Phone card in Paris

We've used the AT&T prepaid worldwide card - which you can purchase here at home - and it's always worked fine from overseas. French prepaid cards might be cheaper - I never bought one. The access numbers are usually toll-free but some hotels even charge you to make a toll-free call.

There are two types of cards. The first has a chip in it, and you put it into the slot of a pay phone. The second has a code you reveal by scratching a spot off with a coin. Both are easy to use: the only difference is that with the second type, you need to dial a code before you dial your phone number. Both cards allow you to hear the instructions in English, both let you know how much remains on the card, and both are extremely inexpensive (pennies per minute.) They come in grand (about 15 Euro, I think) and petit (I think it was 7.50.) You can buy them at tobacco shops and Relay stores, which are abundant at the airport and Metro. The cards don't have a set number of minutes; they keep track of the cost of your call, and deduct what you use. I always use these cards when I am in France, and it always seems like I get several rather long calls and several quick calls out of each of them. I use phone booths by the way. Nothing compares with calling your mom on Mother's day from the Eiffel Tower.

I took our small laptop computer, used skype to make phone calls for pennies or nothing per call. Calling to another computer is free. Most hotels and apt. rentals now have free internet access. Calling from a private location, no one overhears your conversation, is worth it to me. Plus, if you have an emergency, as we did, skype was invaluable.