To deter credit card fraud, European banks issue credit cards with chips in them (cartes à puce in French) , and require their use along with a PIN (Personal Identification Number).

You slip the chip card into a card reader, press the number keys for your PIN, and the charge is recorded.

It's much easier to copy the information on a magnetic credit card strip than it is to copy the information on a computer chip embedded in a credit card, which is why banks like chip cards: less credit card fraud.

On your visit to Paris and France—and indeed the rest of Europe—if your Visa or Mastercard credit card does not have a chip in it, you will encounter difficulties using it. You may not be able to use it at all, even in online transactions.

American Express cards, even those without chips, may work even though others do not, but you may not have an Amex card, or you may not want to depend solely on one card to pay for all of your travel expenses.

What to do?

—Use the cash/ATM card from your home bank to withdraw euros from cash machines (distributeur des billets) in France.

—Bring cash (dollars, etc.) and convert them to euros at a bureau de change (curency exchange office). This can be quite expensive, however, as exchange offices charge commission of between 6% and 10% of the amount changed, plus a service fee of 2.50€ to 6.00€, meaning that if you give the exchange office US$100, you may receive less than $90 in euros.