eSIM for France: Paris, the Metro, TGV Trains and the Riviera

An eSIM for France gives you mobile data on a French network as soon as you land in Paris, Nice or Lyon, without roaming charges or a queue at a phone shop. You install it at home, keep your usual SIM for calls and texts, and switch your data over on arrival. From the airport train to a table you booked in Le Marais, your maps and tickets are ready when you need them.

In short:

• Roamy’s France plans run on Orange, listed with 5G, and you can install them at home in about a minute.
• The Paris Metro has 4G underground, though you should still save tickets and maps in case of a dropout.
• About 1 GB a day is typical, so 5–10 GB suits most weeks. Heavy users can pick an Unlimited day pass.
• A France plan stops at the border, so Monaco, London or Geneva need a closer look.

Why travellers use an eSIM for France

A trip to France runs on your phone more than you might expect. You use it to find the right Metro exit, show a museum ticket, follow the way to a restaurant in a neighbourhood you don’t know, translate a menu and check whether your TGV is on time. Add a hire car in Provence and it becomes your sat nav as well.

Doing all that on roaming can get expensive if your phone plan comes from outside the EU. A daily roaming pass from a Turkish, UK or American provider adds up over a ten-day trip, and a shared hotel Wi-Fi connection doesn’t help you once you step outside.

Roamy’s France plans start from $4.00 and run on Orange, listed with 5G on the France eSIM page. The plans are data-only, so you don’t get a French number, but your usual SIM stays active for calls, texts and bank codes.

Your phone needs to be unlocked and support eSIM. The eSIM-compatible phones page lists the models.

What about EU roaming?

If your phone plan is from an EU or EEA country, you can usually use it in France as you would at home, under the EU’s roam-like-at-home rules. Other countries are not covered by those rules, though some operators offer similar deals. If your line is from Türkiye, the UK, the US or most of the rest of the world, check your provider’s roaming prices before you go.

Mobile data in Paris: the streets, the Metro and your tickets

Paris is one of the easier cities for mobile data. Above ground, a phone with data handles directions, bookings, translation and ride-hailing with little fuss. Signal can weaken inside old stone buildings, in cellar bars and in the deeper rooms of big museums, and it usually returns once you are back outside.

Is there signal on the Metro?

Arcep, the French telecoms regulator, said in a 2021 report on mobile quality that the project to bring 3G and 4G to the Paris Metro finished in June 2020, with 321 cell sites covering 304 stations. So you can expect a usable connection on the platform and between stations on most journeys.

That work was for 3G and 4G, so don’t count on 5G underground. Some riders still report brief dropouts in tunnels, which is why it makes sense to load your route before you go down the stairs.

Metro tickets on your phone

The Paris region’s transport authority, Île-de-France Mobilités, says tickets are now bought on a phone or on a Navigo Easy pass rather than as cardboard. On iPhone, Apple Wallet supports a Navigo card, and you buy tickets inside Wallet or in the Île-de-France Mobilités app. If you plan to do this, install the app at home, and check the current options when you arrive.

For museums and monuments, save your e-ticket to your wallet or take a screenshot. Entrance queues are a poor place to find out the signal is weak.

Coverage outside Paris: Provence, the Riviera and the Alps

France is a big country with a lot of countryside, and coverage is less even once you leave the cities. Towns and main routes are usually well served. Expect weaker spots in these places:

• Mountains. In the Alps and the Pyrenees, resorts and main roads usually have signal, but deep valleys and high trails can lose it. Download offline maps before you set off, and don’t rely on mobile data alone for navigation.
• The Riviera. Nice, Cannes and Antibes are straightforward, while the roads along the cliffs and through short tunnels may drop out for a moment.
• Rural stays. A farmhouse in Provence, the Dordogne or the Loire can have good signal in the village and little at the end of the lane.

France has a useful public tool for this. Arcep’s Mon réseau mobile map, in French, lets you compare Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free at an address. Look up Orange for your hotel or rental before you book somewhere remote. Roamy’s Europe plans list all four networks in France, so they can suit a trip that goes far off the main routes.

France’s overseas territories are a separate question. Réunion, Guadeloupe and Martinique have their own pages on our site, so check the right destination if you are heading there.

Wi-Fi on French trains

High-speed trains link Paris with Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and more, and on-board Wi-Fi depends on the service.

SNCF Connect’s on-board services page says TGV INOUI trains have free Wi-Fi and that Eurostar services to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have free high-speed Wi-Fi. The page doesn’t cover Wi-Fi on OUIGO or regional TER trains, so don’t assume you will have it there.

Train Wi-Fi is fine for messaging and email. For a video call or a large upload, your own data is often steadier, and on a train without Wi-Fi it is your only option. Hotel and café Wi-Fi varies in the same way, so it helps to have your own connection as a backup.

How much data do you need in France?

Most of your data goes on maps, transport apps, messaging and photos. Video calls and uploading reels use far more. As a rough guide:

That puts a typical week at 5–10 GB and a long weekend in Paris at about 3–5 GB. For a breakdown by app, see our guide on how much data you need for travel.

Fixed data or an Unlimited day pass?

Roamy’s fixed-data plans for France run from 1 GB to 50 GB. The smallest lasts 7 days, most last about a month, and there is a 50 GB option valid for 180 days for longer stays. You can top them up on the same eSIM in the Roamy app, so you can start with a modest plan and add data if you need it.

An Unlimited day pass covers 1 to 90 days. Each day you get 3 GB at full speed, then reduced speed until the next day starts. It costs around $3.48 a day and suits heavy users, couples sharing one connection and anyone working while they travel. Unlimited plans can’t be topped up, so choose enough days at the start.

France plus other countries

France borders a lot of places, and many trips cross at least one of them. A France plan works only in France, so it stops when you leave.

• France only. A France plan with fixed data or an Unlimited day pass is the simple choice.
• France plus London, Brussels, Geneva, Barcelona or Italy. Look at a Europe plan and check that every country on your route is listed for the plan size you pick.
• The Riviera and Monaco. Monaco did not appear on the Europe plan’s list when we checked, so look it up separately.
• Andorra. It wasn’t on the Europe plan’s list either, which matters on a drive through the Pyrenees.

Regional plans cover a set list of countries, and the list can change with the plan size. Our guide to an eSIM for Europe across multiple countries explains how to compare options.

Setting up before you fly

A few minutes at home saves time at Charles de Gaulle or Orly:

1. Check your phone. It must be unlocked and eSIM-compatible.
2. Install on home Wi-Fi. It takes about a minute. On iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later, it’s one tap in the Roamy app. Otherwise, scan the QR code or enter the code manually.
3. Leave it until you land. Validity starts when the eSIM first connects to a supported network in France. Each plan also has an “activate within” window, often 180 days.
4. Switch lines on arrival. Turn data roaming on for the Roamy line and keep it off on your home line, so it doesn’t run up roaming charges.

You can pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, card or Roamy Credit, which pays first at checkout. Card payments earn 10% back as Roamy Credit, up to $20 an order (not with promo codes). Prices are in USD with everything included. If an eSIM can’t be issued after payment, it’s refunded, mostly automatically. For help, message us on WhatsApp or email support@roamyesim.com.

Get connected with Roamy

Roamy’s France plans include fixed-data options you can top up and Unlimited day passes, all data-only and installed at home in about a minute. Open the France eSIM page to see the network, plan sizes and current prices, and land in France with your tickets and maps ready to go.