In Paris now :) a few observations...

20 years ago you only saw jeans on teens, now everyone has them on including old ladies.

Every family needs the metro rule -- get left and you board the next car and get off at the next stop -- take off before the family, same deal, you get off at the next stop. We only needed this once but were glad everyone knew what to do. (and never assume automatic safety doors in Europe that are pretty much required in the US. I once got dragged by a bus in Florence when the door closed on me halfway out of the bus. Thank goodness for other passengers who got the driver to stop before I was killed by being knocked into a car or post. Glad your son evidently had good sense and everyone got together.

The Louvre ticket machines will take US magnetic cards if you leave them in the machines the way the French do, but other than those, we always had to stand in line for train, metro, etc tickets rather than just using machines and our cards don't work in gas pumps which can make car travel challenging on weekends or evenings if you don't pay attention to the gas tank.

Have fun in Paris.

The only problem I had with my credit card was seeing the extra charges on my statement that I could have avoided had I paid in cash. I used it sparingly and was glad I did.

Glad you are having a good trip so far.

Bonjour Michelle!

Thanks for the information, can't wait to hear more about your trip! Good to know about the credit cards as things can change quickly. I recall on my first trip to Europe I spent so much time on what clothes to bring, what was appropriate, etc.... and once over there realized that for the most part no one cares and everyone is wearing what is comfortable to them. The only time I even really noticed any clothing-issues was on our fancy expensive Seine dinner cruise - their website said no jeans or trainers (tennis shoes) etc.... We dressed up and it was fun but even there a few people were wearing jeans and every-day run around clothes. I was somewhat surprised they let them on the boat based on their website. lol

Enjoy and Sante'!

It sounds like you are making family memories and will have good stories to tell when you get back!

Wanted to share a couple of things as we've now been in Paris for 5 days.

Underpass for Arc de triomphe not obvious or well marked. We had to really look for it and there was only a small sign prior to it- looks like a metro stop.

Leaving metro tonight was stopped by transit people and asked to provide ticket within the system. We had ours fortunately but could have just as easily have thrown them away as we were already in the system and just changing lines. It is a 50 euro fine without the ticket. I have never read this or experienced this anywhere else and we were taken by surprise!

Yes, you want to keep your Metro ticket until you exit the system.
Most of the guidebooks mention this.

Note the pavement littered with tossed tickets outside every Metro exit. A telltale sign! ;-)

That's where the $20-25 spent on RS' France or Paris guidebook potentially more than pays for itself! Granted, it's easy to read the warnings about this (and lots of other things!) and simply forget them in the midst of all of the packing, planning, etc., that happens pre-trip.

"Be warned that fare inspectors regularly check for cheaters and accept absolutely no excuses - keep that ticket or pay a minimum fine of 45€."

"After you finish the entire ride and exit onto the street, toss or tear your used ticket so you don't confuse it with unused tickets."

It can be almost impossible to tell used tickets from unused ones - the validation is nearly imperceptible most of the time (unless things have changed in the last few years). That's why it's so very important to work out a system for your new and used tickets - new ones in the left pocket, used ones in the right, etc. Validating a metro ticket twice is frowned upon, to put it mildly :-(

Michelle, I don't know if the metro cars still have those cartoons of a bunny that is warning against getting caught in the metro doors. I got caught once. I don't panic easily, but that wasn't a pleasant experience. They won't re-open like most automatic doors will. Bad bruise. Renewed respect for Mr Bunny. I prefer keeping both arms.

There should be a waste receptacle, possibly small, outside the exit, often attached to a wall. One suggestion (not mine originally), is to fold the ticket in half once you enter; then dispose of it after the exit. Note that the Metro tickets also work on RER trains in the central zone and you have to use the ticket to get through the RER exit gate.

There's nothing special about a credit card with a visible chip anymore, it's actually pretty meaningless.

What people want to know is whether it's a chip and PIN card. Which is quite another thing altogether.

For you Airplane fans - which is quite another thing altogether.

I am an avid RS fan and refer to the book often :) but do admit not paying too much attention to the metro info as we are very comfortable using subways and have done so all over Europe and the U.S. For the most part, they operate pretty much the same so this was a surprise to us but just went back to my RS Paris book to reference his metro section:).

To keep tickets in order, I fold or partly tear the used one. Another reason to love passes!

Do not put your metro ticket in your pocket with your phone - it can de-magnify it. Happened to my husband several times before we figured it out. Fortunately, he saved the tickets as they didn't work when we entered. When we had time and were at stop that had a manned booth he got them replaced.

Hang on, don't you need to insert your ticket into the turnstile to exit the station? It's hard to keep track of all the subway systems in the world.........

The Paris metro very rarely has ticket gates to exit, although the RER does.

The bunny cartoons are actually warning against something less obvious - that you shouldn't rest your hand on the edge of the door by the frame when the door is closed. If you do this it's possible to get your fingers badly crushed between the door and the door pocket when it opens.

the metro in Washington DC requires you to use your ticket to exit. Since i was used to this I did keep my ticket in Paris during my first trip there (have now been 4 times) but I did not know about the inspectors or the fines.