I have a mental block on this subject. I have a cell phone that I use in Italy, I bought the TIM card over there and recharge it whenever I am in Italy.

Now I am going to Paris. Can I just buy a new TIM card for France? Or are they called SIM cards there? Are there specific SIM/TIM/PIM/JUMPING JIMINY stores where I can buy it?

They are called SIM cards in France, and you can buy them, among other places, in tobacco shops.

TIM is the name of one of the mobile phone providers in Italy so you probably have a TIM sim card you have been re=charging.

If the phone is unlocked, and if it was bought in Italy chances are it is, then when you get to France you can buy a sim card from one of the French providers either Orange FR, SFR, Virgin Mobile FR or another one whose name starts with a B.

Apparently the best deals today are those with Virgin Mobile FR.

thanks, so I assume if I go to a place to buy a SIM they will insert it into my phone? In that case it would be best to go to the actual store the first time and then to any other shop to recharge it. correct?

If you actually need services (someone to insert the SIM card, for example), I'd go to a FNAC or Orange store.

But really, you just open the phone, yank out the old SIM card, and insert the new...

I'm not sure I'd expect someone in a tobacco shop to do that for me, though if you ask I suppose they might.

Name starting with a B??? hummm... Bodafone?

One image is worth 1000 words. This page shows how a SIM looks like.

http://www.telestial.com/sim_tutorial.php

Ha, the pics will help. I have never peeked inside there, I just had the guys at the TIM do it. I agree that if I can't figure it out, but it looks easy enough, I can go to the regular store first and tobacco shops after that.

So the tobacco shops work the same in France as they do in Italy, the last time I was in France I didn't have a cell phone, so thanks for the tutoring!

The company that starts with a b is called Bouygues....actually SFR is partially owned by Vodafone.

you can buy recharging time at many places.. it is like a telelphone card with pin number you scratch off or they can charge your visa card, or they produce a receipt with special numbers to dial into phone.

you then receive a message saying you have xxx euros credit.

Thanks everyone, I'll find a SIM store. Anyone know of one in or near the Latin Quarter?