I had the gold ring scam crossing the bridge over the Seine from the Louvre and someone try to stop me to sign a petition. Thanks to these videos, I spotted and easily avoided both. Having a fab time here 🎉
Another one I had that is not mentioned so much. Again walking near the Louvre. Boy who looks about 12-14 sitting on the ground in front of the souvenir shops, very thin and covered with a blanket. In front of him is a clear cup filled with some coins. You don't notice it and accidentally kick it over. You are supposed to feel bad, and bend over to help pick up the coins. Which is when you are targeted. Keep walking.
Great advice. I had an attempted pickpocket on the train from CDG to Gare de Nord. Thanks to you I knew they were fishy and kept a tight grip on my luggage and had my wallet in my front pocket(I always do). The train stopped and one guy tried to grab my bag while the other tried to put his hand in my pocket. I yelled "hey, hey, hey" and they ran away. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
There is also a scam going on at the Disney Eruo in Paris.
While visiting Paris, we bought train tickets to go to Disney. When we arrived there (which was the last station) we (and almost every tourist) were approached by a group of young adults in security uniforms claiming to be “metro security” and stated that we had broke the law and bought a ticket for 1 zone but traveled to 2 zones and that we had a pay a fine of €75 per person. When we explained to them that we specifically bought the tickets from the train station and we should have to be penalized for their error, they told us that because it was a mistake that they would only charge us €150 instead of the €300. At this time I realized that I was a scam because if we had truly broken the law, they would not be giving us a discount, and no country expects you to pay right there and then but rather ticket you. So I told them if we have broken the law then call the police. At this time they got agitated and told us if the police come they will take us to jail. I insisted that they call the police. Shortly after that, another person came claiming to be a supervisor and told us he will let us through this time but next time to buy the proper ticket. Sadly we saw too many people that actually paid them. I guess it helped to live in NYC for 3 years and learn the subway tricks!
Same in London, groups of youths in supermarket-generic tabards claiming to charge “penalty fare” discount if you pay on the spot. Real Staff are alert & chase scammers away but a few tourists pay up. Also beware sad -eyed beggar women with a “hungry baby” that’s just a rolled up bundle of rags!
Thanks for this! Love how France has just given up
I had something similair in Italy. They told us we didnt checked in while we just bought tickets. They told us pay now or we send the fine to your home adress. We chose that option and never heard of it again. Later that week we Saw the guy in the same bus and hé didnt dare look at us. It was our first holiday abroad…
That's not a scam. They are genuine. But it's very unfair for sure.
Just got back from Paris. Growing up in New York really shows how most big cities really are similar in this way. But with Just different languages
I have been to Paris several times.Never been scammed,although came close.Got into a”taxi” at the airport and he took off with us then charged us some outrageous amount.I started to yell at him to take us back to the airport or I would get the police. He took us straight back.You have to be assertive and question when things don’t feel right and be highly attentive to what’s going on
I was in Paris once with my brother and we paid in a restaurant with a 50 euro note. The bill was 40, including tip. The waiter never came back with my 10 euro, so on our way out I 'accidently' trashed a glass box with apple pie... that's just my way of reacting...I think their damage went way beyond the 10 euro's...people from the restaurant looked so scared they didn't come after us...I felt pretty good...we call that 'The Soprano Reaction'...
I got scammed by that first trip. In hindsight I wish I would have threatened to call police...
That didn't work with my taxi driver in Shanghai. We were fighting for 30 minutes and I lost. Okay, company paid.
Parisian here. The "gold ring" technique is used all over the planet in bit touristic cities. I've oberved it in Venice recently, with variants in items but basically the same thing all the time.
Another scam I saw was at Notre Dame. I was in the forecourt and a youth came up to me and said 'English?' I said 'yes', and they held up a sign saying that their brother had been detained at the border and they needed money to got him released. I refused. Later I saw a different youth walk up to a couple and say 'English?' They replied 'Nein". Then the youth said 'Deutsch?' They said 'Ja'. Then the youth proceeded to hold up a sign in German saying the exact same story, fishing for money.
Not sure if you’d call it a scam, but always check your restaurant bill for items you didn’t have, and also to see if they’ve already added service charges. Applies everywhere, I guess, not just on vacation.
Lots of wisdom there! When I was in Paris you’d always have these guys come up to you with a Polaroid camera and they would take your picture and then make you feel guilty if you didn’t buy it. When I saw them coming I would raise my camera and take their picture first. I actually did this and the guy cracked up laughing because he knew that I had him figured out!
@@LesFrenchiesTravel 😂😉
Reply non merci, desolee.
no one can make me feel guilty. for anything.
Nicely played!
Ha! Ha! Same thing, but this was many years ago and I was a gullible Mr Bean type in my twenties at the time and I gave them the money!
I still enjoy travel, but I am finished with the big cities. Now I budget for a rental car, and head for the countryside. Authentic food, great scenery, much cheaper prices, and I don't have to spend my entire trip saying, "Eff off!" in Senegalese.
Same thinking!
So tired to self defence everything. Travelling it self is a tire job already.
A few years ago me and my family were in Paris in a museum. A pickpocket was slowly creeping up on my dad to grab his wallet and make a run for it, but fortunately my dad was quick and caught the pickpocketer before they could steal anything
please tell me Dad did some damages to the pickpocketer's face.
@@LongTran-sg9vc my dad caught the pickpocket but unfortunately they ran away. My dad told the French police there and they didn’t do anything about it. On the good side though the pickpocket didn’t steal anything😅
Myself and a friend were in the McDonald's near Gare Du Nord, and we were being sized up by a 'family' of pickpockets.
I saw one guy nod to his friend, and point to the pocket I had pulled my change out from. So, I sat down and pulled out my phone, pretended to make a call, and said 'Police' quite loudly..............they backed off!!
