Using your devices in France

Internet access & mobile phone networks

Wi-Fi in France is easy to come by. Your hotel, your café, even the museum you're queuing for – most will have you connected in seconds.

Head into the countryside, and things loosen up a little. Rural stretches of may leave you without a signal for a while. It’s part of the charm.

Mobile coverage follows a similar pattern: strong in Paris and along the coast, patchier once you're deep in the Verdon Gorge or winding through the Alpilles' back roads. You’ll have a hand-marked map from your travel consultant for these stretches.

France's main networks are Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, and Free Mobile. All four offer solid speeds and near-total coverage across the country.

Long drive ahead? Download our France road trip playlist on Spotify before you leave town. That way you’ll keep the tunes coming, even if your data drops out.

European phone service

Most European phones work here without any fuss. Enabling data roaming, though, can add unexpected costs to your bill. Check with your provider before you travel.

If you're an EU citizen, you're covered: since 2017, roaming charges have been scrapped for anyone using their home number elsewhere in the EU. Travellers from the UK and other non-EU countries may still see charges apply, so it's worth checking first.

North America & other countries

Many North American phones work in France too, but roaming from outside the EU tends to be pricier. Check your provider's rates before you go.

Prepaid SIM cards

A prepaid SIM is an easy way to sidestep roaming fees altogether. Tabacs (the little tobacco-and-newspaper shops on every corner in French towns and cities) sell them. So do phone shops and most supermarkets.

Your phone will need to be unlocked and compatible with the GSM 900/1800 MHz frequency – standard for most European handsets, though some North American phones run on a different system.

Prefer to skip the shop entirely? An eSIM can be set up before you've even left home.

One thing to remember: you'll need your passport on hand to register for a prepaid SIM.

Making domestic calls

French phone numbers run to 10 digits, always starting with a 0. The second digit tells you the region – 01 for Paris and the Île-de-France, 04 for much of Provence and the Riviera, and so on.

Making international calls

France's country code is +33. To call internationally, dial 00, then the country code, then the number itself. Say you're calling our office in Scotland from France:

00 (international code)

44 (country code for the UK)

131 344 4630 (our office number)

Together, that's 00441313444630.

No luck? Swap the 00 for a "+", followed by the country code and number: +441313444630.