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For more information contact the customs information centre ( 0 820 02 44 44; www.douane.minefi.gouv.fr; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Fri).

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TELEPHONE

There are no area codes in France – you always dial the 10-digit number. Telephone numbers in Paris always start with 01. Mobile phones through France commence with 06.

Once the domain of France Télécom, the domestic service des renseignements (directory enquiries or assistance) is now offered by over a dozen operators on six-digit numbers starting with 118 (France Télécom, for example, uses 118 710, 118 711, 118 712 and 118 810). For a complete listing in French consult www.allo118.com.

Note that while numbers beginning with 0 800, 0 804, 0 805 and 0 809 are toll-free in France, other numbers beginning with ‘8’ are not. A number starting with 0 810 or 0 811 is charged at local rates (€0.078 then €0.028) while one beginning with 0 820 and 0 821 cost €0.12 per minute, or even €0.15 if the prefix numbers are 0 890. The ubiquitous 0 892 numbers are billed at an expensive €0.34 per minute whenever you call. 0 899 numbers cost €1.35 per connection then €0.34 per minute, Numbers beginning with 0 897 cost a flat €0.562 per call.

Most four-digit numbers starting with 10, 30 or 31 are also free of charge.

France’s country code is 33. To call a number in Paris from outside France, dial your country’s international access code (usually 00 but exceptions include 011 from the USA and 001 from Hong Kong), then 33 and then the local number, omitting the first ‘0’.

To call abroad from Paris, dial France’s international access code ( 00), the country code (see right), the area code (usually without the initial ‘0’, if there is one) and the local number. International Direct Dial (IDD) calls to almost anywhere in the world can be placed from public telephones. The international reduced rate applies from 7pm to 8am weekdays and all day at the weekend.

For international directory enquiries, dial 3212. Note that the cost for this service is €3 per call. Instead consult the phone book on the internet (www.pagejaunes.fr).

Mobile Phones

France uses the GSM 900 network, which is compatible with the rest of Europe, Australia and New Zealand but not with the North American GSM 1900 (though many North Americans now have GSM 1900/900 phones that do work in France) or the totally different system in Japan. If you have a GSM phone, check with your service provider about using it in France, and beware of calls being routed internationally, which can make a ‘local’ call very expensive indeed.

It’s usually most convenient to buy a local SIM card from one of the major providers such as Orange/France Telecom ( 0 800 83 08 00 or +33 1 41 43 79 40 outside France; www.orange.fr, in French) has a €59 package that includes a Sony Ericson MP3 mobile phone, a local phone number and €5 of call time.

For more time, you can buy a prepaid Mobicarte recharge card (€5 to €100) from tabacs (tobacconist) and other places you’d buy a télécarte (phonecard); Mobicartes from €25 upward offer extra talk time (€5 bonus for €25, €10 bonus for €35, up to €50 extra for €100). If you don’t mind changing your telephone number to a French one during your stay, you can also buy a local SIM card for your mobile (provided it’s not blocked) for €20 (plus 10 minutes’ talk time) and recharge with Mobicartes as you go along. The biggest outlet is La Boutique Orange (Map; 16 place de la Madeleine, 8e; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat; Madeleine).

Phonecards

All public phones can receive both domestic and international calls. If you want someone to call you back, just give them France’s country code and the 10-digit number, usually written after the words ‘Ici le…’ or ‘No d’appel’ on the tariff sheet or on a little sign inside the phone box. Remind them to drop the ‘0’ of the initial ‘01’ of the number. When there’s an incoming call, the words ‘décrochez – appel arrive’ (pick up receiver – incoming call) will appear in the LCD window.

Public telephones in Paris usually