# eSIM for France

Viasimo's France eSIM starts at $1.29 for 500 MB over 1 day, running on Orange with 5G where available. Plans last 1 to 180 days, arrive by email in minutes and install from your phone's settings, with no app.

Canonical page: https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/

## France eSIM prices

| Plan | Data | Days | Price | Price per GB |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 500 MB, 1 day | 500 MB | 1 | $1.29 | $2.64 |
| 1 GB, 1 day | 1 GB | 1 | $1.79 | $1.79 |
| 2 GB, 1 day | 2 GB | 1 | $2.59 | $1.30 |
| 5 GB, 1 day | 5 GB | 1 | $4.59 | $0.92 |
| Unlimited, 3 days | Unlimited | 3 | $6.99 | - |
| Unlimited, 5 days | Unlimited | 5 | $10.99 | - |
| 100 MB, 7 days | 100 MB | 7 | $1.29 | $13.21 |
| 1 GB, 7 days | 1 GB | 7 | $1.79 | $1.79 |
| Unlimited, 7 days | Unlimited | 7 | $13.99 | - |
| Unlimited, 10 days | Unlimited | 10 | $18.99 | - |
| 2 GB, 15 days | 2 GB | 15 | $3.00 | $1.50 |
| 3 GB, 15 days | 3 GB | 15 | $3.59 | $1.20 |
| Unlimited, 15 days | Unlimited | 15 | $26.00 | - |
| 3 GB, 30 days | 3 GB | 30 | $3.59 | $1.20 |
| 5 GB, 30 days | 5 GB | 30 | $5.00 | $1.00 |
| 10 GB, 30 days | 10 GB | 30 | $9.00 | $0.90 |
| 20 GB, 30 days | 20 GB | 30 | $14.99 | $0.75 |
| 50 GB, 30 days | 50 GB | 30 | $29.99 | $0.60 |
| Unlimited, 30 days | Unlimited | 30 | $47.99 | - |
| Unlimited, 60 days | Unlimited | 60 | $95.99 | - |
| Unlimited, 90 days | Unlimited | 90 | $144.99 | - |
| 50 GB, 180 days | 50 GB | 180 | $37.99 | $0.76 |
| Unlimited, 180 days | Unlimited | 180 | $284.99 | - |

## Which networks does the France eSIM use?

- **Orange**: 5G

Your eSIM picks one automatically; you do not choose or switch between them.

The operator list comes from the network partner that carries this eSIM. Verified October 30, 2026.

## eSIM Details

- **Data**: 100 MB – 50 GB or unlimited
- **Validity**: 1–180 days
- **Speed**: 4G LTE / 5G
- **Hotspot / tethering**: Supported on most devices
- **Activation**: Automatic on arrival
- **Speed management**: Roughly 2-3 GB per day at full speed, sometimes less depending on the local carrier, then reduced
- **Top-ups**: Add more data from your account, before the plan expires
- **Text messages (SMS)**: Data only: use an app for verification codes
- **Unused validity**: 180 days before it must be installed

## France: what to know before you land

Source: https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/#destination-guide · Researched October 2026 by Viasimo

In France this eSIM uses Orange, which in Opensignal's November 2025 report had the fastest downloads and the best coverage experience of the four national networks, though the lowest 5G availability. Since 2020 the whole Paris Métro has had 4G in its tunnels, and the government's FR-Alert system sends emergency warnings straight to phones.

### France: quick facts

| Fact | France |
| --- | --- |
| Emergency number | 112 (also 15 ambulance, 17 police, 18 fire) |
| Main airports | Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG); Paris Orly Airport (ORY); Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE); Marseille Provence Airport (MRS); Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) |
| Plug types | Type C, E (230V) |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Apps worth having | SNCF Connect, Bonjour RATP, Citymapper, WhatsApp, Uber |

### Orange in Opensignal's November 2025 France report

(France · https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/#guide-orange-in-opensignal-s-november-2025-france-report)

France has four national operators: Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile. This eSIM connects to **Orange**, and Opensignal's November 2025 report shows its strengths and its one weak spot.

- **Fastest overall downloads:** Orange users averaged 83.8 Mbps, about 11 Mbps ahead of Bouygues.
- **Fastest 5G:** on 5G, Orange averaged 273.4 Mbps, roughly 50 Mbps more than SFR.
- **Best coverage experience:** Orange scored 9.3 out of 10, just ahead of SFR.
- **Reliability:** tied with Bouygues for first place.

