Toilets in France

[NW-Bound]

On a more serious note, I was in a Unisex restroom in a European archeological site where every porcelain facility was in a water closet. Anyway, you go into the water closet, close the door behind you, do your business, and walk out to a wall of sinks. Modesty is protected by being alone in the water closet (literally the size of a good size closet).

In Scandinavia, pay unisex toilets are like that. Very clean and well maintained. Fee: about US$1.50. One pays via contactless credit cards, or smartphone apps.

Several toilets in airports are similarly unisex. particularly the ones near the gates to the aircraft. The ones I saw were free.

Train and metro stations did not have free toilets, at least the ones I passed through. Or perhaps I missed them.

 

[braumeister]

I got a kick out of these wonderful automatic, self-cleaning public toilets in downtown Oslo. They were donated by France, so they are in their national colors of red, white, and blue, and each bears a word of the French national motto, liberté, égalité, fraternité.

A modest fee to use one, and a two minute cleaning cycle when you leave.

 

[audreyh1]

So, ApplePay or tap-to-pay works on these now?

We may take a break somewhere, have coffee or sparkling water and use their facilities. Otherwise the museum or whatever - use their facilities.

 

[braumeister]

So, ApplePay or tap-to-pay works on these now?

We may take a break somewhere, have coffee or sparkling water and use their facilities. Otherwise the museum or whatever - use their facilities.

I assume so; I didn't need to use them. Apple Pay worked everywhere else in Oslo.

 

[dixonge]

He’s not - same in Amsterdam they have boxes along some streets where men can take a piss without exposing themselves.

Evidently these don't exist anywhere in the U.S. outside of San Francisco. Not that common in Europe either. You'd think they would at least put them in a corner somewhere where the pisser doesn't have to look at people walking by...

 

[audreyh1]

Evidently these don't exist anywhere in the U.S. outside of San Francisco. Not that common in Europe either. You'd think they would at least put them in a corner somewhere where the pisser doesn't have to look at people walking by...

These planter-like urinals are Amsterdam’s answer to the problem of ‘wild peeing’ https://www.cnn.com/style/article/amsterdam-sustainable-urinal-scli-intl/index.html

 

[Badger]

Circa 2015...My DW "snuck into" a toilet in Bayonne, grabbing the door as someone exited, not knowing of the self cleaning function. Made for a fun story as it self-locks, sprays who knows what with the lights off... She was screaming the whole way & trying to get out.

That half euro could be more if you want to steal-a-pee...

Not only did the coffee come out of my nose but I think I wet myself. Thanks a lot!

Cheers!

 

[NW-Bound]

On the other hand, in all the Western Europe countries I have driven on, motorists have absolutely no problem with finding nice clean toilets when driving on the freeways. And the toilets are free too.

These toilets are always associated with a restaurant/shop/gas station in a rest area, and on a toll highway. And most of long-distance highways in Europe are toll road.

I surmise that the restaurant/shop operator has the obligation to maintain the attached free restroom. And these restrooms are always nice and clean, usually cleaner than the restroom of a gas station or fast-food restaurants at truck stops in the US.

 

[jollystomper]

It’s been years since I’ve been to France. Last time I went, I believe 2003, it cost half a euro to use most public toilets, even in the airport. I understand in the intervening years there are now more free public toilets. I remember, though, being cautioned to have euro-based coin change in hand when you land at the airport so you could use a public restroom, and being so very grateful for that warning as I rushed to the WC with coin in hand after getting off the plane.

What is the true situation these days? Online sources are contradictory on this. Does one pay to use the toilets in the Paris airport and if so, how much?

We were in France in May. CDG Airport toilets were completely free.

In Paris there are free street toilets. One was kind of neat - when someone comes out, it closes for about 5 minutes and completely sanitizes the entire enclosure. Then it lets the next person in. Smells fresh as a summer day. Roomy as well, with soap, running sink water and hand sanitizer.

EDITED TO ADD: The *only* place we had to pay for a toilet was McDonalds on the Champs-Elysees. And only for the womens toilet, the mens was free.

 

[dixonge]

Imagine waiting for a toilet when you *really* need to go, only to have it LOCK ITSELF for FIVE MINUTES!!! I think I'd just say 'f*ck it!' and pee in the Seine...

 

[Koolau]

O

I surmise that the restaurant/shop operator has the obligation to maintain the attached free restroom. And these restrooms are always nice and clean, usually cleaner than the restroom of a gas station or fast-food restaurants at truck stops in the US.

That's not a high threshold to beat!

 

[NW-Bound]

That's not a high threshold to beat!

Gah, a guy can be so demanding. Perhaps you have forgotten how gross public toilets could be on the US Interstate, if you get access to any.

Here in AZ, many roadside public toilets have been closed due to lack of funding. I guess one can always head for a food joint, except that out here in the West, he may have to drive 100 miles.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have another story to tell, regarding the need to relieve oneself.

My brother was on a business trip to SF/San Jose with a couple other workers. After a dinner, on the drive back to the hotel, one guy forgot to relieve himself at the restaurant, so asked the driver to exit the freeway and find a place near the cloverleaf to stop and let him off to go into the bushes to do his thing.

As luck would have it, a patrol car happened to drive by, the cop saw the stopped car, and of course he had to stop to see what was the problem.

I don't remember my brother said if the driver got any citation, but the peeing guy was caught and issued a ticket.

Upon seeing the perpetrator's driver license, the cop said "I see that you guys are from AZ. Here in CA, we don't do this thing", meaning they didn't urinate publicly, not even in a bush by the highway.

My brother and his friends thought to themselves, "What a BS!", but they kept it to themselves, for fear of getting into more trouble.

 

[stephenson]

Never saw a pay toilet when last in France.

Only place was the Netherlands.

 

[Koolau]

I have another story to tell, regarding the need to relieve oneself.

My brother was on a business trip to SF/San Jose with a couple other workers. After a dinner, on the drive back to the hotel, one guy forgot to relieve himself at the restaurant, so asked the driver to exit the freeway and find a place near the cloverleaf to stop and let him off to go into the bushes to do his thing.

As luck would have it, a patrol car happened to drive by, the cop saw the stopped car, and of course he had to stop to see what was the problem.

I don't remember my brother said if the driver got any citation, but the peeing guy was caught and issued a ticket.


Upon seeing the perpetrator's driver license, the cop said "I see that you guys are from AZ. Here in CA, we don't do this thing", meaning they didn't urinate publicly, not even in a bush by the highway.

My brother and his friends thought to themselves, "What a BS!", but they kept it to themselves, for fear of getting into more trouble.

Finally! Here's THE cop who can clean up SF (I think that's still in California, isn't it?) But he'll need a bigger ticket book.

 

[Koolau]

Gah, a guy can be so demanding. Perhaps you have forgotten how gross public toilets could be on the US Interstate, if you get access to any.

Yeah, I really do try to avoid them, though I've been in a couple of states (years ago - maybe no longer true) with really nice facilities. I remember Tennessee and Vermont as two states with very clean, monitored rest stops. TN offered maps and "things to do" fliers and catalogs which is probably how they paid for the rest stop maintenance. It can be done if people demand it and gummint will listen to people.