SIM cards and phones

You might not need data to retrieve museum and train tickets. You may have the option to save them to your phone’s “wallet”. I’ve also just taken a screen shot of museum tickets and used that for entry.

You can also download maps to be used offline. You won’t get the traffic warnings, but it works just for navigation for walking or driving.

Perhaps this will help.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/esim-success

I came upon the orange shop when doing some research recently. They offer data only plans or plans with voice minutes. Either can be bought with e sim or physical.

https://travel.orange.com/en/

Do make sure you understand how to set up your phone to avoid charges from Verizon.

Did you have some specific questions?

Ugh. We got an orange card, but all the instructions are in French, the text help is French, so it was useless to us. Also they want so much info about you to register, including uploading your passport to their site. Never got it set up and have been ok just using wifi when available.

Sadly, the reason that Orange (or any other company) asks for so much information if you want to buy a SIM card is because the authorities want to be able to track the purchaser should the phone or number be used in a terrorist or criminal undertaking.

Now days, new SIMs placed into a mobile phone reliably self configure. Insert the new SIM into the slot, turn on the phone, and you should have a connection.

If you have no connection, you might have to confirm the Access Point Names (APN) yourself, which is very easy to do, They are configurable in your phone's settings menu.

I can give you the information if you want to check the configuration yourself.

As you can see from Rocket ´s link to Orange, data is not expensive in Europe. The Orange Holiday plan I think the OP is referencing offers tethering, so a travel companion can share. Orange offers arguably the best coverage in France, helpful in rural areas. It's my carrier.

Others have suggested valid work-arounds for maps, but if the budget allows why not have the data that makes your trip easier.

Thank you all...yes, I prefer to have access to data and local phone. We have friends we will be trying to meet up with and also want to be able to reach each other if some in our party decide to do something different one day and we are trying to meet up.

I have an iphone 12 pro so I have the capability of using the eSIM that Orange offers and also have dual sim capability. I'm not 100% comfortable about how that works and want to make sure I have things turned off that need to be. Maybe I need to just make an appt at Apple for a tutorial!

Good to know about museum passes being downloaded into the wallet etc - one of our party may not have an unlocked phone so they may rely on WiFi and use Verizon plan if they need to be in touch.

Frances

I bought an Orange Holiday SIM card before we left for France. When we got to Paris I turned off my phone, put in the new SIM, turned on the phone and i was in business. I didn't have to register or anything. Worked great for navigating in Paris, Versailles, Giverny and Grenoble.

I second the orange holiday zen card from amazon. Was a great deal for us. You don't have to register of using for 14 days or fewer. I did have a little trouble getting them to connect at first, but once connected they were flawless.

Use WhatsApp to keep in touch with friends. This works on data and consumes virtually nothing. 8GB come on the SIM.

Watch out if staying longer than 14 days though. Getting registered was a pain last time and confusing. This time I pre registered at home using my passport. Hoping I won't find out that started my validity period.

I'm currently on the Loire to the South of France Tour and I'm using the Orange Holiday eSim card on my iPhone 13. Works very well. I installed it before I left US and switched to it when I landed in Paris. Works very well. I just followed the detailed iPhone installation guide on their website.

Paying Verizon is not the end of the world, you know. You gotta pay someone. I think they also have a one-month plan which might be cheaper.

As I noted in another thread, after 3 trips in 6 months, I have reluctantly concluded that travel without a working smartphone is nearly impossible.

Thanks to all for your kind replies. I was able to hot up the Genius Bar at the Apple store and feel better about making sure my US number is turned off. Found another post about the amount of data needed and feel great about my plan! As for paying Verizon…I’ll gladly get some tech help and pay 20€ for my SIM card than $140! I also need a French number to be able to contact our greeter at our apartment as well as to meet up with my friends who live in France. That being said, the international plans offered by the US mobile companies definitely have their place!
Thanks all!!