Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To call abroad from Paris, dial France's international access code (00), the country code,
the area code (usually without the initial '0', if there is one) and the local number. Internation-
al Direct Dial (IDD) calls to almost anywhere in the world can be placed from public tele-
phones. The international reduced rate applies from 7pm to 8am weekdays and all day at the
weekend.
Note that while numbers beginning with 08 00, 08 04, 08 05 and 08 09 are toll-free in
France, other numbers beginning with 08 are not (costs per minute range from €0.09 to
€0.75).
Customer service numbers are generally more expensive than local rates.
Most four-digit numbers starting with 10, 30 or 31 are free of charge.
If you can read basic French, directory enquiries are best done via the
Yellow Pages
(
www.pagesjaunes.fr
;
click on Pages Blanches for the
White Pages
), which will provide more
information, including maps, for free. From a mobile phone, use the site
ht-
Mobile Phones
You can use your mobile/cell phone
(portable)
in France provided it is GSM (the standard in
Europe, which is becoming increasingly common elsewhere) and tri-band or quad-band. If
you meet the requirements, you can check with your service provider about using it in
France, but beware of roaming costs, especially for data.
Rather than staying on your home network, it is usually more convenient to buy a local SIM
local phone number. In order for this to work, you'll need to ensure your phone is 'un-
locked', which means you can use another service provider.
Count on paying between €1.90 and €5 for the initial SIM card (with a few minutes of calls
included), then €5 for a prepaid Mobicarte recharge card covering anything from €5 to €100
worth of calls plus unlimited texts within France. Deals obviously vary between service pro-
viders, so check online what each is currently offering before leaving home.
Tabacs
(tobac-
Madeleine, 8e;
10am-7pm Mon-Sat; Madeleine), supermarkets etc sell Mobicartes.
