Drinking water in france//paris? Safe? What kind?

It's safe and fine. It my not taste particularly good, depending on where you are, but that's just like any other country or big city.

I think the tap water is fine in Paris.

Phil, you are not going to a third world country. European water standards are higher than some part of the US. Drink as much as you like, it is free. About the only thing that is free in Europe.

I'm somewhat surprised that this issue seems to come up on a regular basis. As a previous post indicated, the drinking water is perfectly safe in most western European countries. I just returned from France and had no difficulties at all with the water. I used the same water bottle I bought for the flight over, and just kept refilling it from the tap.

As I recall from the Guidebook, restaurants in France are required to provide tap water if requested. I never had a problem obtaining tap water in restaurants in France. It was a bit more difficult in Italy, as some restaurants there seem to be intent on selling bottled water with every meal. I asked for tap water in Italy and in a couple of cases, the waiter just shrugged and said "it's not available".

If you have specific health issues, bottled water may be a good option. However, for most travellers, tap water is just fine.

Happy travels!

Your wife is wrong. Plain and simple.

I drink tap water in Europe,, never been ill and in Paris the water tasted fine to me.

As noted,, you are not going to the jungles of South America,, they have light bulbs and hospitals too..LOL The water is fine.

We just returned from 2 weeks in France. We asked for a carafe d'eau (tap water) at every meal and got it with no complaints. Tasted fine even to my picky 16-year-old daughter.

There are only two places in Europe where I couldn't drink the tap water: both were farmhouses (France and Germany) where the water came from a well. And as often in farming areas the groundwater feeding those wells had been contaminated with nitrates from all the fertilizers around. I encountered those situations when I was invited to private homes, not in public places. If you are in a special situation like that people will be very upfront and tell you.

In hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, museums .... that will most certainly not be the case. Should you be planning a farmhouse vacation in 99.9% of all cases you'd be fine as well.

The CDC lists only one area of Europe where municipal tap water may be "potentially" unsafe- St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad oblast.

As has been pointed out, tap water is provided free in restaurants if you request it. Bottled water can cost more than wine (well, house wine.) Request "une carafe de eau". It's fine. Just don't expect ice.

If you ask for ice though, you will get it (glaçons).

so that would add, "avec glacons," then?

While we are on the subject, can anyone shed some light on why bottled water in France is always "mineral water" with lots of sodium. I can never find regular spring water with nothing added to it. Yes, the tap water is fine.

Doug: that's right.

Deb, I might be quite wrong about this, but I don't think the sodium is added to the spring water. I believe it is the nature of the source (the spring).

Also want to reiterate that tap water in France/Paris is just fine. We drank it for two weeks with no problems. You will get a carafe of water almost instantaneously when you ask for it. The guidebook gives you info on how to do it and everyone in France we encountered spoke English, so it was very simple.