Mooshi

We are taking a trip to Paris in a few weeks and the exchange rate does not look promising! Any ideas on how to economize? Thanks!

AisleSeat

All the obvious things like taking the Metro rather than taxis and such come to mind but mybe you will want to prioritize. Pick the things that are really important to you and just do those things and spend the other time you have in Paris window shopping or enjoying the parks.

SuzieCII

...eat all your meals at the apartment you rent? Picnic's instead of restaurants? Walk and walk and walk more (which you'll want to do anyway)...don't buy entry fees or passes, but seek out free things (the Carnavalet (the Paris history museum) is free). Don't shop. Don't buy gifts for anyone.
Or, if you want to eat at special restaurants choose them for lunch rather than dinner.

Philbill

My husband's view is just to think of 1 Euro equals 1 dollar as you are on vacation!
Seriously, one idea is to buy food from the supermarket (wine, cheese yum) and bakery (bread, croissants, quiche) and picnic. You can buy one 3 course 'fixed price' meal a day in a neighborhood cafe.
Thereagain, if your passion is gourmet food then you could look for a cheaper hotel (difficult) and walk everywhere!

hopingtotravel

My only regrets on these trips is seducing myself into buying something which, when I get home, I find is cheaper at Nordstrom or Williams-Sonoma or somewhere. So I have a resolution not to buy any more sweaters, etc, that kind of stuff.

carla1183

I was only able to enjoy my vacation when I sucked it up and quit comparing all the prices in euros to what it would cost in dollars. I just decided to think only in euros, and compare prices from store to store within europe, instead of back home. I was going nuts the first day or two with every 2eur ($3!!!) bottle of water. I had a much better time when I just decided it was going to be expensive.

altamiro

>every 2eur ($3!!!) bottle of water.

????
In my local supermarket a bottle of water goes for Eur 0,50 or less..

bob_brown

stay home
which I am not doing

logos999

If you shop at "Ed", you're not paying more than a fraction over German/US supermarket prices. (Fruits were a lot less than at home, coke did cost more.) All in all not worth mentioning. Bottled water is so cheap, I really didn't care to compare prices.

kerouac

A bottle of water in a supermarket costs something like 19 eurocents. Name brands may be as much as 40 cents.

Hey, faucets are free. After you have bought your first bottle of water, just keep refilling it.

In ethnic restaurants in Paris (Chinese, Indian, North African), you can have a good meal for 10 euros or less.

Michel_Paris

At resraurants, order from the "menu" (fixed price meals) instead of "a la carte". Many places will have more than one menu selection, so pick the one in your price range. I usually will have a sandwich/crepe, pastry and a drink for lunch, instead of a sit down meal at a restaurant.

Ignoring the wealth of discussion on the best way to get from CDG to your hotel...take the RER into central Paris, then switch to metro for last leg.

Determine how many museums you want to see and if a Museum pass makes sense.

Print out discount coupon from Vedettes du Pont Neuf website...Seine cruise.

If going to Versailles, go on your own instead of a bus tour. Similarly, for any tours of Paris, consider Paris Walks (or others) which are usually 2-3 hrs for ~10 euros.

A generality (I may get slammed)...but I'd avoid eating on Champs Elysee /Rue Rivoli area...overly touristed and perhaps higher priced and not same quality as elsewhere.

Skip hotel breakfast and eat at local cafe.

I assume you've booked hotels...

Mike

K2DangerGirl

DH and I were recently in France and Portugal. Particularly in restaurants, we kept reminding ourselves that tax and service are included in the prices. If we were looking at a 15€ entree--about $21--well, a $15 dinner at home would be $21 by the time we added tax and tip anyway.

GSteed

Why are you going to Paris? Food? Theater? Culture? Sightseeing? Stay outside of Paris. Bus in. Diet. Gorge at your residence. Visit with locals. Do not buy anything like clothing or such. Pretend you are a native.

carla1183

You're absolutely right about the grocery store prices. I'm talking about buying cold bottles from street vendors. We definitely could have done it cheaper, but we had a short amount of time and nowhere to chill drinks at our hotel. So we compromised. We were very excited to discover the 1euro per liter at a bakery next to our hotel in Venice, and Rome had several places to refill empty bottles for free.

I was just making a point that many things seemed very expensive, and we decided to just roll with the punches instead of nickle and diming our vacation to death.

I know why people do though, we're young, in our 20's, and don't have a lot of money! So if we had had more time or amenities, a trip to a grocery store definitely would have saved us money.

scatcat

I am also one who tells myself that one Euro is one dollar. You have a much better time this way. Just keep the ATM card handy. Hey, what can I say...I'm a blond so it works.

Robespierre

If you have more time than money, you can ride a city bus from CDG to Paris even cheaper than on the RER. See here for the breakdown: tinyurl.com/mpjhn

ira

HI M,

>Any ideas on how to economize?

What's your daily budget?

dperry

I'm going to Europe this fall, and the exchange rate and how to save $$ is something I've been thinking of too. I've been travelling extensively through SE Asia over the past 6-7 years, where travel is extremely cheap, so Europe prices are looking even higher to me.
That said, I don't believe on missing out on experiences when travelling. We rented an apt. in Venice which will be less expensive than a hotel for us. I also agree with the suggestion of eating in an expensive restaurant for lunch rather than dinner, I have always done this when travelling.
Once there, I won't let myself get caught up in the unfavorable exchange rate.

kaneda

Baguettes make a cheap and healthy meal, often containing a fair bit of salad. There are cheap hotels but I know that many Americans avoid them, preferring to pay more.

Michel_Paris

I assume you have a hotel. As stated , you can get cheaper hotels by staying in the further reaches of Paris. I've stayed in the 16th, using Expedia to find a hotel. Benefit...away from crowds, staying in an area frequented only by locals. Disadvantage...need to travel on Metro to go see anything touristy...but pricing was better.

There are so many places that sell tasty sandwiches that I tend to prefer that as a cheap lunch, then splurge for dinner.

At meals. realize that soft drinks maybe more expensive than...glass of wine, water.