Short answers for La Porte. Confirm the week you travel: GOV.UK, SNCF, the mairie, the park, or the museum ticket page beat a group chat.
Do I need a visa?
UK passports use the Schengen short-stay rule: 90 days in 180. This is not a visa-on-arrival theatre. ETIAS, when it is actually live, is an authorisation you get before you fly — check GOV.UK the week you travel, not a 2024 explainer. Visa & entry.
CDG, Orly, or Beauvais?
CDG and ORY are Paris airports. BVA is a coach ride sold as Paris. Read the ticket. First week.
Navigo or singles?
A Navigo Découverte weekly (Monday–Sunday) is the honest buy for a full Paris week. Singles add up. CDG is not zone 1. Money and SIM.
Cash or card?
Both. Cities are contactless. Markets and some huts want notes. There is no tourist QR-pay that replaces cash.
What adapter?
Type E/F, 230 V. UK Type G is the wrong shape. Pack it in the personal item. Packing.
Is Paris required?
It is the hub. You can leave the same day. Three nights is enough to learn the Métro. Paris.
Can I do the whole country in a week?
You can collect TGVs. You will not have a holiday. Pick one region. Regions.
Is it safe?
Petty theft on transit and around sights is the visitor risk. Traffic is real. The emergency set is 112, plus 15/17/18. Health & safety.
Do I tip 20%?
No. Service compris is the default. Round up if you want. Tipping.
ETIAS — is it now?
It has been postponed more than once. Treat any date on a blog as a rumour until the official page and GOV.UK agree. Visa & entry.
Across the five guides
- La Terre — Landscapes, parks, and seasons
- L'Esprit — History, arts, and landmarks
- La Table — Food, wine, and the meal
- Le Moteur — Economy, sport, and work
On the ground
| Pin | Working note |
|---|---|
| Page | La Porte FAQ |
| Desk | La Porte |
| First use | Read the pins, then one related page — not five |
| Confirm | Official site or ticket desk the week you go |
Hours, fares, and festival weeks move. A 2024 caption is not a 2026 desk. La Porte FAQ sits in a country that is easy to over-plan and easy to under-prepare. The faq layer is where visitors collect names. This page is the opposite: what to do first, what to skip, and which sibling guide holds the rest.
France rewards a slow unit. One arrondissement, one valley, one appellation, one park trail. The photograph of five landmarks in five days is a real holiday, and it is also a queue with a passport. If you only have three nights, spend two of them in the same bed. The third night is for a train, not a third hotel.
Working a visit
Practical France is sockets (Type E/F, 230 V), tap water that is safe, pharmacies that are the real clinic for minor trouble, and a lunch hour that still closes a village. Cards work in cities. Cash still opens some park kiosks, some island boats, and some market stalls that have never seen contactless. A lightweight adapter belongs in the personal item, not the hold.
We will not write as if every reader is on a gap year, or as if every reader is in a palace hotel. We will not flatten 'the south' into one climate. We will not treat a strike day, a jour férié, or a Tuesday museum closure as a personality quirk of the French. They are calendars. Check them. Then use La Porte FAQ as a pin, not as scripture.
Cross the five guides instead of cloning them. La Porte holds trains and the first week. La Terre holds weather and park gates. L'Esprit holds museum Tuesdays and the Revolution. La Table holds the market morning and the wine list. Le Moteur holds the Tour, the working week, and why August is empty in Paris and full on the coast.