How to Avoid the 10 Biggest Tourist Scams & Rip-Offs in Paris

In this video, we'll show how to avoid getting scammed in Paris during your visit.

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⚡️ Video Notes ⚡️
1️⃣ Paris Travel Guides

2️⃣ OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BEST TOURS IN PARIS

3️⃣ LES FRENCHIES PREFERRED TRAVEL GEAR

4️⃣ LES FRENCHIES MERCH

==== 👍 BEST VIDEOS TO HELP YOU PREPARE ====

👍 WATCH: 9 Best Areas & Places to Stay in Paris

👍 WATCH: How To Use the Paris Metro (2021 UPDATE) + RER & Best Apps

👍 WATCH: Train from Paris Airport (CDG) to Paris Center [RER B]

==== ABOUT LES FRENCHIES ====
After 32 years in the US, the Duponts moved to France where Antoine was born. Antoine is rediscovering his homeland and sharing it with his American wife Colleen. With the help of his brother Vincent, a renowned Restaurateur (and food snob).

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==== CREDITS ====
🎬 Credits:
(in order of appearance)
Antoine Dupont - Marketing, Public Speaker & filmmaker newbie
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Filmed with a Canon 70D & Samsung Galaxy S21FE

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[melodyloson]

I screamed and yelled at the pickpockets inside the metro in Paris. I even slapped the hand of the pickpocket when he's trying to get things from my husband shoulder bag. I really made a scene in the train. One by one those team of pickpockets go out from the train. They messed with the wrong tourist and didn"t get anything.

[timsummers]

Asking for the price BEFORE you order something is absolutely mandatory. The rest is just keeping your guard up and not letting anyone touch you with bracelets, distract you with petitions or snatch your belongings.

[sherrieshatzen]

One of the things you didn't mention (& maybe it's not happening anymore) ---women need to be aware of wearing shoulder bags & even cross body bags sometimes. There are thieves who ride motorcycles or mopeds & while one is driving the other who is sitting behind reaches out & cuts the strap on the bag & grabs it. They scare someone with their close proximity thereby throwing them off guard & they cut, grab, go so fast its allover in a flash. I suggest never wearing a shoulder bag & if you wear a crossbody bag wear it under a shirt or jacket so the strap is out of sight & unavailable.

[notmenotme]

My way of never getting scammed is don’t stop to talk to street vendors or strangers. Just be impolite, ignore them and walk straight past without stopping. Remember you don’t owe a street vendor or stranger any politeness and chances are you’ll never see them again anyway so who cares what they think of you.
I fully believe scammers only target tourists who are stupid enough to stop and talk to them.
And if a ticket price is too good to be true, it usually is. Why would anyone sell something at a financial loss. And if there was such a thing as a “queue jump ticket” then everyone would buy it. Only buy tickets from the venue.

[MrToronto]

Thank you for this! Another typical scam is as you're walking near a site, someone behind you will shout at you and say "hey, you dropped this" and show you a nice gold ring or other piece of jewelry. They'll put it in your hand and while you're looking at it and saying that it is not yours (you're distracted), their accomplice will try to take something from your bags or your pockets. They once tried that on me. I said "merci", put the ring in my pocket and walked away. Of course, they made a fuss. I turned around, gave the ring back, and asked them not so nicely to get out of my face.

[SDErrico]

During our most recent Paris trip in 2017 my wife totally pissed off a scammer who was claiming she was deaf. We had walked past her and her partner having a spoken conversation. A little while later my wife noticed one of them working this couple with the “I am Deaf, please sign my petition and donate” deal. My wife walked right up behind the scammer, looked straight at the couple and said “She’s not deaf.” The scammer quickly turned around glaring at my wife as the couple walked off.

[DollarHoller]

Currently on my first trip ever to Paris and I was scammed minutes after arrival. We took the Eurostar and we’re funneled into the taxi line (yes a legit taxi). We got into his car and he switched his meter to a fixed rate of €63. We asked if that was really the rate because it seemed high and he said “yes because you’re going left bank.” We also asked to pay with a card and he said he only took cash. It was only after arriving at our hotel did we find that our trip from Gare du Nord to Musee d’Orsay should have only cost about 1/3 to 1/2 of what we paid.

