You might be wondering where exactly can you get a French Health Pass or your 72-Hour QR code if you haven’t received your official one through the France Diplomacy website as I did. Well, there are a couple of options for you once you land in France. Either you go to a pharmacy and take a COVID test that will grant you a 72-hour QR code or you will have to find a pharmacy that will convert your CDC vaccination card into a French Health Pass.

Also, SO SORRY for the late post! I thought I would have time to post while I was in Paris but between all the croissants, shopping research, and wine, I didn’t have any time or energy to post. But since I’m back stateside now, I should be able to be posting a lot more than usual. I have SO MUCH to tell all of you that I can wait to write about it!

 

Just FYI… French Pharmacies are Closed on Sundays

First and foremost, please note that the majority of pharmacies are closed on Sundays. I landed Saturday evening and all the pharmacies were already closed by that time. So, the soonest I could even get an antigen or PCR test to get my 72-Hour QR code was going to be on Monday. If your flight situation is the same as mine, I don’t want you to worry. All of the restaurants I went to ended up accepting my CDC card along with my passport. If you are too scared to try with your CDC card (I was at first), I’ve found that all the supermarkets (Monoprix and Carrefour) and food-to-go places don’t ask for your health pass.

 

How Much Do These COVID Tests Cost in France?

For the rapid antigen test, I’ve seen it anywhere from 20-25 euros. For PCR tests, I’ve seen them cost around 45-50 euros. These prices are accurate as of September 2021.

 

Where to Get a Temporary 72-Hour QR Code? (Nice, France)

Since I landed in Nice first (instead of Paris), I was kind of at a loss since there wasn’t a lot of information about where to get an antigen or PCR test. The check-in person at my hotel didn’t really know any pharmacies that did the testing but told me that there was a test site by the train station.

 

// PCR TEST //

So, on Monday morning, I got up and walked on over to the train station and found the testing site. It pretty much looked like a shipping container right outside the main entrance of the train station. I stood in line but then an employee came out and told everyone in line that they only administered PCR tests there. It was going to be 45 euros and it’ll take a day to get the results. Depending on your country’s requirements, you might need a PCR test. But for my purposes, I knew all I needed was an antigen test.

 

// RAPID ANTIGEN TEST //

The employee directed anyone that just needed a rapid antigen test to go across the street to the pharmacy to get a test there. So, I walked crossed the street for a block and a half and ended up at International Pharmacie located at 5 Av. Thiers, 06000 Nice, France. There were signs right out in front indicating that you can get a COVID test done here. So, I walked in, paid 25 euros for my antigen test, and gave them my contact information (phone number and email). Then they took me into the back behind a curtain and administered a nose swab test. I was in and out of there in less than five minutes. I got my results through my email within 30 minutes. My test was done on September 27th, 2021.

 

// OTHER PHARMACIES IN NICE //

For the sake of research, I walked a little bit further and noticed that this pharmacy (Pharmacie Riviera 24h/24 de Garde) had a tent outside and did antigen and PCR testing as well. The antigen test costs 25 euros and the PCR costs 50 euros. I was a little shocked since the PCR test in front of the train station only cost 45 euros. So, if you need to take a PCR test, it seems to be cheaper in front of the train station.

After doing some more walking, I noticed that almost all of the pharmacies that are located on Av. Jean Médecin (the main shopping boulevard) all offered COVID tests. So, if you can’t find the two pharmacies mentioned above, just walk down Av. Jean Médecin and you’ll be sure to run into a pharmacy that has testing available.

 

Where to Get the French Health Pass? (Paris, France)

Once I got to Paris, I knew I didn’t want to do the covid test every 72-hour thing anymore. A friend just happened to go to Paris a week before I did and he told me there’s a pharmacy where you can actually just get a physical French Health Pass if you just show them your CDC card. This route seemed much better than having to take a covid test every 72 hours. Unfortunately, my train from Nice got me into Paris on Saturday evening. So, once again, I had to wait until Monday to get my QR code since all the pharmacies were closed on Sundays.

 

// FRENCH HEALTH PASS //

Fortunately, my friend that I was meeting up with got into Paris earlier that day and ended up making it on time to the pharmacy. From her experience, she said that once you enter the pharmacy, there was a separate line for you to get your French Health Pass since only certain personnel are allowed to do it. She gave them her passport, CDC card, address of where she was staying in Paris, and paid 20 euros. Within five minutes, they printed out her French Health Pass. It had all of her vaccination information on it along with the infamous QR code. Below is the location where she got her pass. She got it on October 2, 2021.

 

Pharmacie les Filles du Calvaire

+33 1 47 00 81 44

 

// ANTIGEN OR PCR TESTS //

Luckily for me, since I had to wait until Monday for the pharmacies to open again, I coincidentally got my official French Health Pass in my email! I submitted my application on September 21st and got my French Health Pass in my email on October 4th. So, it took about 13 days or two weeks to get it. I was so happy that I didn’t have to spend another 20 euros to transfer my CDC card into a French Health Pass. So now, both my friend and I were set for the rest of our Paris trip.

Although we didn’t need to take a COVID test every 72 hours anymore, we still needed to take one within 72 hours of our return flight back to the U.S. From what I saw, almost every tourist destination had a nearby pharmacy that was administering the test. There were also just some stand-alone tents near famous places like the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées. Conveniently, there was a pharmacy right next to our accommodations so we walked in the day before our flight and got a rapid test done there. We paid 25 euros. This is the address if anyone is near the Colonial Fabien area.

 

Do I Really Need a French Health Pass or 72-Hour QR Code?

I would say if you are fully vaccinated and have your CDC card and passport, you don’t really need the French Health Pass or a temporary 72-Hour QR code. For the first couple of days in Nice and Paris, I went around with just my CDC card and passport. Every restaurant I went into accepted my card. It wasn’t even awkward. Some just looked at my CDC card and others asked to also see my passport to make sure the name matched. Otherwise, I had no issue. I was even a little upset that I wasted 25 euros on my first antigen test when I could have just been showing my CDC card this whole time, but I guess it was good to have just in case.

 

Conclusion

If you have your CDC card and passport, that will get you into most places without a problem. In all the restaurants I went to, none of them rejected my CDC card. I even took the train from Nice to Paris on the TGV and they didn’t even ask to see my French Health Pass or any QR code. They just scanned my train ticket and they were on their way. The things I cannot vouch for though are events, concerts, sports games, and museums since we didn’t go to any on this trip.

So, if you are planning on just retail shopping or eating out, I think you’ll be just fine with your CDC card and passport. I would save your money and spend it on other things like wine or pastries. Again, this is just my opinion and you should do whatever you feel comfortable doing. Usually, I would not give this type of advice since I usually follow the rules to the T, but I also like to save money and don’t want to spend it unnecessarily if I don’t have to.