I'm in the final planning stages of my Paris trip (leave next week!) and have decided to take a taxi from CDG to my apartment (versus a shuttle as originally planned). I will not have a cell phone yet the apartment agency asks that I call the greeter upon landing at CDG.

Is the best way to use a pay phone?? I know they don't take coins, but can't find any more information.

First of all, I assume there are pay phones in the arrival terminal (2A) at CDG? I remember back in 1999 you had to swipe a card, but I see on the France Telecom site you can buy a Ticket Telephone for France or Internationally, pay for it online and get a code in email to print out. And it's supposed to work from payphones.

I will be needing a long distance card anyway to call Canada but I wonder if I can get the international card and still call within Paris?

It's clear I am worrying about the small stuff, but I don't want to get to the apartment and be stuck outside with no way to call the greeter/agency!!

Thanks in advance

Why not a cell phone? It is getting such in the world that every 10 year old kid walks around with a cell phone and public phones are fewer and fewer and further and further between. I am sure there will be public phones at CDG and probably some will take credit cards but if your cell phone provider in the USA is either T Mobile USA pr AT&T (if not from the USA you might also already have a gsm phone) you can easily set up international roaming.....but it's your call.

You can buy a phone card at the magazine vendor in the arrivals hall. You can use it to make calls on the pay phones located nearby (near the doors).

I've used the pay phones in arrivals a few times - no problem. Bought them at that same vendor Lutetia mentioned and also at the bureau de change (travelex?) One time I couldn't get the phone card to work -- but a staff person at the info desk figured out what was wrong -- took her a couple of tries to get it right so I didn't feel tooooo stupid

There are some coin phones at CDG. Also in the main train stations. Nowhere else.

Good idea to take a taxi. I became all too familiar with the coin operated phones in the baggage claim area during the multiple phone calls I made to the shuttle service, before they finally showed up an hour late.

Yes, we used a pay phone at CDG (near the RER ticket windows, I believe) to call our apartment contact, too. Just buy a cheap 5E phone card, as others have suggested. We had trouble getting the call to go through so a kind airline employee helped us out.

Thanks everyone, this is really helping!

xyz, I am in Canada and have chosen not to get a cell phone for this trip. My apartment has a phone, so really I only need to make this one phone call.

I have coins left over from my last trip (2008) and if I can't find a phone that takes them, I'll visit the magazine vendor in arrivals

Thanks again!!!

I wouldn't buy a cellphone, either, people buy too much stuff for trivial reasons which goes into landfills ultimately and is destroying the planet. I'm not kidding, it's a big problem, all the cellphones.

Having a call phone can be a life saver sometimes, besides the fact that it's so convenient. And they are so cheap these days. However, if you do use a payphone, make sure you do not use your credit card. I have heard of folks being charged about $10/min when they used payphones with their credit card.

You hardly need a mobile phone to save your life in Paris. On a deserted road in the countryside is another matter.

(And if using a payphone, do not use any of the numbers on all of those stickers covering the booth.)

Update from Paris (I got here yesterday):

Upstairs near the taxi stand (terminal 2A) there is a cluster of 6 phones with only 1 that accepts coins (I checked on one side only the first time and missed it!)... I brought my leftover coins from a previous trip so no need to worry about making change.

There was a bit of confusion as to the numbers to dial, but I asked 2 very nice people and they told me which digits to leave out when calling a mobile in France. I made contact with my agent and things went smoothly.