Paris now tries to become tourist-friendly (3)

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Frommer, co-publisher of the Frommer’s guide books and frommers.com, says she always encourages Americans to say “bonjour” when they enter a store — no matter how self-conscious they are about their French.

“If you don’t, you may be treated rudely because it’s seen that you think you’re better than the shopkeeper,” she says. “There is more egalite here.”

But Edouard Lefebvre from Comite Champs-Elysees, which represents the shops on the famous avenue, says the French themselves also need to be more flexible. For him, the lack of garbage cans on the avenue is a sign of how the French can sometimes ignore the comfort of tourists.

A tourist “has come 7,000 kilometers to see the Champs-Elysees, the most beautiful avenue in the world, that embodies France and its prestige and its influence in the world, and there isn’t a garbage can,” he says, with disbelief.

Bojana Galic, a 17-year-old from Chicago, who was visiting Paris with a dance troupe, said she and her friends all lamented that the city was dirtier than they expected and were surprised at how hard it was to find a place to throw out trash.

Still, the Champs-Elysees has a leg up on many other parts of Paris, since stores there won the right in 2009 to open on Sundays. Tradition and law conspire to shut down most shops — from grocery to clothing stores — throughout the capital, except in seven designated “tourist zones.” The world-famous department stores — Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marche — are not included.

That has led to concerns that Sunday closures are hurting tourism revenue.

“Contrary to what we hear, what these clients don’t spend on the weekend, they won’t spend on another day simply because they will have already left the capital!” Jean-Bernard Bros, the deputy mayor in charge of tourism, wrote in a recent op-ed.

And it’s not just Sundays: French life is still highly rhythmic, even in major cities. Lunch is from 12 to 2pm — pity the tourist who woke up late and wants anything more than a soggy sandwich at 3pm. Dinner is served from 8pm to 10pm. The “Do You Speak Touriste?” guide notes that Spaniards — notorious for midnight dinners — should especially be warned of this.

In fact, one of the surprising hassles of Paris may be struggling to find a good meal at any hour. In the provinces, world-class restaurants often hide in unlikely places, delighting those who overlook shabby ambience to take a chance. But along the grand Parisian boulevards most frequented by visitors, good food can be elusive.

Rebecca Magniant wrote in her journal after her first trip to Paris, at 18, that she loved the city but couldn’t stand the food. “Because as a first-time tourist, all we ended up eating in were the tourist traps,” said Magniant, who now runs Chic Shopping Paris, a tour company she founded 10 years ago.

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