Question on public lavatories in Paris

GG wrote:

"ra" wrote in message
et...


Thomas Adams wrote:
Now that I think of it I might have forgotten something when I prepared
my Paris trip. Seeing that it's time for my yearly diarrhea I wonder
what's the deal with public lavatories in Paris. Are there enough to
safely stroll around, are they easy to find if you don't know what to
look for, are they clean?

They have the "green ball" self cleaning public pay toilets - but they
are few and far between. Museums are good bets. Less clean, but
frequent are the ever popular McDonalds. They generally have open
public toilets - but you have to look for them once you get inside. Of
course you can always buy a coke and ask.

In many McDonalds in France, these days, you have to buy something to obtain
the alphanumeric code necessary to open the restroom door.
GG

Reasonable from their standpoint, but what if there's a long line and
you're REALLY in a hurry?

Hatunen wrote:

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:09:12 +1000, Deep Freud Moors
wrote:

Can we turn this into a "most disgusting toilet in Europe" thread?

My vote goes to a memorable one in Romania, which consisted of a board
with a bum-sized hole in it, mounted on two wood stumps. The effluent
simply flowed downhill into someones garden patch.

*grimmace*

My goodness, how delicate we've become these days. I recall
toilets pretty much like that when I was a tad, mostly out in the
countryside.

I remember them, too - but in the U.S. they were generally enclosed, and
situated over a deep pit. (It didn't keep waste from the property
downhill, but at least it was somewhat "filtered" by the time it arrived
as groundwater.)


You'd have loved Army slit trenches. In the dark. You had to
follow a rope.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Now that I think of it I might have forgotten something when I prepared
my Paris trip. Seeing that it's time for my yearly diarrhea I wonder
what's the deal with public lavatories in Paris. Are there enough to
safely stroll around, are they easy to find if you don't know what to
look for, are they clean?

There are lots of modern public toilets in Paris. However, you might run
into an oldfashioned one. Just to be sure, read 'How to use Frenche
Toilets' at http://www.hurktoilet.nl/hurk-en.htm

Peter
French Toilets, travel guide about France
http://www.hurktoilet.nl/index-en.html

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

GG wrote:

"ra" wrote in message
.net...


Thomas Adams wrote:

Now that I think of it I might have forgotten something when I prepared
my Paris trip. Seeing that it's time for my yearly diarrhea I wonder
what's the deal with public lavatories in Paris. Are there enough to
safely stroll around, are they easy to find if you don't know what to
look for, are they clean?

They have the "green ball" self cleaning public pay toilets - but they
are few and far between. Museums are good bets. Less clean, but
frequent are the ever popular McDonalds. They generally have open
public toilets - but you have to look for them once you get inside. Of
course you can always buy a coke and ask.


In many McDonalds in France, these days, you have to buy something to obtain
the alphanumeric code necessary to open the restroom door.
GG


Reasonable from their standpoint, but what if there's a long line and
you're REALLY in a hurry?


I spent a week in Paris last January and went to (mostly different)
McDonalds a least once a day. I did not see a single door with a code.
If your with a friend, you could split up - one person in line, one by
the door - I've never been to a locked bathroom where the person coming
out, wouldn't let the next one in.

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:

Reasonable from their standpoint, but what if there's a long line and
you're REALLY in a hurry?

Find a Sanisette.

--
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Thomas Adams writes:

Now that I think of it I might have forgotten something when I prepared
my Paris trip. Seeing that it's time for my yearly diarrhea I wonder
what's the deal with public lavatories in Paris. Are there enough to
safely stroll around, are they easy to find if you don't know what to
look for, are they clean?

There are Sanisettes. They are fairly plentiful, they cost ¤0.40 (two
20-cent coins, or they also accept 10-cent and 5-cent coins), and if
they are in good condition they are very clean (otherwise they are
highly variable). Those are the most accessible toilets in public.

There are other public toilets, often in or near Métro stations, such as
those at the Madeline, Trocadéro, Bastille, Hôtel de Ville, and at many
other locations. They usually cost ¤0.41, they have a human attendant
who collects the money, and they are typically very clean.

Railway stations have public toilets, also for ¤0.41 and of variable
cleanliness. Some stations have new McClean toilets or the equivalent,
which typically cost ¤0.50 to ¤1 and are squeaky clean. Both types of
toilets have attendants.

Restaurants and cafés have toilets, and they may or may not object to
you using them without buying anything. The conditions of these toilets
are enormously variable and unpredictable.

To counteract diarrhea, you can try Imossel (loperamide 2 mg), available
at any pharmacy. It's the same as Imodium and is sold OTC, in pill form
(so you'll need a drink to wash it down). Imossel Duo is the same thing
in chewable form, with added simethicone to reduce gas. Smecta is
diosmectite (like unmedicated Kaopectate), and can reduce diarrhea over
a period of 24 hours or so, whereas Imossel works within about 20-30
minutes.

Unfortunately, Pepto-Bismol is illegal in France. Something about the
alleged toxicity (never demonstrated) of bismuth compounds. It's
unfortunate because Pepto-Bismol (bismuth salicylate) is extremely
effective and fast-acting against diarrhea.

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ra writes:

They have the "green ball" self cleaning public pay toilets - but they
are few and far between.

In Paris, they are common. They are grayish small structures and are
clearly marked.

Museums are good bets.

Most museums charge admission.

Less clean, but frequent are the ever popular McDonalds.

They are often in very poor condition, thanks to large numbers of filthy
visitors.

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Deep Freud Moors writes:

Can we turn this into a "most disgusting toilet in Europe" thread?

Why not first provide useful answers to the original question?

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P J Wallace writes:

Oh, and they usually allow a maximum stay before - I'm
not not sure what happens, but I think they allow plenty
of time....

The time limit is 15 minutes. After that, the door opens.

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Mxsmanic wrote:

Deep Freud Moors writes:

Can we turn this into a "most disgusting toilet in Europe" thread?

Why not first provide useful answers to the original question?

Oh, my. Someone _has_ been grinding their little axe!

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk
davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk