Our tips for spending holidays in Paris on the cheap

Between accommodation, transport and restaurants, visiting Paris can quickly blow your budget. To avoid falling into tourist traps while enjoying your stay, here are some good tips.

Do you want to leave your region to take a trip to Paris for a weekend or more without blowing your budget? It's possible. But you will have to be thrifty.

Choose the right place to sleep

If your goal is to save money, immediately forget the hotel in the heart of Paris. The prices there are unattainable. For a hotel in the Marais district, you will hardly find a room for less than €80. You will often even have to spend a lot more. No, the best is still to take an Airbnb or a hostel. For one night in the same area, you will find decent accommodation from €50. A big difference, especially since with Airbnb, for example, you can do your own shopping and therefore save on your food budget.

If Airbnb doesn't tell you, have you thought about going camping? Yes, yes, you read correctly. There are indeed a few campsites near Paris and the prices are often very affordable. You can, for example, go to the Indigo campsite in the Bois de Boulogne (92) from just €30 a night. The opportunity to combine your Parisian night outings with a cool night!

Finally, if you absolutely want to go to a hotel, at least try to move away from downtown Paris. Why not go to the suburbs? In Villejuif (94), for example, you will find rooms from 30 or 40 € per night, i.e. half the price of the Marais. In addition, you will only be fifteen minutes by public transport from Paris.

Move smarter

One thing is certain: to save money during your stay in Paris, forget the taxi! Yes, it's expensive and what's more, it's a safe bet that you'll get stuck in traffic, which will waste your precious time. The best thing about Paris is public transport. Metro, bus, tram, you are spoiled for choice. For an adult, the metro ticket costs €1.90. For a child, you will have it at half price. And you can go from one end of the city to the other without worries.

But if you lock yourself up in the basements of Paris, you can always try the Vélib'. This is the Parisian self-service bicycle service. And the least we can say is that it's really cheap. For a day, count €1.70 per person. You can also take a weekly package for only €8 per person. Only one condition: to be athletic. Distances can be long when visiting a city. So think carefully!

If that still doesn't inspire you, you only have one solution left: walk! In the end, it may be a good idea. Visiting a city by walking allows you to explore it from top to bottom. It can even be very pleasant in the summer. But be careful, even if Paris is not as big as other capitals, you still risk being quickly exhausted. Up to you.

Make clever exits

The first thing to avoid when going out is overpriced restaurants. To do this, avoid eating in tourist places where restaurants inflate prices. Choose more popular areas. You will eat there just as well and the bill will be less salty.

In addition, if you plan to make cultural visits, be aware that many Parisian museums are free on the 1st Sunday of the month. Admission for an adult to the Louvre Museum costs €15. Imagine the savings you could make by coming at the right time. But if not, rest assured. Other museums and monuments are free all year round. To consult the complete list, it is here.

Finally, if you want to have a good time on the cheap, you can, for example, go to the Paname Art Café. This unusual bar-restaurant will allow you to discover the rising stars of stand-up for only 5 €, the price of a drink at the bar. And to access all the free activities offered by the city of Paris, it's this way.

Beware of tourist traps

Before your trip ends, maybe you want to bring back some souvenirs for your family or friends? Be careful, some tourist trap shops will ruin you. Start by being wary of all the shops whose storefront is armored with Eiffel towers of all kinds. Very often this is a harbinger of high prices. We will have warned you!