Toilets:

A sensitive subject, but someone's got to talk about it. There are five basic toilet types in France and you will undoubtedly have to make a decision at some point about comfort vs need.

1) The Turkish Toilet which is no more than a hole in the floor with a couple of marked places where you put your feet. If you've backpacked in the wilderness, this won't be much of a problem for you. While these toilets are gradually disappearing you will still find them in some otherwise decent restaurants and brasseries - even in Paris.

2) The Street Toilet that takes 2 francs to access and self cleans after each use. The powers that be in NYC were thinking of installing some of these on the streets of Manhattan a few years ago, but scrapped the idea no doubt because of the danger of muggers hiding in them.

3) The Toilet Without a Seat is really an ordinary toilet but without a seat. You will find yourself asking "why were the seats removed from these toilets"? I have no idea, but they are pretty common. I find that in restaurants offering both men's and women's toilets, the men's often are of this type while the women's facilities generally are of the next variety.

4) The Ordinary Toilet which is as its name implies, very ordinary, i.e.: it has a seat. If you're a guy and find yourself at a restaurant with the Toilet Without a Seat, just use the women's bathroom.

5) The High Tech Toilet is high tech because there is a rotating seat protection device. Before you use this toilet just press the button alongside the toilet and you will see a plastic seat protector revolving around to position itself before you sit down.

One thing to keep in mind is that you will invariably find something missing in no matter what toilet you visit in France (with some exceptions). Either there will be soap and water but no paper towels or air dryers; or there will be water and air dryers but no soap. Sometimes you may find no toilet paper - or paper that would be more suitable for sanding your furniture. For that reason I recommend that you carry some nice soft tissue with you wherever you go.

Here is a cool link to a site that will help you locate toilets around the world: The Bathroom Diaries