WiFi in France
So many WiFi hotspots in Paris they have to group them
WiFi—in French, that's pronounced wee-fee—floats all around Paris and other major cities these days
Travel telecom—e-mail, web surfing, Skyping—can be free if you know how to find these free-range WiFi hotspots.
Carry your own WiFi
The easiest alternative is simply to carry your own portable WiFi hotspot for up to five devices.
Prices to rent one start around $20 per day for a week's rental ($12 per day or less if you rent one for more than a week).
You can rent one from Cellularabroad.com.
Municipal WiFi hotspots in Paris
- Municipal WiFi. Some 260 municipal locations in Paris now offer free WiFi during the open hours of their offices. The impressive list includes the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), each arrondissement's town hall, civic museums, libraries, and nearly 90 public parks, gardens, and squares (or at least certain statues in them). Yay!
You want to look for any "Paris WIFi" sign with a purple-blobs logo for these municipal hospots. Then just select the "PARIS_WiFI" network, open a browser window, and try to go to any page.
It will first stop you with a splash screen; just click on "Selectionnez votre pass." Don't worry; it's all free. You just have to fill in your nom (last name) prénom (first name) and email—and tick the second box to agree to the usual terms and conditions (if you tick the first box, the system will remember you the next time you go to log in). Then click ME CONNECTER.
You then get two hours of high-speed uplink. (After two hours, you just log in again to keep going.) More: Paris.fr/wifi
Finding other WiFi hotspots
- Many cafés offer free WiFi. So do (and I hate to say this) McDonald's and Starbucks. Time Out keeps a good guide.
- Many hotels offer WiFi. At some (usually the cheaper hotels) the WiFi is free. At others (usually pricer hotels) there is a modest fee.
Here are some resources to help you find both paid and free WiFi hotspots around Paris:
Paid WiFi hotspot services
These are those services that, for a one-time or monthly fee, allow you to use their hotspots, which are typically scattered around airports, rail stations, and stores (both chain and non).
Cell phone rentals links
- OneSimCard - International Cell phone rentals (voice/data or just data), global SIM cards (for your existing, unlocked phone), and satellite phone rentals.Partner
- Cellular Abroad - International Cell phone sales and rentals (voice/data or just data), global SIM cards (for your existing, unlocked phone), portable WiFi hotspots, and satellite phone rentals. Now partnered with National Geographic.Partner
- Mobal.com - International Cell phone sales and rentals (voice/data or just data), global SIM cards (for your existing, unlocked phone), and satellite phone rentals and sales.Partner
Mobile phone plans links
- T-mobile.com - By far the cheapest option for oversaes travel, with inexpensive ($10–$20) plans that will cover data and/or voice beween dozens of countries at no extra charge.Partner
- Att.com - Since it uses the world-standard GSM, all AT&T phones will work abroad—though you definitely should sign up for an international plan before traveling (and even then, calls and data will still be expensive).
- - iPhones, Android, and some other smartphones from Verizon will work in Europe, though others will not (only some phones use the world-standard GSM technology—or the newer 4G-LTE—while others are still stuck with a dead-end U.S. system called CDMA). However, you definitely should sign up for an international plan before traveling (and even then, calls and data will still be expensive).
- Sprint.com - iPhones, Android, and some other smartphones from Sprint will work in Europe, though others will not (only some phones use the world-standard GSM technology—or the newer 4G-LTE—while others are still stuck with a dead-end U.S. system called CDMA). However, you definitely should sign up for an international plan before traveling (and even then, calls and data will still be expensive).