Delicate but necessary subject

In Paris, there are clean restrooms behind Notre Dame cathedral (there's a small fenced park behind it and the toilet building is right near the entrance). There's an attendant and there'll be a saucer for some coins for her. The park is manicured, with roses and trees and lots of benches to sit. Another good place is in the Louvre; there's a small cafe on the bottom level, with a tiny walk-out terrace. As you come down the stairs, it's on the right and the toilets are on the left. Not too many people get all the way down there. Check the Louvre web site for the restaurants or the map they hand out. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Here's a discussion had here last year of that very subject: clickIt's not a serious problem in Paris because there are museums (and cafes in an emergency although best to be a customer to use). My experience in Provence is that it can become a problem there, don't pass up a decent one in Provence, that's for sure. The smaller the place, the more of a problem it can be. In Provence last year, there were times when my wife and I were asking ourselves, what do the locals do when they are in parks with their children or otherwise away from home (we found half the toilets in Provence parks were "hors de service"), are they immune from the laws of nature or what?

Just about all towns have public WCs. The trick is to find them. But they exist and you just have to sniff them out ;). Alternatively, learn to walk inside of any cafe with outdoor seating and use the restrooms as if you were a customer.

Fast food places have public toilets. Sometimes they are hidden or you have to go upstairs or they are locked and you have to get a key. They want you to buy something.

The way to get around it is to go up to the counter and say you want to order but would like to wash up first. They'll either give you the key or token or whatever is needed to use the loo. Most people who go in and want to use the facilities and don't want to buy anything will start to argue. You, on the other hand, have told them you want to order food but prefer to wash first. And when your'e done, leave.

If the toilet is locked, learn how to say "I would like to wash my hands before I order my food" or something like that in the local language.

What I do is go into a cafe, order a limonade or cafe creme, and then ask to use their toilette - works like a charm and you're refreshed in both ways! And always carry change for the attendant or coin-operated toilettes(50 cents)

Oh, and learn to ask (in French of course) - Where is the toilette, please?

Had to share this as it cracked me up (from "Slow Travel").

"Imagine the era of the early 1800's, picturesque chateau Versailles, refined, elegant ladies of the court who had to um, tinkle, would proffer a polite phrase to let their ladies in waiting know - "I am going to go pick a flower". Rustles of dresses would hasten to the said lady to assist her in "picking a flower". They would go to a private spot in the garden and form a circle around their lady (much like a wagon circle) whilst she squatted in a special pot for that purpose.

What do the French do now when they want to "pick a flower"? Well, they wait until they get home. That is what my French husband told me. The French hold it. Period. They also don't drink water throughout the day and are generally a very parched group."

I've already offered my kids a reward on our trip for each public restroom they find me outside a museum/cafe! They think they're going to make lots of money!

That's not really true about the French holding on until they get home. I say this because in many parts of Paris the stench of urine was so strong. Maybe the drunks did it, don't know. Gare de Nord was awful. Also, I saw quite a number of young people "going" in the bushes at Luxemburg and a few other areas :-)

I agree that fast food places always have available toilets.The most important thing is if you see a toilet (you have to go even if you think you dont).

In Paris, the McDonalds restaurants seemed to always have a restroom that was unlocked and free. We also spent a fair amount of euros going into a cafe for a drink just so we could use the restroom. One interesting thing about the cafes is that the restrooms always were either up or downstairs.
In Provence - I agree with the "go when you can" advice. Most of the small places did have public restrooms, but they were pretty marginal in terms of cleanliness, toilet paper, etc. Always carry tissues and hand sanitizer...

In the past year, Paris has made an effort to put tourists first. It is a government push. All the public toilets are free. My husband and I spent about 20 minutes trying to put money into the slot in the public toilet at the Bourse metro stop when we realized the door was opened the entire time. A gentleman from the stock exchange explained the new kinder, gentler iniative and that the toilets are free.

Eli, I had visions of it opening while I was using it! They have them here in San Francisco too :)

The motto taught to us on a RS tour a couple of years ago was: Go when you can, not when you have to!

Queen Elizabeth 2 said the same thing...but perhaps more discreetly...

CL, sometimes I had to force my daughter to "go" when I was going, because I was always sure she would decide she "needed" to go once we were unable to find a restroom.

It's kind of funny how we would land in a new city in Europe and on our first day of sightseeing, a must find would be the toilets, lol