If you come to Paris, bring your laptop! (and check our tips by real Paris locals!)
In every part of Paris, there are many free wifi-access points via “Paris Wi-Fi”. In many public spaces, such as parks, gardens, city halls, librairies and museums you can go online wireless for free.
In these spots our Paris Spotters wrote about where you can get free WiFi:
Here’s a map with all free Wi-Fi access points (in French)
Afficher Paris Wi-Fi sur une carte plus grande
Update: Some have had problems connecting, and commented here.
Jessica has been so kind to provide a short tutorial on how to connect to the Free Paris network (source: Paris.fr)
1. Find a point on the map above. Go to it. It will tell you it’s WiFi by the symbol you see in the picture, which looks like purple blobs with the words “wifi” written in it.
2. Select the “Wifi ORANGE” network on your computer. This is the reason no one was having success before with this!!! “Free” is actually the brand name of an internet provider, NOT a description of what it is; hence why it wasn’t working for people. ORANGE is what you’re looking for.
3. Open your browser, type in an internet address, and you will be redirected to the access portal. You can switch to English in the orange box.
From there, it’s easy! You just type in your name and email address, and there you go. Two hours of free surfing!
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Hi, great site – but link to the “Free Wi-Fi” Map, does not work!
Thank you Heinz! Instead of the link, I inserted a map now. Should be better!
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Hi,
just returned from Paris and have tried more than once to log on the free wifi spots, e.g. Parc de Belleville. Just got the information that I must register to use the hotspots but there was now way how to do this. Any advice for the next time?
btw: Thanks for this great website, your tips were splendid!
I’ve found that the only available wifi is provided by freewifi.fr, and registration is required. And yet, no link to registration is provided, and it seems to be a commercial service.
AFAICT there is no free wifi in Paris. My Nokia cell certainly hasn’t been able to connect anywhere that I’ve been. I have access via my apartment here, but that’s it.
Same problems as Chris and Mike; either there is no free wifi in the parks anymore, or the “free” company is making it impossible for you to figure out how to register. They even say “click here to sign up”, but clicking there brings you back to the same page. If anyone has insight that would be great! [Some brasseries and crepe places do have free wifi -- look for a sign -- but often you have to ask for a code.]
Thanks for the tips Chris, Mike and Matt!
Help!!! I´m still in Paris and have the same problem.
It´s imposible to get in the FreeWiFi. The link to the sing in sends you to the same page. Help please. How do I get a pass de mot and a identifiant.
Hi Mariano,
Sorry, we’re not in Paris at the moment to check it out what the prolbme. The map was published by the city of Paris – not by us. I recommend you to ask at the Tourist office!
Good luck, Bart
Same problems with the free wifi – the page that asks you to log in has a registration link, but it doesn’t work. Free wifi is thus not accessible…
forget the parks, go to mcdonalds, all mcdonalds in paris offer free internet access, look on this site http://www.theparisienexpat.com/going-out/dining-in-paris/mcdonalds-in-paris-and-free-internet-access-in-paris/ they give you all the sites
I’m in Paris right now. I have the same problem: the freewifi has a link to register that sends you back to the same page asking for username and password. It is true that McDonalds has wifi. I also found out that the apple store under the Louvre has free wifi – and there is also a McDonalds there!
I’m in Paris next week. I need to know if there is any solution to the problem faced by Chris, Matt, Mariano et al. Help!!
As this is such a popular page, and so many people are asking for a solution, we’ll try to find out of we can find a solution.. Stay tuned!
Here are the answers to all of your questions. I am living in Paris and I just go to McDonalds because it’s the closest thing to me, but here is a tutorial–in French, but with easy-to-follow pictures–on how to connect.
http://www.paris.fr/portail/pratique/Portal.lut?page_id=7799&document_type_id=5&document_id=29153&portlet_id=17981
I’ll basically sum up what it says, for you non-french-speakers out there:
1. Find a point on the map above. Go to it. It will tell you it’s WiFi by the symbol you see in the picture, which looks like purple blobs with the words “wifi” written in it.
2. Select the “Wifi ORANGE” network on your computer. This is the reason no one was having success before with this!!! “Free” is actually the brand name of an internet provider, NOT a description of what it is; hence why it wasn’t working for people. ORANGE is what you’re looking for.
3. Open your browser, type in an internet address, and you will be redirected to the access portal. You can switch to English in the orange box.
From there, it’s easy! You just type in your name and email address, and there you go. Two hours of free surfing!
Personally, I prefer to go to an inet cafe and get an expresso or to good ole Micky D’s (I know it’s blasphemy for an expat, but what can I say? I live in a hotspot dry spot… :(. Hope that helps everyone!
Thanks very much Jessica!
np :)
Yeah, just return from Paris, and despite lots of “free” wifi locations, no one works! At a restaurant Hipopotamus labeled with “free wifi” I asked 3 times for the password, and finally they indicate me a very complicated procedure to create an user account (wtf?), so I gave up. The only place where I indeed could use free wifi (and drink a good beer:) was WoSbar.
internet cafes are fine, but if you’re looking to use the internet for a long time it becomes costly, ie 8 euros for 5 hours,i checked Sids site, totally agree with mcdonalds, starbucks is also a good alternative. going up a level on that site you gave, look at http://www.theparisienexpat.com/going-out/wifi-paris/ it gives a more detail list of wifi places
A small tip. At the little garden/park at the back of Notre Dame (there’s a fountain with a catholic statue in it) you can find the wireless Adael-Gratuit.
That is truly free and no sign on needed. You select it and open your browser and can now get 20 min free without signing in and 1h or more when signing in.
Worked like a charm for quickly checking mail on the iPhone or with a laptop.
Enjoy.
/A
hi cat, thanks for the link, actually, the link you gave was wrong, but found the info anyway, got a list of all places for free internet thanks.
actual link : http://www.theparisienexpat.com/resident/living-in-paris/wifi-in-paris/
the only free hotspot that i find in paris was in the Centre Pompidou, were you can see several peoples around sitting on the floor and working with their laptop.
Registration is very simple and you can navigate for 90 minutes.
I found a list of all hotspots (gardens, shops, restaurnats, arrondissements ) here , scroll near the bottom . http://www.theparisienexpat.com/resident/living-in-paris/
Are there any places in Paris that have computers attached to the internet that you can use for free (like libraries in North America)? I am mainly interested in the Latin Quarter or the Marais. Thanks!