The weak spot is how often you'll actually be on 5G. Orange users were connected to 5G 61.5% of the time, the lowest of the four, against 78.8% on Free Mobile. In practice that means you will often be on 4G even with a 5G phone, but because Orange's 4G is fast and widely available, most travellers won't notice.

Bouygues won the most awards overall, 12 out of 17, mainly for consistency and video. If a French friend swears by their network, they may well be right for their own use; for coverage and speed across the country, Orange is a strong network to be on.

### Checking a village on Arcep's Mon réseau mobile map

(France · https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/#guide-checking-a-village-on-arcep-s-mon-reseau-mobile-map)

France's telecoms regulator, **Arcep**, publishes an interactive coverage map called **Mon réseau mobile**, showing coverage and measured quality for each operator, Orange included. It is worth checking before you book a gîte in the Cévennes, a chalet above a ski resort or a farmhouse in central Brittany: pick Orange, search the village, and you'll see whether the signal is rated as good indoors or only outdoors.

Some background on why rural coverage keeps improving. Under the **New Deal Mobile**, agreed between the government and operators in January 2018, the four networks took on coverage obligations written into their licences. A targeted scheme to put masts in poorly served areas passed its 2,500th 4G site in July 2023, and by November 2020 about 96% of mainland France was covered by 4G. Arcep still holds the operators to account: in February 2024 it publicly issued formal notices over obligations that had not been met.

If the map shows that your accommodation has weak indoor coverage, ask the host about wifi before you arrive, and plan to download maps and tickets while you are in town.

### Signal underground on the Paris Métro and RER

(France · https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/#guide-signal-underground-on-the-paris-metro-and-rer)

Paris used to be a city where your phone went silent the moment you went below street level. Since 2020 the whole RATP network, the Métro, RER lines run by RATP and the trams, has had 4G, including inside the tunnels. With the eSIM on Orange, you can keep messaging, check the next connection or reroute around a closed station while you are riding, rather than waiting until you surface.

A few points that still apply underground:

- **Rush hour slows things.** Packed trains on lines 1, 4, 13 and RER A and B can have plenty of bars but slow data, because hundreds of phones share the same masts.
- **Keep your ticket offline.** If you use a phone-based Navigo or ticket app, make sure it works offline or that the ticket is loaded before you reach the gates.
- **Watch your phone.** Pickpocketing is common on crowded Métro lines and at tourist stations, so don't stand by the doors with your phone held out.

On regional TER trains and in other cities' metros the experience varies, so keep tickets and maps downloaded for the journey.

### FR-Alert and France's emergency numbers

(France · https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/#guide-fr-alert-and-france-s-emergency-numbers)

Since June 2022 France has used **FR-Alert**, a national system that pushes warnings to phones during serious incidents such as floods, wildfires, industrial accidents or attacks. The Prime Minister's office or a prefect decides when to send an alert, and mayors can request one for a local emergency. Messages go out by cell broadcast over 4G and 5G masts, not as ordinary SMS, so they reach phones within the affected zone without any app and don't add to network congestion. Check that emergency alerts are switched on in your phone's notification settings.

The main emergency numbers are:

- **112**, the European number for any emergency, answered in several languages;
- **15** for an ambulance (SAMU);
- **17** for the police;
- **18** for the fire brigade, who also respond to many medical emergencies;
- **114** for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, by SMS, chat, video or fax.

These need a voice line or SMS, which this data-only eSIM doesn't provide, so keep your home SIM switched on for calls. In wildfire season in the south, FR-Alert messages may tell you to leave an area or shelter in place: follow them.

### Sources for the France guide

- [France Mobile Network Experience Report, November 2025 (Opensignal)](https://insights.opensignal.com/reports/2025/11/france/mobile-network-experience)
- [La couverture mobile en métropole (Arcep)](https://www.arcep.fr/la-regulation/grands-dossiers-reseaux-mobiles/la-couverture-mobile-en-metropole.html)
- [France travel advice: getting help (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/getting-help)
- [FR-Alert (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FR-Alert)
- [Paris Métro (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Métro)

## Seven days in France: Paris, Versailles, Avignon, the Pont du Gard and Arles

7-day itinerary · 7 days · Source: https://viasimo.com/destinations/france/#itinerary

A classic first week in France for travellers who want three days of Paris and Versailles, then a high-speed train south to Provence for papal Avignon, Roman Nîmes and Arles, the Pont du Gard and the hilltop villages of the Luberon.