Thanks for confirming the gold ring scam. My first walk by the Arc of Triumph I was approached by a desperate-looking young woman who claimed she had found a ring - and I sensed this must be a scam and forcibly walked away. I am so glad that I did.
yeah was in a phone booth and some guy tried it on me, ran off. lol
@@subaruadventures I kept thinking of the line "you can't cheat an honest man." But really, the first thing you think is if some local finds a valuable, why on earth would they approach a tourist about it?
Same happened to us with the ring scam in Paris, except I took it and pretened to throw it in the Seine, should off seen their faces! I threw back at them as we walked away. Seems to be a common one.
I have been to Paris many times and never seen a scam, ever. Where are these people visiting.
@@robdangerfield7129 the only ones I've seen there is the cup shuffle scam, which are mostly operated around the Eiffel tower. You can find videos on how they work if you are curious. They are really strange
We have been to Paris twice and it is a beautiful City. The first time we didn't encounter any problems but the last time was during December and someone tried to pull the gold ring scam on us and we just walked away and we almost got caught up in the braclet scam at the Eifle Tower.. So sad that so much goes on at a place like Paris.
This advice pretty much sums up all of the European cities that I have visited. Zips on inside pockets are a godsend. A couple of the things we do are, we keep loose bank notes in pockets which are not seen and have an empty wallet in the place that you usually have your wallet because when you get bumped you instantly feel your pocket. Go to a local grocery shop and buy a couple of bits and carry your plastic bag, people assume you are local.
We were in Paris in 2015. We arrived on the Eurorail from London and had to get a taxi to our hotel. The first driver I asked wanted 100 euro so I said no way. The second driver looked up our hotel and said 60 euro so I said OK. After we reached our hotel we talked to another couple who did the same trip. They got a real taxi and it cost them less than 20 euro.
I don't understand why you would think it's acceptable to pay €60 for a taxi trip to hotel in any country around the world. Even taxis in Europe's most expensive country, Norway, don't cost that amount. It's crazy that anyone would agree to pay such an amount. A bit out of touch aren't we?
@@Dom4z lack of homework before going...
@@Dom4z In switzerland that is quite common to pay 50€+ for a 10-15km ride
@@Dom4z not sure how you can make any claims about the price without knowing the distance. Paris is large and depending on your destination, it can easily be a 35km travel from the airport to the hotel.
Don't use a taxi in Paris, they are expensive and they may scam you (you'll pay like in a week-end when it's monday), just use Uber or Bolt.
One I had not thought about happened to two British UA-camrs going to Paris. They had their bag stolen not at the train station or walking but at the hotel lobby. As they were signing in a guy just walked off with their bag. Bottom line you really need to stay alert until you lock your stuff away.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel They showed hotel security video of the guy. Used his foot to slide the bag over and off he went. It can happen anywhere but when people are traveling their senses are overwhelmed by a new environment. What made me laugh was the hotel didn't even give them a free meal.
Paris Tourist Board must be so proud. I visited the city over 40 years ago, it was beautiful. Wouldn’t bother going back now. Holding onto my bag for dear life and making sure I’m not being ripped off not my idea of a holiday.
Paris is also nowadays very crowded. Huge amounts of tourists, and it seemed to me the locals aren't always as motivated to keep up the places. The cafe at Invalides was horrible, though we enjoyed the museum itself. Just ordered espressos there to be able to sit down. But even in Paris there are still nice places to go, like the Luxembourg park and the area around it. Charming and we ate at a nice, small restaurant.
I'd say it's well worth it to visit other places in France. You can find a lot of smaller cities that are great. Last time we were in Blois in 2019, they are famous for the gardens, and you can visit some of the Loire valley castles, though Tours has more variety. In the cities they often speak English these days, and places that don't get millions of tourists tend to be more welcoming.
My first time in Paris, my friends and I went to a restaurant for lunch. It was in a touristy area and none of us spoke much French, but we were able to communicate well enough with the waiter, who spoke a bit of English. At the end of the meal we asked for the bill, and when we got it we saw that we had been charged for several items we didn’t order (or receive). All of a sudden our waiter spoke no English whatsoever, and he kept acting like he had no idea what we were saying when we tried to dispute the extra charges on the bill. I speak English, Spanish, and German fluently, so I told him in all three of those languages, plus some broken French, that we were NOT paying for items we didn’t order. He still played dumb. I made a big scene and even went to the front door so I could scream for the police. That finally got the idiot’s attention and our bill got "corrected." Lots of apologizing from the manager or owner, like he wasn’t in on the whole thing. That was in 1990 and I didn’t return to Paris for 25 years despite traveling to other parts of Europe several additional times. That one experience made me hate France and the French people for decades.
As an french i apologize for their behavior it's so rude from them , i hope you will have a better expérience next time, i dont live in paris .
So one asshole made you hate the whole french people ? That's a hell of a generalization..
I can totally relate. In 2004 I had a layover at their airport - Charles De Gaulle. I literally felt like I spent 2 hours in hell. ALL airport employees were purely hostile and unprofessional. I still vividly remember their stinky and filthy airport bathroom. Now imagine a restaurant in the US giving two different menus to two different groups of people, or creating a situation like yours? They can say whatever they want, but I am so appreciative that I live in the USA. I was born and raised in Russia, but I am very thankful to America for allowing my family to move here.
@@borisgetman9222 yes, I had a number of encounters in all parts of Paris that were like you described - openly hostile and unprofessional. Back during my first trip to Paris, the Metro still used tokens. As my friends and I were trying to see several areas of the city, I wanted to buy 10 tokens. The woman at the window gave me one. I held up 10 fingers and said "dix." She just glared at me. I said "ten," "zehn," "diez." She said something sternly in French. I said, "I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Ich verstehe nicht." She made a motion with her hand for me to move away from her window. I paid for and took the one token. I had to buy more tokens at the next Metro station, which went better - the guy there apparently knew how to count to "dix."