Would be good for your viewers to know what we learned the hard way: taxis by law MUST take credit cards, MUST give you a receipt, and frankly just take an Uber!

[tinawongbobo]

Thank you for doing this video. I was in Notre Dame Paris a few weeks ago. There was a group of girls getting people to sign some survey form. One girl approached me, I refused her. Then 2nd girl came by afterwards. I refused again. Then a 3rd girl approached me and spoke to me in English and asked foe my signature. I refused and said NO firmly. I actually felt bad later thinking that 'it's just a survey'! After watching your video, I feel I did the right thing. Thank you!

[barbt]

I have learned so much from your videos. thank you very much. I could listen to you talk all day, both of you are so calming in your messages and so informative. We will be in Paris in the next two weeks and I feel so much more confident because of you.

[kristofvanloocke]

Guys, I just had the most amazing trip to Paris this week. I wanted to thank you for all the videos and tips about that city. It made the stay interesting and great. I looked at all your videos and learned a lot. It was one of the best vacations ever.

[minhcarter]

Thank you for these helpful tips. Wished we knew this before we went to Paris many years ago. We had a bad and scary incident at the Gare du Nord. One of those Roma young girls grabbed my niece’s arm and wanted her to sign their clip board. It was scary because I was pulling her arm and away from the Roma. She wouldn’t let go. Out of nowhere a policeman jumped in and screamed at her to let go. Before letting go she cursed at the policeman! He asked if we were okay and warned us to be aware at our surrounding at all times. That was the only time that we had problem in Paris. Love the nice and helpful Parisians!

[bdmkma]

Love your channel, one of the best I've seen, not just detailing Paris, but for overall presentation and quality of information. Really appreciate all the information you provide for travellers. Merci for all the great tips & Paris is wonderful, .but made better by people like you . C'est magnifique! Oh, and you two are a cute couple together.

[saaggo]

Bravo! Finally a good video about the scams in Paris, I hope a lot of people can see it and avoid problems while visiting the city

[valeriehardee]

This video had great need to know tips that I really appreciate. These are great tips that should be followed in any big city. Thanks!

[vuk]

We're traveling to Paris in a couple of months for a few days enroute to Madrid. Your videos have been a blessing to watch. Merci!

[chicomtl]

Thank you so much. First time there next week with my son. I've listened to all your videos. Will help a lot.

[jaqmartial]

Thanks Antoine and Colleen. Your videos are great and easy to understand.

[elainebedard]

Just returned from a fabulous week in Paris. Felt safe everywhere we went, including Metro, and I did look like a tourist with my camera in tow. What always surprises me in any city is the number of people who voluntarily stop and interact with the scammers. Only disappointment was not running into Antoine and Colleen while they were out filming 😂. Your guide book was very helpful for restaurant options!

[kuschelirmel]

I would add one more thing to the "avoid buying a ticket in a busy metro station" line: it is a well known scam to be offered "Paris Visite" (i.e. multi day pass) tickets from random (mostly young) people at busy train stations. They want to take advantage of you not wanting to stand in line for a ticket (for example I've seen it at Gare de l'Est where the trains from Germany come in and dump hundreds of people at the same time in this one station), but what you end up getting is a one-time ticket (those slips all look the same to a tourist!) that will not work the second time, sold to you at the price of a Paris Visite multiple day ticket! So by the time you realize, you no longer are at that same station.

If you come in by TGV (or German ICE -- I imagine it's the same for the Belgian Thalys), you can buy the metro ticket in the train's bar, that way you don't have to stand in line later.

When I last visited (July 2022), I saw they're switching to tickets on the pass Navigo app - I saw it too late for the trip, so I did not check what is required to use this, but for next time, I definitely will do so to avoid lines and just for convenience, too.

[comingsoon]

Great video and super helpful, did not have any idea of this! 😮 Thanks for the tips! 👍👍 God bless 🙂