People travel to immerse themselves in different cultures. They eat foods they haven’t encountered, drink beverages they’ve never heard of, and see sights they couldn’t imagine. That remains true for most tourists, but American globetrotters are particularly notorious for bringing their own habits and comforts with them overseas — whether it be wearing flashy athleisure, ordering iced coffee, or tipping the waitstaff.
Tipping hospitality workers is second nature to U.S. consumers — so much so that when it comes time to close out at a bar or restaurant in another country, Americans instinctively go to fill in the tip line. But could leaving a couple extra euros on a check be considered rude in an environment where it’s unexpected? VinePair tapped Paris-based bartenders Alex Francis of De Vie and Patrick Dooley of Harry’s Bar to find out.
In short, whether or not to tip entirely depends on the context. And Francis and Dooley both agree that regardless of where you leave a gratuity or how much, it is never considered rude.
“No one is ever going to say no to tipping,” Francis, who worked the floor in London before bartending in Paris, says. “I’ve never heard anybody within the industry express they feel like it’s rude.”
Americans’ tipping culture has become so pervasive in certain corners of Europe — especially cities highly trafficked by tourists — that some businesses in those areas have built their business models around the assumption that their workers will receive high volumes of gratuities, according to both Francis and Dooley. Cafés near hot spot monuments like the Eiffel Tower offer their staff a lower wage — still a higher one relative to the U.S. due to French labor laws, Francis and Dooley admit — knowing they will attract Americans with the proclivity to tip, whereas a locals’ bar where tipping rarely occurs often offer more substantial wages.
The impact of tourists’ tipping culture benefits some business owners in making them more competitive to job seekers. “It’s an attractive factor for recruiting new bartenders,” New York-born Dooley, who moved to Paris in 2021, says. “For a place like Harry’s, salaries are already very competitive in comparison to other cocktail bars, but the frequent tips are an advantage.”
That said, even the businesses that anticipate receiving tips don’t expect to receive the high gratuity percentages that are common in the U.S. If offered a 25 percent tip, a Parisian server would likely respond “‘Please, you don’t need to give us that much money,’” according to Francis.
During his five years overseas, Dooley has noticed that tipping culture has gradually trickled into different businesses in Paris. Now, Parisians roll their eyes when a tipping menu populates the checkout screen at a local coffee shop, he says.
No matter where tourists might find themselves — whether at the museum-adjacent bistro or the hipster wine bar far from downtown — Francis and Dooley advise that they ask the waitstaff what a normal tip is.
“American tourists should communicate with servers,” Francis says. “I think a lot of them are afraid to ask about tipping, so if you just ask what a normal amount would be, most people won’t be bothered by the question and will give an honest answer.”
Though tipping may be anticipated, in tourist-frequented neighborhoods, it is rarely expected. That’s because, above all, tipping is meant to be a gesture of thanking the worker for outstanding service in European cultures.
“Here, you don’t even add a percentage,” Dooley says. “The culture is that if you received really good service — something above and beyond — you could leave a few euros on the table.”
