cashfamily1

I won't have a GSM phone on our 2 week trip to France. Can phone cards be purchased easily and are they inexpensive to use for calls back to the US? Are they also good for calls within France? Thanks-

moldyhotelsaregross

You can buy a Telecarte at a tabac (tobacco shop) for use in public phones. There is a slot that you put it in on the telephone much like using an ATM. It will show you how much time you have remaining. I found it was a terrific way to budget calling home as I saw the units disappearing right before my eyes. No more using an American calling card for me!

moldyhotelsaregross

Oops.. forgot one part...

Yes, you may use the card for local and long distance calls.

Of course, the long distance calls click the units away faster than local.

LVSue

You can also buy a Ticket de Telephone there, which has a scratch-off PIN and works like a regular phone card from hotel rooms, etc. (The times I want to call home are usually very early in the morning or very late at night and I don't want to be outside.)

I bought a Telecarte in 1991 and it just ran out last year! I think the Tickets de Telephone do have a time limit on them.

cashfamily1

Thanks, all. What is the cost of a Ticket de Telephone--the card itself and the avg cost per minute to the US?

moldyhotelsaregross

Message: Thanks, all. What is the cost of a Ticket de Telephone--the card itself and the avg cost per minute to the US?

And where are they purchased??

LVSue

You buy them in tabacs, just like Telecartes (that's what I meant by "there&quot. There are two kinds of "Ticket International" €7.50 for 180 minutes and €15, for 363 minutes to North America (both about €0.04/min).

For calls within France it is much more expense (€0.24/min = 60 min). So if you plan to make a lot of calls within France, a "Ticket France" would be better (€0.03/min local, €0.50 US).

moldyhotelsaregross

That's great to know! Thanks for sharing the information!