I suggest you order “un café s’il vous plaît”, then ask “où sont les toilettes?”, use the facilities, pay for your coffee and drink it or not – it’s likely to be a better experience than the public bathroom (where you’ll have to pay anyway – see below).

If you are in an extremely touristy area though, toilets may be for patrons only. If it’s a big and busyParisian café, just get in and open your eyes for a staircase – toilets are often located one floor down or one floor up. Just ask: “est-ce que je peux utiliser vos toilettes s’il vous plaît” (may I use your restroom) with a smile, and it should be no problem. If you are visiting France and need to use the restroom, the easiest thing to do is to step in a coffee shop. Ask “où sont les toilettes” – not for la salle de bain… 2 – Using the Toilet in a French Café Note that the toilet is plural in French. The correct question is: “où sont les toilettes”. Imagine the surprise of your host when you ask what will sound to them like: “where can I take a bath?”… Many English speakers want to translate “where is the bathroom” literally, hence saying: “où est la salle de bain”.īut in France “la salle de bain” is for bath and showers, and may not have a toilet (which often is located in a separate room)… 15 – Toilet Related French Vocabulary 1- Don’t Ask For the Bathroom in French To Avoid an Embarrassing Mistake!

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