If you ever got lost in a foreign country, you know how complicated it can be to find your way when nobody speaks your language.
Luckily, a few French words can help you ask for directions and most of all understand the answer.
Here is everything you need to know to ask for directions in French!
Start with “excusez-moi”
Before asking for directions, it is polite to start with Excusez-moi. A greeting such as Bonjour is also a courteous way to open the exchange.
Once you said “excusez-moi”, you can use one of the following sentences:
4 ways to ask for directions in French
Est-ce que vous savez où est
If there is only one sentence you should remember, it’s this one.
This is a useful polite pattern: add the name of the place you’re looking for after où est. For a plural place name, use où sont.
If you have a hard time pronouncing the whole sentence or want a shorter question, you can say Où est… ? followed by the name of the place.
- Est-ce que vous savez où est le musée d’Orsay ? (do you know where the Orsay museum is?)
- Où est le métro le plus proche ? (where is the nearest subway station?)
- Où est la gare ? (where is the train station?)
Où sont
“Où est” is a great and simple way to ask for directions in French, but you can only use it if the name of the place you’re looking for is singular.
If it’s plural, you should use “où sont” instead.
- Où sont les toilettes ? (where are the toilets?)
- Est-ce que vous savez où sont les Champs-Élysées ? (Do you know where the Champs-Élysées are?)
Où est-ce que je peux trouver
This is a useful sentence if you’re lost in a French city and want to find a bank or an ATM.
- Où est-ce que je peux trouver un distributeur de billets ? (where can I find an ATM?)
Est-ce qu’il y a…près d’ici
If you’re looking for something, but aren’t sure whether you can find it nearby or not, use “est-ce qu’il y a…près d’ici ?” (is there … near here?).
All you need to do is add the name of what you’re looking for between “il y a” and “près”.
- Est-ce qu’il y a une banque près d’ici ? (Is there a bank nearby?)
How to ask how far a place is in French
Someone giving directions might tell you:
- C’est loin d’ici, mais il y a une station de métro pas loin d’ici (It’s far from here, but there is a subway station near here).
In some cases though, you may want to ask whether something is far or not. Here is how to do it:
Est-ce que c’est loin/proche?
This literally means “is it far/near?”.
- Est-ce que le musée d’Orsay est loin d’ici ? (Is the Orsay museum far from here?)
Est-ce que je peux y aller à pied ?
You can use “est-ce que je peux y aller à pied” to ask if something is within walking distance.
How to understand directions in French
Have you ever asked for directions only to realise you’re completely unable to understand the answer?
Learning these useful direction phrases can make the answer easier to follow.
À droite: on the right
À gauche: on the left
Tout droit: straight
La première à droite: the first (street) on the right
La rue suivante: the next street
En face de: opposite/across from
À côté de: next to
Au bout de la rue: at the end of the street
Where do you want to go?
It’s time to practise: choose a place and ask where it is, whether it is nearby, and whether you can walk there. Then try describing a short route with the phrases above.