Do I need cash in France, or can I use cards?

France runs on the Carte Bancaire network, and in practice Visa and Mastercard ride on it and are taken almost everywhere. Contactless is the default, usually with no PIN under about 50 euros, and Apple Pay and Google Pay are widely accepted. The one thing worth carrying is a chip-and-PIN card: a few unmanned machines, such as autoroute toll booths, some train and metro kiosks and parking machines, expect a chip and PIN and may reject a tap or a swipe.

Keep a little cash and some coins for the corners that stay cash-friendly: bakeries, open-air markets, small village cafes, public toilets, and the occasional small shop that sets a card minimum of around 5 to 10 euros. Shops also dislike notes above 50 euros, so break big notes at a supermarket.

When a card terminal or an ATM asks whether to charge in dollars or euros, always choose euros. Choosing dollars triggers dynamic currency conversion at a rate about 3 to 8% worse than your own bank's. Decline it every time, at terminals and machines alike.

Avoid the standalone Euronet and Travelex ATMs at airports, stations and tourist squares. They charge high flat fees and push the dollar conversion hardest, and the fee can bite even after you decline the conversion. Use a machine attached to a real bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale or LCL, and read the fee on screen first.

Use a bank-branch ATM in daylight, take out a few days' worth at once to limit per-visit fees, and use a debit card rather than a credit card, since a credit-card withdrawal is a cash advance with a fee and interest from day one. Carry a no-foreign-fee card plus a backup on a different network.

As a rough guide, two mid-range travelers might pull 200 to 300 euros of day-to-day cash across a week beyond the hotel, with cards covering the rest. France is genuinely card-first, so the cash is for small extras rather than the bulk of your spending. Watch pockets in the Paris metro and at busy sights.

Tipping is light in France because service is included by law (service compris) and staff earn a full wage, so there is no US-style percentage to track. For good service you might round up or leave a euro or two, best left in cash, since the card-terminal tip prompt may be pooled or skipped. A small habit that saves money: ask for une carafe d'eau, free tap water, rather than paying for bottled.

Separately, most French towns add a small per-night tourist tax (the taxe de sejour), collected at your accommodation, modest in most places and much higher in Paris. What it costs and why Paris is now steep is in France's tourist tax. For the wider picture, see the France money guide.

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More on France

The little money things nobody warns you about.

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• Paris taxis and Uber, and the CDG fixed fareParis gives you real choice, a hailable licensed taxi or a proper Uber, but the airport is where money is won or lost. Here is how the two compare, the fixed fare that protects you, and the tout trick to skip.
• Bringing your dog or cat to France.France is one of the most common EU destinations for US pet owners, and the good news is there is nothing France-specific to fear at the border. It runs on the single EU pet-entry process: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Here is what that means for France, and the local parts worth knowing.
• France's tourist tax, and the Paris surcharges.France adds a small per-adult, per-night tax to your stay, set by each town. In most places it is a euro or two. In Paris it is now much more, because the region stacks extra charges on top. Here is what to expect in 2026.
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• Staying connected in France.France is well covered where you will be, from Paris to the villages, so the real decision is how you pay for data. For most US travelers an eSIM is far cheaper than the carrier day pass. Here is the math, and the few places signal drops.
• What does renting a car in France really cost?France is a joy to drive, with quiet back roads and superb motorways, and the motorways are where the meter runs. The costs to plan for are per-kilometer tolls, the low-emission sticker some cities require, and getting the insurance right before the counter.