**When to go:** May, June and September give warm weather with fewer crowds than July and August, when Paris empties of locals and Provence is hot and busy; the lavender in the Luberon is usually in flower from late June to late July.

### Day 1 in France: Île de la Cité and the Latin Quarter

- **Base:** Paris
- **Plan:** Start on the Île de la Cité at Notre-Dame, reopened in December 2024 after the fire, then queue for Sainte-Chapelle and its fifteen tall stained-glass windows. Cross to the Left Bank for Shakespeare and Company, the Panthéon and the Luxembourg Gardens. Finish with an evening walk along the Seine quays past the bouquinistes' book stalls.
- **Mobile signal:** Orange has strong 4G and growing 5G across central Paris, and the Métro has 4G in its tunnels, so you can navigate underground.

### Day 2 in France: Louvre, Orsay and the Eiffel Tower

- **Base:** Paris
- **Plan:** Book a timed ticket for the Louvre at opening and focus on two or three wings rather than trying to see everything. Walk through the Tuileries and cross the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay for its Impressionist collection in a former railway station. In the evening, walk from the Trocadéro to the Eiffel Tower, which sparkles for five minutes on the hour after dark.
- **Mobile signal:** Signal is good outdoors, but expect weaker reception deep inside the Louvre's galleries; download your museum tickets to your phone's wallet in advance.

### Day 3 in France: Château de Versailles

- **Base:** Paris
- **Getting there:** RER C from central Paris to Versailles takes about 40 to 45 minutes.
- **Plan:** Take the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche and arrive for opening; the palace is closed on Mondays. See the Hall of Mirrors and the State Apartments, then spend the afternoon in the gardens, walking or hiring a bike to the Grand Canal, the Trianon palaces and Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet. On summer weekends, the musical fountain shows run in the gardens.
- **Mobile signal:** Coverage is strong around the château, though the crowded state rooms can slow data; the far end of the estate around the Hamlet has thinner signal.

### Day 4 in France: TGV to Avignon and the Palais des Papes

- **Base:** Avignon
- **Getting there:** TGV from Paris to Avignon TGV takes about 2 hours 40 minutes; the shuttle into Avignon Centre takes 5 minutes.
- **Plan:** Take a morning TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon to Avignon TGV and the shuttle train into the centre. Visit the Palais des Papes, the Gothic palace of the fourteenth-century popes, then walk out onto the remaining arches of the Pont Saint-Bénezet. Climb the Rocher des Doms gardens for the view over the Rhône at sunset.
- **Mobile signal:** Orange coverage on the high-speed line is mostly good, with short gaps in cuttings and tunnels; inside Avignon's walls, 4G and 5G are reliable.

### Day 5 in France: Pont du Gard and Nîmes

- **Base:** Avignon
- **Getting there:** The Pont du Gard is about 30 minutes' drive from Avignon, and Nîmes another 30 minutes beyond it.
- **Plan:** Drive or take the bus to the Pont du Gard, the three-tiered Roman aqueduct bridge over the Gardon, and walk to both banks and the riverside. Continue to Nîmes to see the Arena, one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres, and the Maison Carrée temple opposite the modern Carré d'Art. Return to Avignon in the evening.
- **Mobile signal:** Good 4G in Nîmes; coverage is reasonable at the Pont du Gard visitor centre but weakens along the river paths below the bridge.

