Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5. MOBILE PHONES
Reception is generally good but it may be hard to obtain a signal in deep mountain
valleys. UK mobile phones will work in France if they have a roaming facility enabled.
North American Mobile phones will only operate in France if they are tri-or quad-
band. Always check roaming charges with your service provider before travelling, as
making and receiving calls can be expensive. It can be cheaper to buy a French pay
as you go sim card.
6. POST OFFICES
Most post offices open 9am-noon and 2-5pm Monday to Friday and 9am-noon on
Saturday. Stamps are sold singly or in topics of ten
(carnets)
.
7. FAX AND POSTE RESTANTE
Faxes can be sent or received at any post office. For a small fee you can also use the
poste restante
service to receive mail at any post office.
8. INTERNET
There are Internet cafés in all main towns, larger villages and most coastal resorts.
Many hotels also offer WiFi connections, although they are not usually free. If you
need to use a cable connection be aware that French modem sockets are incompat-
ible with UK and US plugs. You'll either need to buy an adaptor or a French modem
lead.
9. TELEVISION AND RADIO
Most hotels subscribe to multilingual cable and satellite channels, which vary the
diet of French language entertainment.
10. NEWSPAPERS
The English-language
International Herald Tribune
is available in Paris and avail-
able in resorts and at station newsagents in big cities on day of publication. Interna-
tional daily papers usually arrive in resorts the day after publication.
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