But everywhere I went, I was treated with rudeness. The front desk at my hotel, in shops, bars. Once we left Paris and we’re driving towards Switzerland, the people became wonderfully nice. The very best meal and nicest experience of the whole trip was in some tiny little town halfway between Paris and Basel. Wonderful staff in this small café, delicious food, and very reasonable prices.
@@DaveTexas Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! I have met French people in the US, and they all seemed nice. But I am definitely not going to France. My list of European countries to visit: Switzerland, Norway, Italy and Denmark.
Recently (or not recently), there’s also the “sign my petition” scam, the scammers ask you if you speak English, then ask you to sign this petition. While they keep distracting you, someone will pickpocket you.
I found it easy to distinguish from actual petitions because they called me “lady” instead of “miss”
Thank you for the video. Most of people I know experienced pickpockets in Paris. Myself first time went 5 years ago, couldn’t sleep the whole night before the train to Paris. I was doing good, did saw few cases you mentioned in your video; golden rings; 2 guys tried to follow me,one disturbed me, another stole my things; someone tried to tired strings in your hand ...nothing working. I feel annoyed and sad about the situation: you can’t peacefully enjoy the city.
I will go to Paris next month for over a month, the old nightmare came back again; good thing is I have my friend with me this time. Thank you again for the video, very well made!
tie strings not tired strings
Get a can of mace spray
Watch out for card cloning. I went to pay for a meal in a chain restaurant near the Moulin Rouge, the waiter put my card in the machine and immediately a chef popped out of the kitchen and said could he speak to the waiter, all this time my card is in the machine. My instinct was to pull the card out, but then the waiter re appeared, apologised and I paid.
This was the only place in Paris I used the card, the card company covered the loss, which was substantial but I was furious with myself for not reacting to gut instinct!
@@LesFrenchiesTravel Wish I hadn’t either!!!
I was just in Paris and handled scammers in a very childish way ... chasing them around and got them mad at me . Good video you two . Great advice 👏
😅😅😅 I'm sure they are still there , next time you go back you can give it a try 😅... but it seems our videos don't stop them sadly . Cheers to you both
Ha ha,i just watched one of your videos Stupid Tourist.Funny dude .
How dare you try to steal ‘your’ money back! These uncouth Americans
I was in Paris on the first week of September. After all my research online, I decided to not look like a tourist and I can tell you, no one bothered me or the rest of my family.
Do the junkie look 🥵and smell like a toilet 🚽😷also, you can get used to it friend, permanently ✌️
Ohhh no 🤤,,, you didn't go round like a whxxe!, you can get arrested for that 💅👄sweetheart 😂
What was your way to not look like a tourist? Specific cloth, attitude etc?
@@BrawndoQC yes to everything you mentioned. It is true that the US citizens are the ones with baseball caps, athletic wear, overweight and loud. I’m overweight, but I worked on the other matters. The only thing that were athletic on me were my shoes, I wore Van slip ons, but my clothing attire was business casual workwear (I’m gay). Dark jeans, nice casual shirts, and matching colored shoes.
@@P.Johanna so smart
Can you imagine a restaurant in the US giving two different menus to two different groups of people? They can say whatever they want, but I am SO appreciative that I live in the USA.
Why???
Well in USA the system itself will scam u- too high tips, too expensive for low qlty for almost everything
The street scam artists don’t bother me when I am in Paris. I have an expression on my face that says “leave me the hell alone!” 😀
I travel with a guy that is 6'2" 250. No one wants to pi$$ off the big guy!
I travel with my 6'4" husband who is Welsh and always has a murderous look on his face. Great deterent, they don't know he is a pussy cat 😂
Yes Exactly!
My trick has been to dress like a busy parisian housewife...😘
Yeah, i am in no way a scary dude but here in our city (well it's in the north of Germany so actual scammers are rare and not as "professional" as in Paris or Rome) my resting bitchface and the combination of being relatively big, bearded and very obviously a death metal fan is usually enough to make them ignore me. Like, it happened several times that people in front of me and behind me got asked but i got away scot free.
I've gotten a bag stolen at a Restaurant and I swear up and down that the restaurant staff was in on it. The waitress kept trying to distract us and once it was stolen they stalled us deliberately so that we could not catch the culprit.
Bag straps around your leg/foot, even if distracted nobody can snatch it.
I grew up in Johannesburg and we put our bags under the table around our feet, so every time we go anywhere in Europe I do this. My husband finds it funny and I get strange looks 😂
Was in Barcelona and had looped my backpack under the leg of the table. When I looked away briefly and looked back, there was a guy crouching trying to lift the table haha. Luckily I still have my bag.
@@blckwaterpark I would have kicked him in his face & told him to stop looking up my dress.
@@ameliab7245 well, thats how you get your liver sliced in half, so i would advise to act more rationally
but what shocked me was instead of running away or some normal behavior in such a situation, he just got up and walked over to the table next to me to try to scam them. This was such normal behavior to him.
Good advice on avoiding pickpockets. I always keep everything on the inside pockets close to my body, don't put anything you don't want stolen in your bag or on show. Been to Paris and many other major cities and never once had something stolen.
Here's a good one. You're in Paris and someone comes up to you and says "Be careful. There are a lot of pick pockets around here" You instinctively pat your pocket containing your money/wallet to check and have indicated to his accomplice where your money is.
In that case, I wonder what would happen of you replied, "Des pick-poquettes? Comme toi?