### Day 6 in France: Arles and the edge of the Camargue

- **Base:** Avignon
- **Getting there:** Avignon Centre to Arles takes about 20 to 40 minutes by regional train.
- **Plan:** Take the train to Arles. See the Roman amphitheatre and theatre, the cloister of Saint-Trophime and the places Van Gogh painted, including the café terrace on Place du Forum. In the afternoon, drive or join a tour into the Camargue wetlands to see flamingos, white horses and black bulls around the Étang de Vaccarès.
- **Mobile signal:** Arles has strong coverage; out in the flat Camargue marshes 4G is patchy, particularly on minor roads away from Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

### Day 7 in France: Luberon villages and departure

- **Base:** Avignon
- **Getting there:** Gordes is about 45 minutes' drive from Avignon; allow 1 hour to Marseille airport.
- **Plan:** Hire a car for the hill villages of the Luberon. See Gordes on its rocky spur, the Sénanque Abbey with its lavender fields, and Roussillon's ochre cliffs and walking trail. Return the car in Avignon and take the TGV back to Paris or to Marseille Provence airport for your flight home.
- **Mobile signal:** The Luberon villages have usable 4G, but signal drops in the valley around Sénanque Abbey and on back roads; check Arcep's Mon réseau mobile map if you are relying on it.

### Staying connected on this France route

- Install the SNCF Connect app and save your TGV tickets offline before day 4.
- Download offline Google Maps for the Luberon and the Camargue, where coverage on minor roads is patchy.
- Keep FR-Alert emergency notifications switched on, particularly in summer when Provence has wildfire warnings.

### Sources for the France itinerary

- [France mobile network experience report, November 2025 – Opensignal](https://insights.opensignal.com/reports/2025/11/france/mobile-network-experience)
- [Palace and Park of Versailles – UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/83)
- [Historic Centre of Avignon – UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/228)
- [Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) – UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/344)
- [Mobile coverage in metropolitan France – Arcep](https://www.arcep.fr/la-regulation/grands-dossiers-reseaux-mobiles/la-couverture-mobile-en-metropole.html)

## About this eSIM

France runs on data far more than it looks like it does: the train ticket lives in an app, the museum slot is a QR code, and the menu is a sticker stuck to the corner of the table. An eSIM set up before you leave home covers all of that from the moment the cabin doors open, whether you land at Charles de Gaulle, Orly, Nice or Marseille Provence. Nothing gets added to your bill at home, and you never have to queue at an airport counter with your passport out.

### Getting online when you land

Set the eSIM up at home, on your own wifi. Scanning the activation code needs a working connection, and a boarding gate is the worst possible place to find that out. Once the profile is on the phone it can sit there switched off until you are actually on the ground.

After landing, switch the travel line on and allow data roaming for that line specifically. On a travel eSIM that permission is what lets the profile attach to a French host network at all, and leaving it off is far and away the most common reason a brand new eSIM looks broken. Give it a minute or two while you taxi to the stand. If the status bar is still empty by the time you reach the RER B platform under Paris Charles de Gaulle, toggle airplane mode on and off to force a fresh network scan.

Keep your home line switched on but with its own data turned off. Your usual number still receives bank verification codes and calls, and nothing in the background quietly runs up a roaming charge while you sleep.

### The networks you'll be on

Your data here rides on Orange, which carries 4G LTE and 5G, so on a recent handset you will typically sit on 5G in the middle of a city, drop to 4G/LTE in the suburbs and along country roads, and only see 3G in the sort of place where you should be looking at the view anyway.

You do not pick anything by hand, and you should not try. The phone chooses, moving between 5G and 4G as you go. Manual network selection is worth a look only in the specific case where you can see bars but nothing will load.

### Where coverage holds, and where it thins

Cities are the easy part. Paris and the wider Île-de-France, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg and the Riviera strip from Cannes through to Menton are all solidly served, and the autoroute network between them keeps you connected at motorway speed.

The TGV is more mixed than a coverage map suggests. High-speed lines run through long tunnels and deep cuttings, and your connection goes with them, so expect it to breathe in and out for the whole journey rather than fail cleanly. Load the ticket, the seat number and your onward walking directions before the train pulls away and those gaps stop mattering.

Where it genuinely thins out: the Massif Central and the Cévennes, Alpine valleys once you climb above the resort towns, the high Pyrenees, the interior of Corsica away from the coast road, the Gorges du Verdon, and the inland lanes of Brittany behind Rennes. Mountain villages often have a usable signal in the square and nothing at all on the footpath above it. If your day involves a col, a gorge or a long marked trail, treat the map as something you download rather than something you stream.

### What you'll actually use data for here

SNCF Connect, first and constantly. French stations assign the platform, the voie, late, and the app usually knows before the departure hall board updates. Underground in Paris the same logic applies: Bonjour RATP and Citymapper both handle the Metro, the RER and the trams, and either beats a paper map on the days a line is part closed for works.

