Saint Pierre and Miquelon: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Saint Pierre and Miquelon feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 22 written places.
A pocket of provincial France anchored off Newfoundland - formal, tidy and quietly proud of it.
✓ Considered polite
- Say Bonjour in every shop and to people you pass - the town is small enough that greetings matter
- Adjust to French hours - a real midday lunch break is observed
- Go to the bakeries early - baguettes and pastries sell out like anywhere in France
- Book accommodation and the ferry ahead in summer - capacity is tiny
✗ Better avoided
- Expect shops open through the long midday lunch closure or on Sunday
- Open in English - this is France, so start with Bonjour even if that is all you have
- Rush dinner - it is a full French affair
- Treat the islands as Canada - they are administratively and proudly France
Worth knowing
- The currency is the euro, though most businesses also take Canadian dollars at their own rate
- The islands keep their own time zone, 30 minutes ahead of Newfoundland
- The passenger ferry from Fortune, Newfoundland, is the main way in without flying
- Everything arrives by boat, so grocery and restaurant prices run well above mainland France
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.