If you’re visiting Paris and need a wireless network, the first place you’ll probably turn is your hotel. These days, even cheap hotels have begun offering free Wi-Fi. However, sometimes hotels charge a ridiculous amount and sometimes they don’t offer a wireless network at all.

Luckily, there’s no need to overpay for the service, as wireless internet service is offered almost everywhere in Paris. Here’s a quick overview of where to find a cheapo-friendly wireless network:

100% Free Wi-Fi

Without dropping a dime, Facebook addicts can access city-provided Wi-Fi networks in over 260 public parks, civic centers, and libraries. Access is provided by the city of Paris for free and unlimited for anyone.

Once you’re ready to start, just click on the “Wi-Fi ORANGE” network, fill out an online form (which simply involves creating a username and password), et voilà, you’re online!

This service is very popular. For example, it isn’t rare to see people hanging out in the lobby of the Centre Pompidou with their laptops. Additionally, in warmer months, users camp out in every park, garden, and even around the mayor’s office in any of the 20 arrondissements.

Check out the city’s website for a comprehensive list of locations where you can access free, city-provided Wi-Fi.

Almost Free Wi-Fi

Cafés in Paris will usually have a “Wi-Fi” sticker on their window if there is free wireless available, but always verify that it is offered before ordering a drink. For €2 you can get a quality signal and (quite often) a lower-quality coffee. Don’t feel pressured to keep buying things while you type your emails, unless it’s lunch time and you are clearly taking up a table. (Remember, waiters don’t work for tips!)

In a pinch, most McDonald’s also offer Wi-Fi alongside their very budget-friendly €1 menu.

Not Actually Free Wi-Fi

Many users will automatically pick up a signal in Paris called “FreeWifi,” but this is actually the name of a service provider that costs money on a pay-as-you go basis. These “hotspots” are widely available with providers like “SFR” or the company “Free.”

If your hotel doesn’t provide free internet, you can always purchase minutes from one of these carriers. For example, SFR offers an hour of service during a 24-hour period for €8. It is a great service for emergency web browsing, but it can  quickly become costly.

General Wi-Fi Tips

Never assume that a hotel or hostel will offer free Wi-Fi. It is always best to ask. Many apartment rentals, short and long term, will come with wireless, but sometimes charge an extra fee for the service.

While free Wi-Fi is commonplace in Paris, electrical outlets are not always available, so make sure that you charge up before heading to the café or park!

If you’re living in Paris and you don’t have an internet provider, the first question is, “Why not?” With companies like Orange and SFR offering packages for €30 a month that include wireless and international calling, staying connected is actually pretty affordable.

Planning on bringing an American iPhone to Europe? Read our article about how to use your iPhone in Europe without going broke. While you’re at it, consider whether or not you need to take you’re iPhone with you at all by reading our post on How NOT to use your iPhone in Europe.

Your Wi-Fi advice?

Have you had an experience getting free (or almost free) wireless internet service in Paris? Tell us about it in the comments section.

The post Where to find free Wi-Fi in Paris appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

I recently returned from two weeks in Europe, one spent in Paris and one in Venice. This was a work trip, during which I visited about 90 hotels for EuroCheapo. I brought along my laptop, but what to do with my iPhone? Was there an economical way to use it in France and Italy? Should I pay for one of the international data packages offered by AT&T (my carrier)? Should I get a new SIM Card? Should I just leave the thing in New York?

Connecting with friends and travel companions is obviously aided by sending text messages. Those, however, don’t always work with American cell phones and, if they do, require an international phone connection. And if you turn on your connection, you could receive phone calls from home — which will cost you. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

I realized that my iPhone could be handy. But how could I use it without going broke?

After hours of hair-pulling and squinting at fine print (and some phone time with Verizon and AT&T employees), we have compiled a list of pointers for American travelers hoping to use their iPhones in Europe.

Click below to get started:

Setting up your phone to avoid a billing “surprise”

How to buy a SIM card in Europe for your phone

Tips for AT&T Customers

Tips for Verizon Customers

Tips for Windows, Android and Blackberry Customers

AT&T, Verizon & T-Mobile: A comparison of international plans

How to Keep Your Smartphone Safe in Paris… and What to Do if It Gets Stolen

The post Using an American iPhone in Europe… without going broke appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Twitter for budget travelers?

So what does this mean for you, the budget traveler? Should you care? Do you really need to know about “tweets,” DMs and “followers”? Do you really want to introduce yet another social network into your daily routine?

Well, here is a primer to help answer a few of these questions and provide a proper introduction to Twitter… Cheapo-style!

The basics: what is Twitter?

Twitter allows members to send and read short messages (“tweets”) between themselves and other users. These tweets are text-based, frequently contain links to articles on other websites, and are limited to only 140 characters in length.

Twitterers are able to post tweets as frequently (or infrequently) as they like and on any subject they wish. As you might guess, there is a vast variety of subjects being tweeted.

Want to know if your cousin Larry just burned his coffee? No prob. Want to ask President Obama a question about the economy? Go for it. Interested in telling NBA great Shaquille O’Neal what to order at Dairy Queen and read other “random acts of Shaqness”? The list is endless.

Hmm… kind of sounds like Facebook’s status updates, right?

Well, sort of. One of the main differences is that anyone can “follow” someone else on Twitter without being approved Follow travel writers: If you have specific travel columnists, travel bloggers or other travel personalities you enjoy reading, look them up on Twitter. Most have a “Twitter presence” and reading their Tweets can add a fun, new dimension to what you read from them elsewhere.

—Only follow those who truly interest you: There’s a “beginner’s instinct” to build your list of followers by rapidly following others, but what’s the point? Twitter is most helpful and useful when you genuinely look forward to reading the Tweets being sent your way.

—Ask questions: Don’t be afraid to ask a question or request travel advice. We recently were looking for a budget hotel in Los Angeles and posted a Tweet asking for suggestions, and within minutes several Twitterers provided helpful recommendations. Tweet-o-rific!

—Share the love: Similarly, be on the lookout for Tweets where you can add helpful feedback or offer advice. It’s a two-way “Twitter Street,” and since we joined we’ve enjoyed the sense of community that builds over time from others in our network.

—Get airline info: Follow your preferred airlines for updates and offers for last minute deals.

—Stay in touch: Twittering makes it easy for the folks back home to follow your adventures abroad. Of course, you run the risk of overdoing it. But your followers may appreciate the chance to travel with you. Also, Twittering on the road permits you to ask your followers for rapid-fire advice on, say, a restaurant in Madrid.

—Get organized: For those who become hooked, consider using a Twitter “client” such as TweetDeck. These websites help manage your Twitter account, create individual groups, and make Twittering feel more organized and less manic.

A Few notable travel twitterers

twitter.com/eurocheapo – Surprise!
twitter.com/budtravel – The editors of BudgetTravel.com
twitter.com/jenleo – Updates from the LA Times travel blog editor
twitter.com/wendyperrin – Conde Nast Traveler’s very own Wendy Perrin
twitter.com/soultravelers3 – Updates from a family of three traveling the world
twitter.com/SEKeener – Follow Cheapo-friend and co-founder of BootsnAll.com, Sean Keener, while he travels throughout Australia
twitter.com/samdaams – Pithy updates from Sam Daams, the co-founder of Travellerspoint.com

Do you Tweet?

Do you have recommendations for using Twitter? Are there other travel Twitterers you enjoy following? Do you agree that Twitter can be helpful, or do you find it a waste of time?

Tell us in the comments below!

The post Tech advice: Twitter for budget travelers appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.