Numbers in France begin with 0.
The telephone code for France is +33 for calls to landlines and mobiles in France.
Dial the international code 00 followed by 33 for France, then the number without the first 0.
Example for a Paris number: 00 33 1 40 00 00 00 or +33 1 40 00 00 00.
Dial the international code 00, the code of the country, then the number without the first 0.
Examples: 49 for Germany, 44 for UK, 39 for Italy, 34 for Spain, 11 (AT&T) or 19 (MCII) for US, 16 for Canada (0 800 99 30 16 AT&T Canada).
Contact your mobile phone operator who will confirm whether or not your mobile is compatible with the French network and also explain how you will be charged for calls received from your own country or that you make while abroad (local and international calls).
Note: To connect to the Internet and send multimedia messages from your smartphone, you have to turn on data roaming (unless you are on a Wi-Fi network). Data roaming can be switched on from the network settings of your phone, but you may incur additional charges.
‘Roaming’ (i.e., when you travel outside your home country to another EU country) allows you to make calls, send text messages or access the Internet while in Paris, without incurring additional charges. You still pay the same rates charged by your operator in your home country.
Some mobiles from other countries don’t automatically connect with the French networks. All you need to do is choose the option “network selection” on your mobile to manually make the connection.
You can also purchase a prepaid SIM card to use the French cell phone network: you’ll know exactly how much you spend. Bouygues Telecom, Travel Wifi and Orange Holiday offer pre-paid sim cards for Europe.
The "My European SIM Paris je t'aime by Bouygues Telecom" prepaid card gives tourists 30GB of 4G data that can be used anywhere in France and all other European Union countries, unlimited calls and text messages in France and Europe and €25 worth of calls abroad.
Bouygues Telecom also offers an My European eSIM, a digital version of the SIM card. It is built into your smartphone and can be programmed remotely without needing to be inserted into the phone. It is activated with a QR Code. It then works the same way as a physical SIM card. It’s user-friendly and provides instant connectivity!
Don’t forget that you’ll probably need a plug adapter in order to be able to charge up your mobile phone.
© Fabian Irsara via Unsplash
Rendezvous in a cyber café or a cyber-space to check and send your e-mails. Often open late, they are usually reasonably-priced. Some offer student tariffs and others even offer keyboards compatible with the Japanese system.
The City of Paris has set up free Wi-Fi zones in a number of public spaces like libraries, gardens and parks to make it easy to get online.
