- You can buy cell phones in one of the numerous phone stores in Paris. There is one rue Vavin close to our office. There are 3 companies in France that provide subscriptions: SFR, Bouygues and Orange. You need to buy a phone, and a chip (une puce). Then you need to buy a card, the price of which varies with the company or the validity. BE SURE to buy the appropriate recharge card for your cell phone. When in doubt, look at the screen of your phone: the name of your cell company should appear when the phone is not in use. Tip: the larger the recharge, the more money you will save in the long run. For example, with Orange a 100 Euro phone card gives you 50 Euros talk time free.
- When calling within France dial the first zero (0) of the phone number.
- Calling France from America : dial 011 33 (country code) and then you drop the first zero of the telephone number
- Calling America from France : dial 001 + area code + phone number
- English speaking operators : AT&T 0800 99 00 11 ; MCI 0 800 99 00 19 ; Sprint 0800 99 00 87
- FYI: phone calls are more expensive in France than in America. Local calls are not free and calls ton cell phones are very expensive (more than three times the cost of calling America!) While calling a cell phone is pricey in France, all calls that you receive on your cell phone are free!
- Pay phones in France are not coin operated; you must buy a phone card to use them. Phone cards (une carte téléphonique) for telephone booths (une cabine téléphonique) are available in most tabacs, as are pre-paid phone cards with more competitive rates for calling America.
- Do not use telephone booths at night! Most cafés will allow you to pay to use their phone; this is a much safer option.
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