My husband and I went to a cafe - we had fruit cups and tea. The couple across the way were obviously friends with the waiter - and when we got the bill it charged us for roti du porc and wine. I think the waiter heard us speaking English and tried to pull a fast one. So I held up the ticket and said to the waiter (in French). You know damn well we had fruit cups - what the hell are you trying to pull?) Those bills were switched back tout de suite!
Another tip about asking for the English menu is NOT to ask for the menu, because the word menu in French is like the daily blue plate special and the “menu” is called la carte.
How can i differentiate between touristic ones and family owned restaurants,sir.
Made a mental note.... la carte
Thankyou..
I traveled through Paris by myself and saw some guys talking. I was going to the train station and one of them showed up next to me. Asked where I was going and he told me that we had about 1.5 hours before the train comes. Then he wanted me to go to a restaurant to get a bite to eat. He would not leave me alone. I finally found a ticket man walking between trains and told him about this guy. I turned around the the guy was gone. The man bugged the hell out of me. I never did figure out what the scam.
I had a friend tell me that she went to Paris as a teenager and her and her friend were out and a guy asked them if they wanted to go to a party. The guy brought them to a building and into an empty room and attacked them. She was very petite, but her and her friend fought him off. I think this kept me from really listening to people talking to me. Probably saved me.
i m french living in sweden , i growed up in paris dans le 20 ieme arrondissement and i reconnized all the scams you described except the one with the gold ring , and you re absolutly right paris is a beautiful city but be aware and dont be an obvious tourist . great video .et bonne vacance .
Hopefully you find Sweden more peaceful and safe...
Love from Norway 🇳🇴
You should be able to walk around any major city in the world, looking obviously like a tourist, and not be bothered by scammers.
It's way past time the police were more heavy handed with idiots like these.
No words for cafés and restaurants ripping tourists off though. Pleased to say that doesn't happen in New Zealand!
@@kelleywoods5244 New Zealand loll r u kidding me , France is one of the most popular destinations in the world the police cant do alpt and they have better things to do then helping dumb tourists. Paris is a MEGA city just like New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong etc its not s small town.
@@doomergirl3981 obviously English isn't your first language, judging by your dreadful spelling and grammar mistakes.
You need to study up on reading and comprehension my dear 😉
@@doomergirl3981 Well, Tokyo may be a "mega city", as you say, but the vast majority of cafés and restaurants don't rip off tourists. There are some sketchy places that seem to scream out, "Don't come in here if you know what's good for you!", especially up to the mid-2000s or so in Ueno, Kabuchi-cho, etc., but I've never had a problem.
My coworker's father got mugged last week while walking around the touristy areas, they took his heirloom gold chain necklace, luckily he is fine. Thank you for this reminder.
Wow! Obviously scamming is not working any more.
I am Parisian and never even heard of the restaurant english menu scam, if i was with some friends and find out i'd take a video of the whole thing and call the anti-scam line to report it.
Getting robbed is not a scam, but the warnings are fair. Summary: Anyone who wants to give you something free should be treated as a potential threat. Don’t be rude, just be firm and reject them.
Do not make eye contact. Maybe see an imaginary friend in the distance, wave and call out their name, then hurry away.
why not be rude? who cares?
Disagree. Just ignored them and keep walking, like a local.
@@suzycreamcheesez4371 Because a portion of Americans, especially in the south (from what I read online), were brought up with the mentality of it is polite to always say smile and say, "hello" to strangers, and make small talk. They call it "southern hospitality", up in New England, we call it creepy.
If you are in a crowd & a disruption & jostling starts to happen that is a huge warning to hold on to your belongings. Pickpockets are working - got me at the château Versailles 😢
My husband and I sat in a Paris park for an extended time, and noticed a woman ‘working’ the tourists with some scam printed on a paper. Her young daughter was following her looking so sad and embarrassed. Then we saw them talking to what looked like a handler, a young man. They just looked trapped. I felt awful for them. I wondered what might happen to them if they didn’t make their “quota.”
Most likely Roms or Eastern Europeans like Albanians or Romanians - very brutal life
To be honest this can happen in any large city! It pays to be vigilant whenever you go out, wherever!
Chivarly is alive too. I'm a bit older. I was struggling with an oversized suitcase down stairs at a subway. A young man didn't say a word, took my suit case and left it at the bottom of the stairs.
Thought I might pipe in with another common trick used by panhandlers sitting on the sidewalks-often what they'll do is sit against a building on a busy sidewalk with a small paper or plastic cup (their favorite is clear plastic that's not easy to see) in front of them, filled with some coins (always copper, 1, 2 and 5 cent pieces-no higher denominations) and as they see pedestrians about to walk past them, they slyly push the cup forward into the path of the person/people walking to ensure that they accidentally kick it over. The cup and coins go flying, and most people will feel bad and stop to pick up all the coins and the cup, all the while apologizing for kicking it over...and then feeling so bad that they offer additional coins to add to the collection cup. In worse cases, there's a second person working this scam, and while the pedestrian is frantically picking up the coins they kicked over and apologizing profusely, the second person steals their wallet, phone or purse/bag/backpack that the pedestrian put on the ground in order to stop to pick up the coins. I realized this scam after it happened to me three times (I was never mugged myself, thank goodness, but I fell for it three times and gave additional coins because I felt bad), and I eventually started observing more closely when walking around Paris-it became very easy to spot when it was happening to other people. Scammers take advantage of people's generally good nature.
That is a new one!
True, this is why there should be prison sentences for these people. They are annoying AF, but worse they can ruin someone's lifetime vacation, and for that they should be made to pay dearly.
I've got the "gold ring" hanging in my garage as a reminder of my stupidity, but the young lady was so convincing and looked like she could do with some money.
I offered 1€ for the ring and the woman got mad and snatched it back. This was outside the Opera House
On Monmartre we encountered a guy who wanted to give me a rose (yeah, right). I knew about that scam and didnt take it. After you take the rose, they say the price ie. 5 euros. When you want to give it back, they pretend that you broke the flower and insist you pay. If you dont, their friends go after you and insist more.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel 2015
I’m from the UK and haven’t been to Paris since I was 4 years old. I have family there. My mum has been there several times and took us there when we were little. When I go again as an adult I’d have to prepare with a bit of French and on the look out for scammers. I’m quite direct and tend to reject random people coming up to me. I don’t walk around with texting like most people and I don’t leave my bags on the floor unattended
Your enthusiasm for Paris is so catching.
Something happened to me in a train station but I’m not sure if it was a scam. I was having difficulty in buying a ticket at one of the machines. This man walked up and offered to help. He moved in so quickly that it didn’t occur to me to refuse. He asked me where I wanted to go and went through the stages very quickly. I then put in my credit card but it didn’t work. So he used his own card. It came to €31. He handed me two tickets and €20. For some reason I thought ’No, I have the exact sum in notes in my wallet’, so I gave him that. He then directed me to the correct platform. I was thinking later maybe that €20 note was fake. Or maybe not. He could just have been a kind stranger.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel In fairness, he did seem to be genuinely kind.
Another great video! Many thanks! I have a couple ideas for another: Topic: Several common, frustrating logistical/directional issues for tourists. Examples: 1) Walking from Gare de l'Est to Gare du Nord. I've heard that there are no clear street markings for this. Even though the distance is tiny, it would be highly annoying to be taking wrong turns (on foot) while you're dragging along your luggage behind!; 2) How to use a Metro station to take an RER train to Versailles (and which Versailles train stop to use for the Chateau, as opposed to the town). Just some friendly suggestions...
@@LesFrenchiesTravel You're very welcome. We fly to Paris this Dec.1. From your experience, do you mind if I ask you how rainy Paris is in December? I know that you get quite a bit, but is it typically every day and nonstop? (Many thanks from a "lifelong Californian")!
@@LesFrenchiesTravel Thanks! I've convinced my wife (originally from Bangkok) to prepare for a deluge. "It is what it is"! (Give me a shout if you guys ever need any Thailand tourism insights, btw.)
Thank you so much for the tips! Going to France during peak season in less than a week and I’m so scared of losing my belongings to these scams. Great heads up and love your videos!!!
Don't bring expensive gear...Leave your Rolex watch and Cartier bag at home. Lock passport at the hotel...Pay attention.
One scam I ran into. You go into a restaurant bar which advertise happy hour 5eur a beer. But when you order you need to explicitly order the happy hour beer. If not they'll bring you "another beer" which costs 3 or 4 times as much. And speaking fluent french doesn't help either...
Just bring a bag full of snacks & drinks.
You completely missed the main way to get ripped off in Paris: working and living there. Seriously, from the moment I moved out from Paris (not the suburb, but AWAY), my financial situation has massively improved.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel ...depends on how you read it - I think it's hilarious
@@LesFrenchiesTravel unsubscribing due to that comment of yours
Your point 6 happens a lot in New York City. At a hotel restaurant for breakfast they’ll ask first if you want juice. Then they’ll give you the menu to find out it’s a $10 glass of juice.
One of the biggest scams is at the airport, you can buy a travel ticket for the metro, bus system for 7 days, and its actually a great deal. You are suppose to go to a photo booth and get your photo taken and stick it to the ticker, however the photo booth is out of order. You think nothing of it and then jump on the train. When you get off at any major toursit station, like eiffel tower, the louve etc there will be inspectors waiting to check tickets, when you show them the ticket without the photo its a 35 euro fine on the spot. You will notice that the inspectors are only at the tourist station spots. This is a government sanctioned scam.
Horrible scam if true.
They do a similar government sanctioned scam in Rome! They target Americanos as we are called!
OK the airport scam thing makes me so sad because this is my first week in France and I don't speak strong french and I got lost. I went around asking for help because I got lost so many times and some people were very unfriendly. I guess now I understand why they were unfriendly.
Excellent advise. I have visited Paris many times and by sheer luck I was never accosted by a peddler. In Spain I had my passport stolen even though I was careful. These thieves are like conjurers, quick, very quick.
It would be helpful if you could just tell us how yr passport got stolen in Spain. The info. could help other people.
.
From a pure parisian (born and raised), who lived 11 years in Colorado tho and love you people : thank you for this very accurate video. All of this is super true !
Be careful also with the "signing a petition" scam : a few young gipsy girls get around you to have you sign a paper, distract you and .... steal your wallet. Basic rule : when someone touches you, he is trying to distract you from another more subtile touch or reach in another part of your clothes.
Beside this, enjoy Paris. Sorry for the garbages all over the place, due to actual mayor, unfortunatly...
Bien d'accord!
Was in Paris 10 days ago. I recognise your input. Very appreciated. Nice video
Especially one with restaurants where they overcharge AND give you something you NEVER ordered.
We did not accept and they were angry. Dont care 🙂
Just stand your ground !!
Is it safe to pay with a credit card in Paris restaurants?
We went to Paris a few years ago. One day we decided to walk along the river to the Louvre. There were gold rings rolling towards us every 5 minutes. I ended up playing football with them.
My partner and I got lured into an underground car park at Gare du Nord to get a taxi as we were told that the metro was on strike. We very quickly got out of that situation and reported it to a security booth. They just laughed. Bunch of wankers. Couldn't get out of Paris quick enough.
It’s a shitshow, a feckin slum.
Calm down, drama queen's.. It is part of life someone is taking advantage of you. Learn to recognise, hush them off and enjoy your life.
It's not that complicated 😉✌🏻
@@Lucifer-jt8gq The cops don't like those flower sellers either.
When I was at the Eiffel Tower one time, two cops with sub machine guns were chasing a flower seller (for some reason). Needless to say, all of his mates ran off too!!
@@OmmerSyssel I'm sorry, but that's a pretty shitty attitude on your part.
@@OmmerSyssel clap em
Thanks for mentioning the ways of transport in Paris. We are also 80.000 legally authorized private or shuttle drivers in France. We have to do exams theory and practical to get the cab driver licence.
Just came back from Paris today and You are very different with Uber driver as well.
My dream is to go on the Paris subway but with pockets that are filled with baked beans and shards of broken glass
Such a great and important video. I have personally experienced a few of these myself the last two times I was there. The ring scam happened to me along the river. The bracelet in Montmartre and at the base of the Eiffel tower someone approached me with a 'Petition' to sign (a distraction so they could pick-pocket me) and luckily a large Frenchman very loudly and angrily confronted and scared them off. On another occasion a young woman approached me on a bridge with a piece of paper and shoved it at me, motioning for me to read it. It had a fake sob story on it in english that was meant to convince me to give her money. She got quite angry when I said non and walked away. Just be cautious and skeptical when ever you are approached. I've been living in Europe for 10 years now and any time ANYONE approaches me, my alarm bells ring.
Coworker was telling me her brother and two kids ordered two milkshakes and two daiquiris inside the Eiffel Tower tourist zone. It came out to $110 converted from euros.
Thanks a mil for your videos of Paris. This scam video has helped me avoid these scammers, one scammer from Montmarte was trying to put bracelet on me but I just quickly walked away. I just ignored people calling at me except for the ones that asked me to take a photo of them. Thanks for your recommendation on where to eat.
Omg i had experienced this a month ago but thankfully my family was with me and we said no. Thanks very much for this video
When we visited Paris, our tour guide warned us specifically about the gold coin scam and another petition scam that was popular at the time (they ask you to sign a petition, and then pick your pocket while you are signing it). I went out exploring on my own and both of those scams were tried on me back to back! The gold coin scam I think I would have avoided without her warning. As soon as they asked for money that would've raised alarms in my head. But the petition scam I might have fallen for without her warning. I love a good petition, lol.
This is how it is in every major cities. In Denmark we have the same issue during summer. Pickpocket is normal and people trying to scam tourists is normal too. ( However these are gypsies not Danes who will try to rip you off.)
All you need to do is to keep your bag/purse close to your stomach/chest in crowded spots and always research about a country you want to visit before you even travel to that destination! You can not afford to be stupid in a foreign country! An informative video like this is a great idea.
I totally agree to the scams mentioned in the video. I have been living here since 3 yrs. You just have to be careful. Also be careful with the group of teenagers in metro or in any touristic area. One of the member will try to ask you the directions or anything to distract you and another will try steal from you or open your bag or anything. Keep your bag pack in front and don’t sit/stand with a mobile phone near the metro doors (high chances to be snatched away).
We got surrounded by a group of youngsters on the metro, it makes you feel angry and scared at the same time, they got my bag open but luckily did not find anything of value. We also got charged 50 euros to go from Gare du Nord to another station, a distance we could have easily walked.
@@joyelmes7814 oh no ! I am so sorry you faced that. Just be careful. And i don’t understand how you were charged 50€ ? Did you book a taxi?
@@shikhakumawat8656 no, we were approached in the station, not a nice man. Will do better next time, if we ever go again.
@@joyelmes7814 aahh yes i know those kind of people too - they also sell you tickets at the metro station which doesn’t work and you might end up paying fine as well. I am so sorry you faced that. :( take care !
Last time I was in Paris I carried a crossbody bag with double zippers (you can zip from either direction). I used a small carabiner to thread through the small openings in the pulls to link them together. Didn’t mind the extra step when it was time to reach for my wallet!
We’ve been lucky enough to visit Paris three times and we have not had an issue because we took the precautions mentioned in this video.
We were able to foil a pair of pick pockets on the Eiffel Tower while waiting for the elevator to go down. One in front of us trying to distract us and one in back of us looking for the opportunity. I could tell what was going on and looked at both of them, putting my hand very securely on my girl friends back pack. They knew they were had and moved on.
Don’t be a target going around in a backpack / Fanny pack cause they all scream “TOURIST” in any popular tourist spot. Blend in with the locals … and dress like one. Watch “What not to wear in Europe”
@@sweetboxers7648 Oh yeah. Next time I'll wear a beret and grow a thin mustache.
I like to carry a tote bag with me. It’s hard to get into when you have it on your shoulder cause your arm is basically holding it shut. It also doesn’t scream I am a tourist so that also helps
@@jolien391 Yeah, I agree. Correct on so many points. Thank you
The prices on the menu doesn’t apply to all tourists, just Americans as you’re so hated universally
My gf and I fell for one on the Champs Elysees when we were very young. A guy approached and said he was an artist and wanted to sketch us for free, it would take 2 minutes and would help with his art. We agreed since we were sat on a bench anyway. Halfway through he called a buddy over who started sketching too. Soon as they finished one of each of us they brought out a clipboard full of bank notes with different rates on and started saying how they should be paid for their time and that they would normally charge x. We haggled them right down but still ended up parting with around £30 for the 2.
Bonjour,
Je vous ai découvert depuis peu, et j'apprécie vraiment vos témoignages, pleins d'exactitudes et de bienveillance.
Comme ici, tout ce que vous dîtes est juste et très bien observé. Cette 'mauvaise graine' (restons polis) est souvent issue d'organisations mafieuses, roumaines, albanaises, etc. La police les connaît bien, et vous les retrouvez à Berlin ou ailleurs.
