How do I call Europe, make a local call while in Europe, or call back to the US from Europe?

The following applies only to using your cell phone. There are several great websites that explain making landline calls if needed. Making international call is a bit confusing sometimes due to the differing number formats used. Whereas in North America the format is identical (7 digit plus an area code), Europe numbers can vary in length country to country and whether it is a cell phone or a land line phone number.  For the most part however, when using your cell phone to call Europe, make a local call while in Europe, or calling home from Europe can be summarized by the following:  hold down the zero button on your phone until it switches to a plus sign (+). Drop the leading zero if the number you are calling has one. Dial the rest of the number (ignoring how many digits are involved).

TIP:  Calling from Europe to North America requires plus sign (+) followed by 1 and the area code and the number:  +1-(area code)-XXX-XXXX.  Check your contacts to make sure the phone numbers include the “+” and the “1” along with the number.  If not, your contacts phone numbers will not work.  The only option is to manually dial the full number.

TIP:  Roaming charges can get very expensive quite quickly, so avoid then if possible by either having an International calling plan or using a wifi calling app

If you want a brief explanation of what this all about read further, otherwise skip this part:  First, be aware that  every call you make when using a cell phone operated by a North American carrier in Europe will be an International call , thus requiring the use of the exit code for the country you are in when you make the call (the exit code is the portion of the number you are dialing which indicates you want to make an international call) followed by the country code for the country you are calling. While in North America the exit code is 011 which would then be followed by the country code –  dialing France for instance would be 01133 then the actual phone number dropping any leading zeros. While in France the exit code is 00 etc. (an internet search for country codes will get you a list if desired).

Pressing and holding the zero button, which switches to a plus sign (+) automatically determines which country you are in and populates your call with the right exit code.

Now the real confusion starts.  This is because some of the countries in Europe distinguish between calling a landline vs calling a cellphone by adding a “1” in front of the number to indicate to the phone system that it is calling a cell phone.  In addition a leading zero may be added to the number which is useful only to the local residents.  The best way to deal with this is to drop any leading zero and just dial how ever many digits make up the phone number.

One other point of confusion is the difference between 011 and 001 and 1.  011 is used while in the US to make an international call, sometimes referred to as the exit code. When outside the US, 001 is the exit code (00) plus the North American country code (1) used to call North America from in international location, and the 1 by itself is also the country code for North America when used with the plus sign (+)  with the cell phone automatically determining that a 00 is needed on the front of the number