Tipping in France: How Much, When & Who

Tipping in France is optional — service is included by law. Here's exactly what to tip at restaurants, taxis, hotels and more in France.

Tipping in France is optional, not expected — French law already requires restaurants to include a 15% service charge in every price on the menu. You won't cause offence by not leaving extra, but a small gesture for genuinely good service is always welcome. If you're used to tipping heavily in the US or Canada, France is a refreshing change: your bill already covers it.

Tipping in France at a Glance

Restaurants & Cafés

Every restaurant, brasserie, and café in France is legally required to build a 15% service charge — known as 'service compris' — into the prices listed on the menu. This means the total you see is the total you pay; there is no hidden expectation to add anything on top. That said, leaving a small amount of cash on the table for an excellent meal or particularly attentive service is a thoughtful gesture that waitstaff genuinely appreciate.

• •For a coffee or light snack at a café, rounding up to the nearest euro or leaving your small change is perfectly appropriate.
• •For a sit-down lunch or dinner, €1–5 left on the table is a warm acknowledgement of good service — not a social obligation.
• •You don't need to tip at all if the service was average or the experience unremarkable. Nobody will chase you out.
• •Check your bill for the words 'service compris' or 'SC' to confirm the charge is already included — it almost always is.
• •At high-end or Michelin-starred restaurants, €10–20 for an exceptional experience is not unusual, though still entirely voluntary.

Taxis & Rideshare

French taxi drivers do not expect a tip, and there is no cultural pressure to add one. The most common practice among locals is simply to round up the fare to the nearest euro — for example, paying €13 on a €12.40 meter — or to hand over a euro or two if the driver helped with luggage or navigated particularly efficiently. On Uber and other rideshare apps operating in France, an in-app tip is not expected and tipping prompts are less common than in North America. Rounding up on the meter for a conventional taxi is the path of least resistance and will always be appreciated, but skipping it entirely is completely fine.

Hotels, Tours & Other Services

• •Hotel porters: €1–2 per bag is a standard and appreciated gesture at 4 and 5-star properties. At budget hotels, it is not expected.
• •Housekeeping: Tipping is not common practice in France, but leaving €1–2 per night for housekeeping at a luxury hotel is a kind acknowledgement of their work.
• •Tour guides: There is no fixed rule, but €5–10 per person for a half-day or full-day guided tour is a reasonable and welcome amount for a guide who added real value.
• •Spa and beauty treatments: Tipping is not customary in French spas or salons. If you want to express appreciation, a few euros cash is fine but not anticipated.
• •Concierge: If a concierge secures hard-to-get restaurant reservations or goes significantly out of their way, a €5–10 tip is a thoughtful acknowledgement.

How to Tip in France

Cash is the preferred method for tipping in France. When leaving a tip at a restaurant, place the coins or notes on the table rather than handing them directly to the server — this is the local convention and feels less transactional. If you're paying by card at a restaurant, most terminals in France do not prompt you to add a tip, and there is generally no mechanism to do so electronically; bring a few euros in coins if you'd like to leave something. For taxis, simply tell the driver to keep the change or hand over a rounded-up amount when you pay. Small euro coins are your best friend in France — keeping a handful of €1 and €2 coins in your pocket covers nearly every tipping scenario you'll encounter.