Something ive always done to avoid pick pockets was put a rubber band around my wallet. It doesnt slide out of your pocket easily and you can feel it. Also put in front pocket like they said
After just getting back from Paris your 100% correct. I used the metro most of the time but I did need to use a Taxis when I took a night time dinner cruise. The good thing is they have Taxi Stands around most tourist areas so we just grabbed one there. I gave him the name and address of the hotel and off we went no problem. I made sure the meter was running and they took credit cards. For the scammers I just ignored them and walked pass them. For museums I would urge everyone to buy tickets before you leave home. One reason is some are time sensitive so you need to pick a time that isn't full, they only let a certain number of people in. As far as pickpockets they are everywhere I kept a money bag under my shirt. If you do get robbed shrug it off don't let it ruin your trip.
I did not for the 30% or more pricing for the English menu ! It's good to know because it's something I don't pay attention because I am French. Thank you Colleen and Antoine
“No thank you!” In English or the country’s native language goes a long way. I try to say it with a smile but firmly and keep on walking. If they don’t let up, it’s not so friendly anymore lol Sorry not sorry! I’m minding my own business trying to have a holiday. You’re not entitled to ruin it.
Grow a pair they understand fully by you saying go forth. There is always another mark nearby.
I went to a restaurant and KNOW for a fact that I over paid. I walked in speaking English and of course they gave me an English menu. The restaurant was located in a tourist area. I didn't over pay by much but I know I paid more. This was recent like last week. I really enjoyed Paris and your videos helped.
Big thanks for all your tips on visiting Paris from scams to watch out for to metro tickets to buy. Made our family trip to see the final stage of the TDF very enjoyable and wanting us to return to Paris again. The public transport is magnificent and very affordable. We covered so much on our long weekend. Thank you
Me and my daughter ran into a group of gypsy teenagers at the Opera station in subway three years. Those anti-theft bags and purses saved us.
I had one of those teenagers try to pick pocket me when we were in Aix-en-Provence. Thank God my husband saw her and yelled to me. She had a cardigan on front of her. She wouldn’t have been able to pick pocket me anyway because I was wearing a Travelon anti theft cross body purse.
Great summary of advice. Until the pandemic we visited Paris a couple of times a year and have certainly seen many of these scams. One other not mentioned concerns small groups of adolescents asking for sponsorship towards a race or similar with funds going to a good cause. Obviously they want payment alongside signatures because they know that you won’t be around when the race date arrives. These groups tend to focus on the Gare du Nord and the area around the Louvre. They can be quite verbally aggressive when payment is refused but just walk away, these areas are well policed and generally crowded, I’ve not seen any physical violence.
We were taken in by a gold ring first time around, years ago now. I still have the faded brass plumbing fitting for which I paid the ‘finder’ the princely sum of 2€!
When these people approach me speaking English, I reply by saying that “I don’t speak English” (in English of course). If they speak to me in French I respond “je ne parle pas français” they soon get fed up!
One tip, if you have a handbag with you when sitting at table for coffee or similar I always anchor the bag by putting a chair leg between strap and bag, that way it can’t be stolen quite so easily as pulling at the bag would cause the chair and sitter to be aware immediately.
Very sorry to hear about the price differences linked to menus in English rather than French, I haven’t seen that before so perhaps it is a trend that has started more recently?
Really do hope that travel to Paris, or anywhere really, will feel safe again as the year progresses.
I've seen the price scam (and the used tickets one) already in 1995. I speak French, but my friend spoke English, so one crepe kiosk (those used to be a thing, selling crepes from a van) tried to charge her double the price. Fortunately she knew what I had paid, so was able to say she'll pay just the same that I had.
In more recent years, in Troyes, which is a relatively small city, I saw an antique shop raised their prices for July. That was when a lot of British tourists appeared, so it was quite obvious the shopkeeper was trying to take advantage.
Need to add that I've spoken Finnish (my native language) to a scammer on some occasions, like on a RER train from the airport when it was obvious we are tourists and also couldn't get out of the situation.x) It worked well.
My wife and I visited Paris in 1999. Same with us as far as the menus in two languages. I also assumed that's fairly new.
Day 1 in Paris, nearly got into a fake taxi straight out of the airport, thanks for the heads up 👍🏻
Such a helpful video! Thank you for sharing these insights. I'm happy to have this knowledge before heading to Paris on a solo trip!
True, by accident I came across your channel. This is the 1st time I'm going to Paris this May.visiting London, after 35 years and doing Europe. Thank you for the warning signs.
Thanks a lot for this guide Les Frenchies. Helped me and my wife as we are currently in Paris for a week vacation. One scam that was not mentioned is the three cup game scam, which is still very active in the Eiffel Tower area unfortunately. During the time we went there, I counted three tourists that have fallen to this kind of scam - a European, Indian and Turk. The european, I knew she was already scammed because she was about to give cash to an ‘angry’ scammer. Maybe she refused to pay after losing the game but got strongarmed by the scammers.
Thats old and boring scam
We almost became a pick pocket victim in the the Metro. I noticed it though that the young lady was up to something but before I told my hubby to hold on to his belongings, a nice passenger reprimanded the young lady in French of what she was about to do. She got off at the next stop & we thanked the nice man for his concern. Btw there were two of them.
They tried the golden ring trick on me in Paris... but I was too stupid to understand what they wanted from me 🤣 so they threw a random "putain" at me and left me alone XD
Pickpockets are everywhere especially popular tourist destinations like Paris, Rome, Barcelona. I've been targeted twice, once in Rome inside a bus traveling to the Vatican. The second time in a restaurant in Barcelona. Always be aware of your surroundings, they do work in groups. Don't get distracted.
