DUTY-FREE SHOPPING To locate your nearest police station, please contact: Tax refund, the deduction of VAT (up to 12%) Préfecture de police: 34 30 (€0.06/min). on purchases of at least €175.01 including www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr VAT (€100.01 from 1 January 2021) in the • Lost property office same shop, over three days, applies to res- Préfecture de police: 36 rue des Morillons idents from outside the European Union (15th). M Convention.o 34 30 (€0.06/min). (EU). On leaving the EU, visitors should scan Mon to Wed: 8.30am-5pm. Thurs: 8.30am- the barcodes which are on the form pro- 12 noon. Fri: 8.30am-4.30pm. vided by the retailer at one of the terminals near to the Customs ticket desk in order to For personal safety information and useful be reimbursed quickly. numbers, pick up a copy of the Guideto Infos Douane Service: www.douane.gouv.fr Staying Safe in Paris, available in several lan- Détaxe SAS: www.detaxe.com guages from the Tourist Office information Global Blue France: www.globalblue.com centres and on PARISINFO.com. CURRENCY EXCHANGE GETTING AROUND You can change money at stations, airports, large bank branches and bureaux de change METRO - RER (open until late in the evening). Before you go ahead with a transaction, it is a good idea to ask at what rates the agency buys and sells currency and how much the com- mission charge is. Some addresses: Change & Collection: 1 rue Rouget de L’Isle (1st). Mo Concorde. 01 42 60 00 35. www.yes-change.com Multi Change: 7 rue Marbeuf (8th). M Alma – Marceau.o The Paris metro system, operated by the 01 47 20 23 57. www.multi-change.com RATP, is made up of 16 lines, each identifi- able by their number, colour and start/end destinations. The RER (rapid-transit train ser- SAFETY vice), comprising (RATP and SNCF) lines A, B, C, D and E, serves Paris and the surrounding EMERGENCY SERVICES region. These trains link up with the urban metro network and certain SNCF lines. The • European emergency number 112 ‘ticket t+’ (€1.90) can be used to travel on • SAMU (emergency medical service) 15 the metro, the RER (in Paris), the trams and buses as well as on certain connections (in • Police/Emergency 17 Paris) within a 90-minute period for buses • Fire service 18 and trams or 2 hours for metros and RERs. The Pass Navigo Easy (€2) is a card on which • Emergency number which can be you can load t+ tickets (individually or in a accessed by text or fax (for people with ‘carnet’ of 10), OrlyBus and RoissyBus tick- hearing or speaking difficulties) 114 ets, and a Navigo Day Pass. Tickets can be purchased at metro and RER LOST OR STOLEN PROPERTY stations, certain tobacconists and newspa- perkiosks. Outside zone 1, the RER is subject • Identity documents toa different pricing system (for example, If your documents are lost or stolen, report togo to Paris – CDG airport or to Disneyland® the incident to your nearest police station. Paris). Be sure to keep hold of the receipt, which you may need for later proceedings. 106| PRACTICAL INFORMATION