Travelers: Which countries have treated you the best and which have treated you the worst? (credit card, purchase)

[pch1013]

I've always been treated very well in France, but it helps that I speak the language fluently.

Brits, on the other hand, have often been very rude to me.

[paull805]

Maybe it's you?

[victimofGM]

Originally Posted by clongirl

I was traveling with my husband (who is Irish). He's not encountered any problems either. I just don't understand anyone that could ONLY encounter rude people in France. Negative vibes generally attract negative vibes. We're generally positive people and try to speak the language as best as we can.

My ancestors are from France. When my ship was scheduled to visit France, I was excited to visit the land of my ancestors. I had hoped to find people with the same family name as my own and my relatives. I don't speak fluent French though. Though I went there excited, I didn't meet any friendly people. Toulon, Nice, and Monaco don't seem to be friendly unless you speak fluently in their French or have plenty of money. At first I thought they treated me this way because I was an American. When our ship returned to homeport in Gaeta, Italy, I spoke to the locals I had became friends with. They told me it wasn't just Americans the French treated that way. Well, they told me that after they got through spitting and cursing the French.

[Minato ku]

Originally Posted by Pruzhany

Yet I can admit that fellow American cities have issues and yet you wear rose colored glasses in relation to the French. The Baguette cycle riders in Paris are as bad as the messenger cyclists in NYC.

I live in Paris and I have never see any cycle riders carrying a baguette.

[Rozenn]

Nor did I. Maybe there are actors in touristy areas to keep the cliche alive.

[Pruzhany]

Originally Posted by Minato ku

I live in Paris and I have never see any cycle riders carrying a baguette.

Then maybe its changed over the past ten years and unlike me you are not walking the city as the sun is rising and the shops are opening.

[Minato ku]

Well, the use of bicycle was rather uncommon ten or twenty years ago, the idea of parisians using bike to buy baguette seems more on stereotypes than the reality.

[MyTarge13]

I am a Caucasian Male from the United States who has done a lot of travel overseas both for work and for fun.

Many of these responses are very interesting and have made me think about how people travel.

I have encountered poor / rude service in several countries (Ireland, France, Italy) and I would agree France can treat a tourist poorly, but believe that this may be more true in Paris than elsewhere. I also recall sitting at an outdoor café in Paris and we greeted our waiter in French and made an attempt to speak some French. The waiter was great, spoke some English and very patiently answered our questions. Then when a group of Americans set down next to us and only spoke English, suddenly he acted as if he had never heard English in his life. So, as a general rule, if you try to speak the local language first, are civil and patient, you will likely find you are treated pretty well.

Another example (unfortunately more negative) was a food counter clerk a the Milan Airport. She spoke English when we were buying a small snack, but when we caught her trying to rip us off with the wrong change suddenly could not understand. However, I must commend the local Supervisor who stepped in very quickly and resolved the issue to my complete satisfaction.

For a positive story, we were in Rome on a surprisingly hot day in February and stopped at a fruit vendor. The man spoke absolutely no English but was a delight to interact with. He was funny, found ways to communicate about his fruit and prices, and ended up giving us extra fruit with our order.

I have traveled in the US a bit and overseas to China, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Austria, Amsterdam and Luxembourg and generally felt welcome in most places. I have a hard time picking a favorite, but really like Germany a lot. I would really commend the people in Munich during Octoberfest. There is at least one very, very understanding cab driver in Munich who was very nice to a very drunk American tourist walking to his hotel going the wrong direction.

[DavidJK]

I was treated extremely well in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan and Sweden. I can't remember being treated as badly as I was in France, absolutely unfriendly people.

[ScriptedWords]

Originally Posted by victimofGM

My ancestors are from France. When my ship was scheduled to visit France, I was excited to visit the land of my ancestors. I had hoped to find people with the same family name as my own and my relatives. I don't speak fluent French though. Though I went there excited, I didn't meet any friendly people. Toulon, Nice, and Monaco don't seem to be friendly unless you speak fluently in their French or have plenty of money. At first I thought they treated me this way because I was an American. When our ship returned to homeport in Gaeta, Italy, I spoke to the locals I had became friends with. They told me it wasn't just Americans the French treated that way. Well, they told me that after they got through spitting and cursing the French.

Originally Posted by DavidJK

I was treated extremely well in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan and Sweden. I can't remember being treated as badly as I was in France, absolutely unfriendly people.

Isn't just me, I just thought the French were rude towards people who looked different (Asians, Arabs, etc.) but man they are some of the most bigoted and hateful people in the world, would never want to live there in my life or stay there. Even the ones in the US are rude towards everyone.

Was shocked as to how openly racist people in France are.