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Service Compris: A Guide to Tipping in France

Written by the Only Provence Team • Last Updated October 12, 2026

Only Provence is an award-winning villa rental company with a collection of more than 200 luxury villas and châteaux throughout the Luberon and Alpilles. Combining deep local expertise with personalized service, we craft exceptional journeys tailored for discerning travelers.

In France, tipping is optional. By law, the prices shown in restaurants, cafés, and bars already include service, and staff are paid a proper wage rather than depending on gratuities. A tip, known as a pourboire, is a gesture for service you genuinely appreciated, not an obligation. The amounts are small, and this guide sets out what is customary.

What "service compris" means

Service compris means service is included. French law requires that the prices displayed in restaurants, cafés, and bars already cover service, so the figure on the menu is the figure you pay. Staff earn a proper wage with the benefits that come with it, which is why tipping in France is a genuine choice rather than a way of topping up an income.

This is the single fact that changes how tipping works here. You are never making up a shortfall in someone’s pay. You are simply saying thank you when you have been looked after well, and no one may demand it of you.

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Tipping in restaurants and cafés

Because service is included, anything you leave is a gesture. For a coffee or a drink, most people round up to the nearest euro or leave the small change. For a casual meal, a euro or two per person is a warm thank-you. For a fine dinner or attentive service, something in the region of five to ten per cent is generous, often left as a few notes on the table rather than added to the card.

A practical point: tips are usually left in cash. Card terminals in France rarely offer a line to add a gratuity, so a little cash left on the table, or handed to your server, is the simplest way.

Taxis and private drivers

For a taxi, rounding up to the nearest euro, or adding up to around five per cent, is the norm, with an extra euro or two if the driver helps with bags. For a private driver or a car service arranged for the day, something in the region of five to ten per cent is a kind acknowledgement of good care over a longer journey. As everywhere in France, none of this is expected, and a driver will not be put out if you simply round up.

Hotel staff

In hotels, small gestures are customary for personal service. A porter who carries your bags is usually thanked with a euro or two per bag. For housekeeping, a few euros left for the day, or a slightly larger sum at the end of your stay, is a considerate gesture. A concierge who arranges something particular for you, a difficult reservation or a special outing, might receive anywhere from a few euros to more, in proportion to the effort involved.

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Tipping villa staff: private chefs, housekeepers, and hosts

Villa staff follow the same principle: a tip is a gesture for service that went beyond the ordinary, and in a private villa the people looking after you deserve to be thanked properly. A private chef who has prepared a memorable dinner in your kitchen is typically thanked with a gratuity of somewhere aroubd 10 percent. Housekeeping is best acknowledged with a weekly sum rather than a few euros here and there, and a villa host or manager who has looked after your group attentively will appreciate being thanked for outstanding service.

As a general guide for villa staff:

  • Maid service: €50–€100 per week is typical, and of course based on your satisfaction. For more extensive or daily maid service, allow €100–€200 per week for a 3 to 4 bedroom villa, and €200 or more for larger villas hosting groups.
  • Villa manager or concierge: tips are appreciated for outstanding service.
  • Chefs and tour guides: a typical gratuity is 10–15%.

For more detail, see the tipping guidelines in our FAQ.

Because the right gesture depends on the service and the length of your stay, our concierge team is glad to advise on what is customary for any staff arranged through Only Provence, so you can thank people appropriately without second-guessing.

Guides and experiences

For a private guide, a gratuity of 10 percent of the tour fee is typical and warmly appreciated, depending upon the size of the group, particularly when they have given you a memorable day. As with everything in France, the measure is the quality of the experience.

A simple rule of thumb

If you remember one thing, let it be this: in cafés and restaurants, service is included, so rounding up is plenty. For the people who look after you during a villa stay, from housekeepers to private chefs and guides, a proper gratuity is customary and much appreciated. Carry cash for the purpose, and hand your gesture directly to the person where you can. It is always received as the compliment it is meant to be.

Start planning your stay in Provence

Planning a stay in Provence? Speak with a Villa Rental Specialist, and our concierge team can advise on the small courtesies that make a trip run smoothly. For staff arranged through Only Provence, our concierge team is glad to suggest an appropriate gesture, so you never have to guess.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Tipping in France is optional. Service is included in the price by law, and staff are paid a proper wage, so a tip is a gesture for service you appreciated rather than an obligation. When people do tip, the amounts are small.

Yes. French law requires that displayed prices in restaurants, cafés, and bars include service, shown as service compris. The price on the menu is the price you pay, and no separate service charge is added at the end.

For a casual meal, a euro or two per person is a warm gesture. For fine dining or particularly attentive service, around five to ten per cent is generous. It is usually left in cash on the table, as card machines rarely offer a tip line.

It is not expected, but rounding up to the nearest euro, or adding up to around five per cent, is customary, with an extra euro or two if the driver helps with your luggage. A private driver for the day might receive five to ten per cent.

Yes, and it is warmly appreciated. A private chef typically receives a gratuity of 10 to 15 per cent, and maid service is usually thanked with €50 to €100 per week, or €100 to €200 or more for daily service in a larger villa. Our concierge team can advise what is customary for staff arranged through Only Provence.

No. Because service is included and staff are properly paid, choosing not to tip is perfectly acceptable and causes no offence. Tipping is a compliment for good service, and no one may demand it.

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Jumping the Picket Fence Light Through the Cracks

Only Provence co-founder Lydia Dean writes about their experiences raising a family, building a business in Provence, and later combining the love of travel with giving back in "Jumping the Picket Fence". In 2021, she published "Light Through the Cracks," a continuation of her journey, much of which has been based in Provence. Both books are available Amazon, Amazon.uk, and Amazon.Fr.