I was in Paris Dec 2015 and my wallet and passport was stolen in the metro. Besides the passport they didn't really get much else of value. While I was at the police station reporting the incident, there was a Japanese tourist who told me her story. She was in the restroom at a restaurant, washing her hands with her bag behind her slung over her shoulder, and a young lady came to the next sink and started chatting her up. That young lady had a partner who proceeded to go through her purse - they stole 10,000 euros and 5 passports. She was holding everything for her family. I stopped feeling sorry for myself right away.
Best trip tip videos. Easy to follow and straight to the point.
Once upon a time in France, I was watching an open air concert. Felt my wallet slide out of my pocket. I turned and grabbed the guy behind - he panicked ! I saw another guy run off in the crowd. I think they were passing wallets to a 'runner'. The guy I grabbed, freaked out, said he knew the kid and that we could go get my wallet back. We jumped on a bus, he even paid for me.
In my anger, I hadn't realised that he was taking me away from the scene to God knows where. A bunch of guys he knew got on the bus, I immediately clocked and jumped off the bus. He didn't say a thing, just stared.
I followed the bus by foot to the next stop. They all got off, and went down another street. I approached and looked round the corner. There was a gang of them around 10 guys. I immediately bolted ! Gave up hope on ever finding my wallet again but left wondering what could have happened...
Just a warning that it's all organised, be wise !
My phone was snatched from my coat pocket in a metro station. Just as I was about to enter the metro station with my ticket a young man bumped into my back (at that very moment he snatched my phone) and entered the metro station with me. I first assumed that he just didn’t have a ticket and that this was his way to get into the metro station, by simply just entering with me at the same time. However, once we were on the other side I got wary and touched my backpack and then the pockets of my coat all while looking at that man. He just stared back at me and did not run away. I realized then, that he had taken my phone. I immediately (maybe a little aggressively) approached him and screamed that he should give me my phone back and he did. He gave it back instantly. This experience kinda left me uneasy since I don‘t know why he gave it back to me. I checked my phone a couple of times after it, since I believed he did something to it, but he didn‘t. This happened to me this year in January and I am going back to Paris this Saturday again. Hopefully there will be no such experiences anymore.
So, also be very aware in the metro stations, if someone bumps into you, check if anything was taken, since that is a distraction to snatch something out of the pockets of your coat or your bag (if visible)
As a New Yorker, we have long ignored, and been causcious of, ANYONE approaching you on the street...as being problematic. This is exacrly why. So much for our unfriendly rep...there IS a reason for it. Being a victem can ruin your day...hell, month..I would MUCH rather be considered rude...
Still, crooks WILL go where the pickings are good...make sure that ISN'T YOU.
@@LesFrenchiesTravel For a NY'er, this self protection is automatic...i've never let it spoil my enjoyment of the city. The streets are exciting, electric, in their energy, and i love being on them. They are the BEST way to see NYC, because EVERY block is something new and unexpected, that a vehicle will pass by, too quickly.
Even before the gradual, and near total reno of NewYork, ( like the amazing redesign of Times Square, as it's hub... making it literally walkable, in relative safety, from end to end)...i sort of enjoyed skirting the more iffy neighborhoods. The NYC stride, and confidence, screams "i'm not a tourist". Crooks look for EASY.
Frankly, the only time i was EVER
"mugged", was in a small "city"upstate...BECAUSE I FORGOT TO BE CAREFUL, AWARE,.... DUMB. But since my money and keys were always tucked in my front pockets, he got MY MAKEUP. Annoying, but not tragic. I had been walking 2 blocks, "downtown", in daylight, to meet a friend for happy hour..
This crap can happen ANYWHERE...at least, in NYC, or Paris, you're not getting bored to death...TOO. Just be smart. BE CAREFUL. AND ...don't be afraid to be rude, even LOUD, if bells go off...
As they say, an ounce of prevention... which is why these guys target tourists, newbees.
I loved NYC when I was there and I managed to not get ripped off during those four days... I would love to see NYC again. The scamming methods seem to be the same everywhere on the planet 😮 Scammers are always targeting people who seem a bit lost and in need of orientation. People who actually live and work in those places will not approach strangers as they usually have other things to do.
Not just in Paris this is so true in all major cities in Europe.
Best way to avoid scams is to avoid Paris altogether. I’ve been traveling to France every year for twenty years, and haven’t spent significant time in Paris since ‘05. There is SO much to see outside of the big city. France IS NOT Paris.
What places near paris can u recommend?
Very true. Last time we were in Paris for a longer time we stayed in Vincennes. There's metro and RER lines going there, but it was a much more peaceful neighborhood. This was in 2014. Paris can be a nice city even these days, but I deffinitely prefer to go somewhere else.
@Adóre The Loire valley is an easy place for a tourist, there's a lot of castles and gardens to see, bus and train lines, etc. The tourism office in Tours also has a list of minibus companies that organize trips to various places. Also you can get some really good food and wines.
The gold ring scam nearly happened to me many years ago while I was walking outside of the Louvre. A woman walked up to me and tried to give the ring to me and I told her I had no use for it, plus I wasn't carrying any currency.
Applies to most touristy cities in Italy as well, Rome & especially Naples. In fact Roman cities are far worse for petty theft than French cities, especially on crowded trains and buses.
For the sake of fairness, I suggest a similar video about how to avoid getting ripped off in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, etc.
I fell victim to #8 in Gare du Nord. Man approached me emphatically asking for directions as he was lost. When I couldn’t help him he became more agitated and he walked away. Moments later, I noticed my leather folder with my travel itineraries was gone. Obviously there was a second guy waiting for me to get distracted and swiped it from on top of my suitcase. Fortunately we were still able to check in at the hotel. I requested my travel person to email another copy of my travel vouchers. The frustrating thing about this is I was aware about this scam but still failed to recognize it as it was happening. As soon as I noticed my folder missing I knew they got me. Happened first week of June 2017.