“Taxi, vite, vite! (quick, quick!) À la Tour Eiffel!“

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It doesn’t matter if you speak like a native Parisien or a Marseillais, or only occasionally venture a word or two in French, if you go to France for a trip, for the purpose of experiencing a grand voyage (big trip), or to have a simple “visite éclaire“ (“blitz visit”), you’ll most likely have to take a taxi ride either way.

Most of les chauffeurs de taxi (cab drivers) who work near the airports and the popular “pièges à touristes” (“touristy traps”) usually can handle a minimum of English, but once you’re ailleurs (elsewhere), then a bit of French won’t certainly hurt. Au contraire (on the contrary), it can sometimes prove to be your best bet to reach la bonne destination (the right destination.)

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Attention! (Warning!) This is how a cab ride in Marseilles can sometimes end up 😉

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• “Appelez-moi un taxi s’il vous plaît” (“Call a taxi for me please”)—Another warning: In extreme cases, this sentence can be interpreted as “call me a ‘taxi'”—as if you wanted “a taxi” to be your name:

– “Appelez-moi un taxi, s’il vous plaît” (“Call me a taxi please”)

– D’accord, comme vous voulez, “un taxi” (“Ok, as you want, “a taxi”) 🙂

• “Je voudrais un taxi pour…“ (“I’d like a cab for…”)

– “maintenant” (“now”)

– “demain matin” (“tomorrow morning”)

– “l’après-midi” (“the afternoon”)

– “dans une demi-heure” (“in half an hour”)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJrHSfDSm34

Joy ride with “Joe le Taxi” and Vanessa Paradis

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“Bonjour, êtes-vous disponible?” (“Hello, are you available?)

“Pouvez-vous m’aider avec les bagages, s’il vous plaît?” (“Can you help me with the luggage please?”)

“Acceptez-vous les cartes de crédit?” (“Do you take credit cards?”)

“Combien ça va coûter à peu près?” (“Around how much will it cost?”)

“Je voudrais aller à…” (“I’d like to go to…”)

“Au centre-ville, s’il vous plaît” (“To the city center, please”)

“À la gare, s’il vous plaît” (“To the train station, please”)

“À l’aéroport, s’il vous plaît” (“To the airport, please”)

“À l’hôtel…, s’il vous plaît” (“To the… Hotel, please”)

“À la station de métro la plus proche, s’il vous plaît” (“To the nearest metro station, please”)

“Croyez-vous que nous allons arriver avant…” (“Do you think we’ll arrive before…”)

“Pouvons-nous d’abord faire un saut au distributeur automatique pour retirer de l’argent?” (“Can we first make a stop by the ATM to withdraw money?”)

“Pouvons-nous d’abord déposer mon ami à… ensuite…” (“Can we first drop my friend at… then…”)

In “Taxi 3”, Sylvester Stallone is in for a “rocky” ride