Travel to Paris with debit card and chip ? what works best?

You will need adapters but not voltage converts for iPhones/pads. They are cheap ($1ish) in the Rick Steves store online. If you use a hair dryer/straightener, etc. I would wait and just buy cheap ones in France. The American ones that say dual voltage often wreak havoc on the power systems in European hotels/b&bs, and sometimes also get way too hot. You will want to have a chip and pin debit card and a Visa or MasterCard with a chip. I have found both to be pretty universally accepted. We always have cards from more than one bank/credit union just in case of an issue, and a debit/ATM card on more than one account. Keep the backups in your deep storage (moneybelt under your clothes) and keep just one in your wallet for everyday use. Make sure you call all your card issuers a few days before you leave and have your cards authorized for International use. You will give them the dates of your trip. I always add a day or two on the backend in case we get delayed. If you will be driving, you do need an international drivers license. Get one for about $15 at any AAA location. You will need passport style photos for that, so look up the specifics before you go. Above all, relax and have fun!

BTW, highly discourage driving in Paris itself!

Get a credit card that doesn't charge more than the 1% conversion fee built into international exchange. Most American credit cards charge 2 to 4% above this. Same with your ATM card/debit card for ATM use; some banks charge 3 or 4 %; for some it is 1%.

Of course you need plug adapters to charge electronics; most today take dual voltage. We have used small dual voltage hairdryers purchased cheaply in the US for decades with no problems. But hotels all have hair dryers as do most apartments so no need to carry that sort of thing. You won't have a problem with carry on size on the flight over but if you fly within Europe the sizes and weights are much smaller, particularly so if you use economy airlines like Easyjet or Vueling. We just check the bag on those.

iPads and iPhones just require an adaptor - the plug outlets in the wall are different. A cheap adaptor for each plug is all you need for these.

Debit and credit card - visa or MasterCard for sure. AmEx and Discover aren't nearly as popular. Get a visa or master credit card with no international fees - capital one has a lot of these. You may already have such a card - look into that. A chip is helpful but not required. American cards may not work in automated machines, like for tickets, but will be fine in stores and restaurants.

And to access cash you will need your ATM card with 4 number pin. Mine isn't a chip card and works fine.

Is your flight on Delta, or sold by Delta but on a partner airline like KLM? It will say on your ticket. That will affect the carry on size limits. You go by the rule of the airline operating the flight, so find out who that is and check their website

For novice travelers I suggest the Rick Steves book Europe Through the Back Door. This is kind of a logistical how-to book and I think it's amazing info of exactly the type of questions you have!

What Mira said about Europe Through the Back Door -- not only does it answer your questions, it tells you stuff you didn't realize you SHOULD ask questions about.

You can also use the "search" option on this website -- click in the upper left corner of the screen, put in a short phrase like "no fee debit card" and see what answers others have posted. You can usually filter to see only recent posts.

You can also read articles excerpted from Europe Through the Back Door under the heading Travel Tips, which is at left if you're viewing this on a big screen or check the menu icon if using a small, mobile device.

I have used Charles Schwab investor checking account Debit card without any difficulties in Paris and other places. I like this card because it has no ATM fees and no foreign transaction fees. There are other "brand" cards that offer this as well. If you are considering opening a new account, be sure to find out exactly what fees are associated with the account prior to use.

One side advantage to my account is that since I only use this account for travel, I put my budgeted "travel money" in it each month and it doesn't get spent on other items. This helps me to make sure I have my money saved prior to my trip which makes traveling so much more enjoyable for me.

General advice on cards in France:
1. Know what your cards charge for foreign transactions. Weed out the ones that charge the most and bring the ones that charge the least,
2. Bring multiple cards. Some may get a hold even though you called your bank before your trip. I also found that, in far too many cases in France, the first card I tried didn't work. I only ended up having to pay cash one time, but it must have been 50 percent of the time when the first card didn't work (at least not the first time). If they don't work, try again; sometimes it works the second time,
3. Don't worry too much about chip and pin. Most of the time they didn't want my pin, they wanted a signature,
4. What works at one place may or may not work at the next. Don't be embarrassed, I think the French are used to having tourists make multiple efforts to get something to work.

One additional word about credit cards. Nearly all the chip cards issued by US Banks are Chip/Signature cards and not Chip/PIN cards. They aren't the same, but most US credit card issuers are shamefully uninformed about the difference. You can tell which you've got easily by using one in the US. If the terminal ever asks you for a signature it's a Chip/Signature card.

Is the difference important? Depends. For 95% of uses a US issued Chip/Signature visa or mastercard works fine. Most of the handheld CC terminals in France can print out a receipt to sign. However, it does matter in some unattended kiosks, particularly on the tollbooths on the autoroutes and when trying to purchase train (and maybe metro) tickets. They also don't work for the London underground machines you use to recharge your fare card. You also may encounter a few sighs and eyerolls from French merchants as they print you out a receipt to sign. Simply say "désole" and agree that the US credit card industry is "stupide". They aren't wrong.

There are, apparently, a few banks that will issue Chip/PIN cards. My bank used to, but doesn't any more. I've heard the BankAmericard Travel Rewards card is a PIN card, which also has no foreign transaction fees. HSBC cards are rumored to be CHIP as well.

Bon Voyage!