Phoning from France

How dial from France, how to call local and international numbers from your US cellphone, use phone cards, and the cheapest ways to call.

rotary dial phoneHow to Dial

To make an international call from within Europe (even on your cellphone), dial 00 then country code (1 for the US, 44 for the UK) then the area code, etc.

To dial a local French number from your US or UK cellphone, you still have to dial as if it were international: 00 then the country code (France is 33), then drop the first 0 of the local number.  So a 10-digit local phone number starting with 04 or 06 would be a 9-digit number starting with a 4 or a 6.   (See below for the most economical way to call local landlines and 800 numbers from your US phone)

For Americans, if you are having a problem reaching an 800 number from France (which is not free, by the way!), a little trick is to dial the 001 then change the 800 to 880.  This won’t make it free but will get you connected.

To give your hotel number to the folks back home, drop the first 0 and replace it with the French country code of 33.  So a 10-digit local phone number that looks like this 04 xx xx xx xx would be dialed from the US as 011 33 4 xx xx xx xx.

And don’t forget, New York is 6 hours earlier than France, SF is 9 (so evening in France is morning in California).

Cheapest way to make calls from France

skypeIf you have a smartphone, the very cheapest way to call is to find a free wifi spot and use Facetime or WhatsApp, but then you are limited to other iPhones, or WhatsApp users.

For calling landlines (or cellphones, or 800 numbers) it might seem super retro, but with Skype you can buy a tiny credit, and then call any phone in the world (cellphones, landlines, 800 numbers, and businesses) for just 2 cents a minute.  Imagine if you have to change a flight and end up waiting on hold for an hour… Or have to call your bank to get your credit card unblocked….if you use your regular calling plan it will cost a fortune (remember, 800 numbers are not free from Europe!)  Use Skype and it will cost pennies (and lower your stress level). Choose the Pay As You Go plan and pay for a $10 credit which gives you 500 minutes.  Just tap ‘make a skype call’, choose the country you want to call, and dial away…  It is a really good travel hack when outside your home country.

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Photo credit: R Sull. Dhscommtech licensed under Creative Commons

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