| As with most countries in
Europe the phone card is what you use to access the public telephones.
Sure, there will be some phones in France and Chamonix that will take
coins but the majority are run on the phone card. You can purchase
these at any "tabacs" store, or most supermarches (super
markets). The "tabac" is a store that sells a variety of things
such as newspapers, cigarettes, books, gum, and phone cards.
They are a very common store in towns. |
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One note about the French
phone cards is they have a collector value. Many of the French phone cards
are worth much more then there original price. Some are printed in
limited quantity and like other collectibles such as coins and
baseball cards, there value increases dramatically. Some phone cards
are neat because they have interesting pictures of local towns or
other sights and attractions. I bought several inexpensive phone cards
just for the neat pictures of quaint French towns on the front of the
card.
Most of the phone cards will have a creased corner. This will need to
be bent and removed before you can use the card. This is something
that if not done will cause you much anguish and frustration towards
the phone card, the person who sold it to you, and the phone booth!
When entering the card into the thin slot in the phone insert the card
with the long rectangular strip facing up.
The phone systems in France used to be among some of Europe's worst
several years ago, but France has made great strides lately in
improving their phones. To call Chamonix or any other part of France
except Paris, you will need to dial your countries international
access code (this code in the United States is 1). Next you will dial
33 and you will ignore the first "0" in the phone number you
are trying to call. Lastly proceed to type in the rest of the 9 digits
of the French phone number. For example if the phone number in
Chamonix you are trying to call is 04 53 76 45 32 and you were calling
from the United States you would dial: 1 33 4 53 76 45 32. (Note
omission of the first "0" in the 04.
To call someone who lives outside of France you would dial
"00" which is the international access code, and then add
the country code of the country you are trying to call (again in the
United States this code is "1"), and lastly type in the area
code and the local number. Note: the rate extremely expensive for
calling overseas from a public telephone in France. You can change
phone cards in the middle of the a phone call but it gets a bit
confusing. If you know you are going to be making a long distance
phone call to another country using a public telephone you may want to
purchase a more expensive phone card, which contains more minutes.
Here is a helpful chart listing several countries "country
codes". As a last result of finding your country code if it isn't
listed on a sheet in the phone booth, or in the phone book, from
France you can always dial "12" and try to communicate to
the operator that you need a particular country code.
| Andorra 376 |
Australia 61 |
Canada 1 |
| Hong Kong 852 |
Germany 49 |
Japan 81 |
|
India 91 |
Ireland 353 |
New Zealand 64 |
| Singapore 65 |
South Africa 27 |
England 44 |
|
|
United States 1 |
|
Dialing from one region to another in France is fairly easy.
France has five telephone regions. Making calls within the same
region is the same as making phone calls from one region to
another. The five regional telephone codes are listed below:
-
01 is the Paris
region
-
02 is the north
west region
-
03 is the north
east region
-
04 is the south
east region (Chamonix)
-
05 is the south
west region
A question that people ask
me all the time is, how is the ATM situation in Europe. There are many
ATM's in Western Europe, and just about all of them will accept the
major symbols such as Star, Cirrus, Plus, or Explore. Although Eastern
Europe has a fair share of ATM's, some do not accept the major symbols
that North American travelers are used to. See the Money
section in our Europe travel article for more information
about Eastern Europe. ATM's are readily accessible in Chamonix. There
are several scattered around the main street and among the tourist
shops.
If you are exchanging currency there are also several places near the
main street and shopping area that will do this for you. The
commission rate ranges from 0 to 2 percent charged.
For historical reference only, in late 1998 the US dollar would
purchase 6 French Francs. As of January 1, 2002 the Euro became the denomination used in France. Consult newer sources such as the business or travel section
of your newspaper for the latest conversion rates.
Current
Exchange Rates
The hospital in Chamonix
(The Centre Hospitalier) is located at Route des Pelerins, Les
Favrands. They can be reached at PHONE NUMBER 04 50 53 84 00.
Internet Cafes.
1. I-Guest is located at 22 galerie Blanc Neige, Rue du Dr Paccard, Tel
+33 4 50 55 98 58)
2. The cyBar is located at 80 rue de Moulins, Tel +33 4 50 53 64 80 |
