France By Mail

Airmail is the best way to send mail home from France. Aerogrammes, printed sheets that fold into envelopes and travel via airmail, are available at post offices. Write “airmail” or “par avion” on the front. Most post offices will charge exorbitant fees or simply refuse to send aerogrammes with enclosures. Surface mail is by far the cheapest and slowest way to send mail. It takes one to two months to cross the Atlantic and one to three to cross the Pacific—good for heavy items you won’t need for a while, such as souvenirs that you’ve acquired along the way.

Sending Mail To France

To ensure timely delivery, mark envelopes “airmail” or “par avion.” In addition to the standard postage system, Federal Express (Australia ☎+61 13 26 10, Canada and the US +1-800-463-3339, Ireland +353 800 535 800, New Zealand +64 800 733 339, the UK +44 8456 070 809; www.fedex.com) handles express mail services from most countries to France. Sending a postcard within France costs €0.20, while sending letters (up to 20g) domestically requires €0.54.

There are several ways to arrange pickup of letters sent to you while you are abroad. Mail can be sent via Poste Restante (General Delivery) to almost any city or town in France with a post office, but it is not very reliable. Address Poste Restante letters like so:

Napoleon BONAPARTE Poste Restante 20000, Ajaccio FRANCE

The mail will go to a special desk in the central post office, unless you specify a post office by street address or postal code. It’s best to use the largest post office, since mail may be sent there regardless. It is usually safer and quicker, though more expensive, to send mail express or registered. Bring your passport (or other photo ID) for pickup; there may be a small fee. If the clerks insist that there is nothing for you, ask them to check under your first name as well. Let’s Go lists post offices in the Practical Information section for each city.

American Express’s travel offices throughout the world offer a free Client Letter Service (mail held up to 30 days and forwarded upon request) for cardholders who contact them in advance. Some offices provide these services to non-cardholders (especially AmEx Travelers Cheque holders), but call ahead to make sure. For a complete list of AmEx locations, call ☎+1-800-528-4800 or visit www.americanexpress.com/travel.

Paris Post. Parisian codes postales (postal codes) start with 750 and end with the arrondissement number. That is, 75001 is the code for the 1er, 75002 is the code for the 2ème, and so on.