Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nounced“ah,”
e
ispronounced“eh,”and
i
ispronounced“ee.”Toavoidconfusion,say“
a,
Anne,” “
e,
euro,” and “
i,
Isabelle.”
This section covers dialing instructions, phone cards, and types of phones you'll en-
counter (for more in-depth information, see
www.ricksteves.com/phoning
)
.
How to Dial
Calling from the US to France, or vice versa, is simple—once you break the code. The
European calling chart in this chapter will walk you through it.
Dialing Domestically Within France
The following instructions apply whether you're dialing from a landline (such as a pay
phone or your hotel-room phone) or a French mobile phone.
France has a direct-dial 10-digit phone system (no area codes). To make domestic
calls anywhere within France, just dial the number.
For example, the number of one of my recommended hotels in Nice is 04 97 03 10
70. That's the number you dial whether you're calling it from across the street or across
the country.
Ifyou'redialing within France usingyourUSmobile phone,youmayneedtodialas
if it's a domestic call, or you may need to dial as if you're calling from the US (see “Dial-
ing Internationally,” next). Try it one way, and if it doesn't work, try it the other way.
Understand the various prefixes. Any number beginning with 06 or 07 is a mobile
phone, and costs more to dial. France's toll-free numbers start with 0800 (like US 800
numbers, though in France you dial a 0 first rather than a 1). In France these 0800 num-
bers—called
numéro vert
(green number)—can be dialed free from any phone without us-
ing a phone card. But you can't call France's toll-free numbers from America, nor can you
count on reaching US toll-free numbers from France. Any 08 number that does not have a
00 directly following is a toll call, generally costing €0.10 to €0.50 per minute.
Dialing Internationally to or from France
If you want to make an international call, follow these steps:
• Dial the international access code (00 if you're calling from Europe, 011 from the
US or Canada). If you're dialing from a mobile phone, you can replace the international
access code with +, which works regardless of where you're calling from. (On many mo-
bile phones, you can insert a + by pressing and holding the 0 key.)
• Dial the country code of the country you're calling (33 for France, or 1 for the US
or Canada).