Then the bookings. Timed entry is now normal at the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles and most of the larger châteaux, and your slot sits in an email or a wallet pass that may need re-downloading at the door. Restaurants away from the tourist strips fill early and take reservations by phone or app, so booking a table on the walk over becomes a real habit.

The rest is small and constant: camera translation on a menu or a pharmacy label, a ride app when the last Metro has gone, the building door code that arrived by message rather than on paper, and the card payment that occasionally wants a confirmation in your banking app before it will go through.

### Before you fly

- Install the profile at home and give the line a name you will recognise later.
- Check the handset is eSIM capable and carrier unlocked.
- Download offline maps for the regions you are visiting, not only the city.
- Screenshot the address, the door code and your booking references.
- Save train tickets and museum passes into the phone wallet so they open without a connection.
- Leave the home line on for SMS codes, with its data switched off.
- Set the travel line as the default for mobile data so nothing falls back to your home network.

## Before you travel to France

France requires identity registration for prepaid SIMs bought locally. A travel eSIM is not affected.

Local SIM-registration rules apply to buying a SIM in the country. A travel eSIM is a foreign profile roaming onto the local network, so you are not registering anything locally and there is no counter to queue at.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does an eSIM work in France?

Yes. Your France eSIM connects automatically the moment you arrive, with no roaming fees and nothing to set up at the airport. The host networks it can use are Orange. Coverage runs on 4G LTE and 5G where the network has rolled it out, and falls back to 4G elsewhere.

### Do I get 5G in France?

Yes, where it has been deployed. 5G runs on Orange in France, and your eSIM uses it automatically on a 5G-capable phone, dropping back to 4G LTE outside covered areas. No country is covered everywhere, so 5G availability varies by location.

### Which mobile network is best in France?

In Opensignal's November 2025 report Orange, the network this eSIM uses, was fastest for downloads at 83.8 Mbps and had the best coverage experience score. Bouygues won the most awards overall, mainly for consistency, and Free Mobile users spent the most time on 5G. For coverage and speed, Orange is the strongest all-rounder.

### Is there mobile signal in the Paris Métro?

Yes. Since 2020 the whole RATP network, including Métro tunnels, RER lines it operates and the trams, has had 4G coverage. You can keep using data between stations. At rush hour on lines like 1, 4 and 13, speeds can drop because so many phones share the same masts.

### How can I check mobile coverage at my holiday rental in France?

Use Mon réseau mobile, the coverage map published by the telecoms regulator Arcep. Select Orange, the network this eSIM connects to, and search the address to see coverage levels and test results. It is particularly useful for rural rentals in the Massif Central, the mountains or inland Brittany.

### What is FR-Alert, and will my phone receive it?

FR-Alert is France's emergency warning system, in use since June 2022. It sends alerts by cell broadcast through 4G and 5G masts to phones in the affected area, with no app needed, for events such as floods, wildfires or attacks. Make sure emergency alerts are switched on in your phone's settings.

### What is the emergency number in France?

Dial 112 for any emergency, or the French numbers 15 for an ambulance, 17 for police and 18 for the fire brigade. Deaf or hard-of-hearing callers can use 114 by SMS, chat or video. This eSIM is data only, so keep your home SIM switched on to make emergency calls.

### How much data do I need for 7 days in France?

For 7 days in France, Viasimo sells 100 MB for $1.29, 1 GB for $1.79, and unlimited data for $13.99. Our sizing recommendation, not a measurement: maps, messaging and the occasional lookup, about 1 GB a week; maps, social, photos and some browsing, about 3 to 7 GB a week. The data calculator on this site works it out from how you actually use your phone.

## Information and verification

- **Prices and plans**: Every price and allowance on this page is read from the live catalog, not typed in. Verified October 30, 2026.
- **Host networks**: The operator list comes from the network partner that carries this eSIM. Verified October 30, 2026.
- **Local rules**: SIM registration and device rules, checked against the sources below. Verified September 23, 2026. Source: [gsma.com](https://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/GSMA_White-Paper_Mandatory-Registration-of-Prepaid-SIM-Users_32pgWEBv3.pdf), [privacyinternational.org](https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3018/timeline-sim-card-registration-laws)