When visiting France, people often assume that tipping isn’t necessary because service and the price are already included in your bill. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Tipping in the Mediterranean, both at home and abroad, is an important part of their culture – and it should be yours too!
Here are some tips on how to tip in France, as well as how much to tip and why you should take tipping seriously!
What is the proper tipping etiquette?
As in many other places around the world, tipping is quite common in several Mediterranean countries. It is customary to tip your waiter or waitress at a restaurant. As a guideline, 10% of your bill should be enough; 15% will show you were happy with service. Some businesses have even added fixed service charges to bills that are not optional.
General guidelines to tipping in France
Most restaurants add a service charge to bills in tourist areas. You are not expected to tip further, but it is considered polite to round up the bill by a few euros. However, if you want to tip, leave cash on your table or hand cash directly to your waiter at the end of your meal. It’s not appropriate for staff to come and ask for tips – make sure you have enough small change for any tips you give.
Tipping in a restaurant in France
In France you tip 8% to 10% if you are not satisfied with your service, on restaurant bills and up to 5% for taxi drivers. If you leave no tip at all, it is a bit more rude than in other countries, so be generous. And remember that if service is included in your restaurant bill (very common), you do not need to leave anything extra. On a €100 bill, €10-€15 should suffice for a nice meal for two.
Tipping in a Taxi in France
Taxis charge as much as €3.06 to start a ride and €0.95 for each kilometer driven. A 10% tip is included in these prices, so there’s no need to add extra on top of that. Note that taxi drivers don’t have change, so you may have to break a larger bill if you want to pay by cash.
Tipping in a hotel in France
If you are staying in a hotel in France, do not be surprised when no one asks for your tip at checkout. You won’t get the look from housekeeping or your wait staff because no one is expecting it here. This is a lot different than what you are used to back home and shouldn’t be taken personally! Myths abound about French etiquette but especially around
