To win over the locals, this is the one thing travellers must do

Fact: French people are the rudest, most arrogant people in the world. Is it really true, or simply a cliche perpetrated by a bitter Brit, jealous of the cheese, architecture and elan of their chic next-door neighbours? A predicted 15 million people will visit Paris for the Olympics next month, and so it’s time to put the trope to the test and find the source of the rumour.

So, to disarm and charm our Gallic friends, and to smooth the path for all travels, the key is to learn the local lingo. “And add some onomatopoeia, like ‘pfiou’ and ‘arghh’!” advises Magali. Shouting not required.Walk into a shop, get on a bus, buy a metro ticket – in France, it all starts with a simple. The French are sticklers for niceties. And while you may not be swamped with a pile of new Parisian besties by simply breaking out the, the air about you will definitely thaw.

If you need paper, or phones aren’t an option, there are a forest of phrasebooks on the market supplying survival phrases . Guidebook companies lead this charge, including DK Eyewitness and Lonely Planet. Its cheap, pocket-sized Phrasebooks series covers 65 languages from Spanish to Swahili, including tailored dialects such as Mexican Spanish. Great for visual learners, most phrasebooks can also be downloaded.

Aside from wooing Parisians, learning a language is proven to slow cognitive deterioration, and is like exercising a muscle – try to build a regular 10-minute session into your day while commuting or walking the dog. “It takes a few months to hit conversational level, and you can be fluent in less than 12 months if you’re doing regular one-on-one lessons online or in person,” says Rohan Baker, managing director of Berlitz Australia .

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