Travel Tips
Paris on any budget
Penny pinching or bucket list blowout, Paris has something to offer for a traveller on any budget. Here’s what to do, where to eat and where to sleep – whatever you want to spend.
Budget
Do
There are upwards of 200 museums and galleries in Paris, more than enough to last you a lifetime. The Louvre almost goes without saying and even if you’ve been before, it’s always changing. A quick stroll through the Tuileries Garden will bring you to Musee de l’Orangerie, the permanent home of eight of Monet’s Water Lillies, then head across the river to the Musee d’Orsay. But all this art can be pricey. Save money by scheduling your visits for the first Sunday of the month when entry to many museums is free, or buy a Paris Museum Pass for big discounts across 60 attractions – and you can even skip the ticket line.
Eat
Sure you can buy a sandwich at the supermarket, but eating out is one of Paris’ great pleasures – and you don’t have to break the bank. Make lunch the largest meal of the day. Many restaurants will offer a prixe-fixe (fixed price) lunch where you can get a substantial three-course meal for less than €20. Try Boco, a mini-chain of restaurants you can find around the centre of the city.
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Stay
At the Plug Inn Boutique Hostel in Montmartre you can stay in a double room with an ensuite for just €90 per night. It was recently refurbished with funky wallpaper and carpet, flatscreen TVs and free Wi-Fi. It can be a little noisy, but the price is certainly right.
Mid Range
Do
Get on the river and cruise right through the middle of the City of Love. There are any number of boats, known as Bateaux Parisiens, making their way up and down the Seine stopping at all the major monuments. For around €60-70 per person you can do it in style with dinner and drinks at a window table as you cruise into the sunset.
Eat
Once again, the prixe-fixe lunch is your go to in this price range – but now you can eat at an amazing restaurant for a fraction of the price. Paris has the second most Michelin starred restaurants of any city in the world (just behind Tokyo) so you can have lunch at one of the world’s best restaurants for less than €100 a head. That might sound like a lot, but remember that these places charge more than €300 per person for dinner. Lunch at the three-star L’Astrance starts from €70.
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Stay
You don’t need to spend a fortune to stay by the centre of the action. The Hotel Le Belmont Champs-Élysées is just a few blocks from the famous strip and the Arc de Triomphe in a restored 19th century Hausmann building. Rooms are cosy but stylish with rich fabrics, mahogany and ebony finishings, and there’s a very nice spa with a small hammam. Expect to pay around €190 for a double room.
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Luxury
Do
If money is no object, then you’re here to shop. The Champs-Élysées is Paris’ most famous shopping street, but Avenue Montaigne is its most luxurious. Where the Champs-Élysées is now home to Gap, Virgin Megastore and Adidas, Avenue Montaigne remains strictly high end. The flagship stores of Prada, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Christian Lacroix are all side by side, while Jimmy Choo, Dolce & Gabanna, Roberto Cavalli and the temple of French fashion, Chanel, are in the next block.
Eat
You’re in the right city for some seriously fine dining. Go to Alain Ducasse’s Allard in Saint Germain for French classics like garlicky frogs legs and buttery sole meuniere or dine on French-Asian fusion alongside models and socialites at Georges at the top of the Centre Pompidou. Here, the world is – literally – your oyster.
Stay
Spend the night at the Plaza Athénée, a Paris landmark with bright red flowers adorning every wrought-iron window box, twinkling lights and a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. The hotel is also home to Alain Ducasse’s three Michelin-starred restaurant, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, and it has some serious fashionista credentials – this is where Carrie stayed when she moved to Paris in the final season of Sex and the City.
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