Bonjour à tous,
This summer I will be spending a month in Paris. Fortunately, my accommodation includes dinner and breakfast with each day of my stay except for weekends. I plan on going to inexpensive grocery stores (ED, Franprix, etc) to purchase most of my food, such as sandwiches, fruits, yoghurt, etc. As for beverage, I plan on bringing my own water bottle and filling it up frequently. Of course, being in Paris, I am sure that I'll purchase the occasional pastry and ice cream, maybe a few inexpensive meals out too.
For transportation, I plan to purchase a carnet of metro tickets, but I will mostly walk everywhere.
Because I have visited the city before, I do not plan to visit too many touristic sites (Versailles, Tour Eiffel, etc.), but I do plan to see a few smaller museums and take maybe one or two day-trips to some towns in Île de France. I also do not plan to purchase many souvenirs, maybe just one or two things on sale.
So my question is, how many euro do you think I will need per day in Paris? Not including accommodation, I'm guessing the minimum for my month long trip would be around €475 (€14 per day), but I could do €560 (€16,5) or some more as well. As a student, I do not intend to travel in luxury - just need to take care of basic things and to enjoy myself in fairly simple ways.
Merci beaucoup pour votre aide !
How much money should I bring for a month in Paris?
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I would budget for more money, if you have it. Don't cut yourself short.
You need to buy lunch/snack during the week and all your food on weekends. What if you want to go to a movie? Have an ice cream? The out of town trips will cost something for transportation and you will be sightseeing. I would budget E25 to E30 per day. If you come in under that then fine but I would hate to see you have to give up things because you don't have enough money.
Do you live in a country that uses Euros? If not, then do not bring money with you (except for a very small amount). Use ATM machines to get Euros when you need them.
14 euros per day?
Have you looked at the entrance cost of some of these museums? (The musee de cluny is 8 euros for instance.)
The cost of getting from the airport into the City - and vice versa?
The cost of a carnet?
The cost of an ice cream?
Few people here are operating on that type of budget. Suggest you have a look at the Let's Go Guide and the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely Planet website - where students post the absolutely cheapest way to do things - and things that are free.
If you want to being a tiny amount with you - that's fine. but make sure you have a substantial amount in your checking account so you can withdraw any extra you need at an ATM.
You don't mean to "bring" money specifically to be spent over the entire month, do you? ATMs are everywhere and when you need money, you can get it. Assuming your breakfast and dinners are paid for, I would budget spending around 20Euro/day. That doesn't mean you will....but should probably cover your minimal expenses as anticipated. I would expect you will need more than one carnet over the month...double that in your plans. You can also happily splurge on a special night out with new friends at the end of the month if you have kept below your budget.
Paris is expensive, but less so than London. I have visited there 4 times, and each time I checked to make sure my pockets did not have holes in them. I agree with the other posters. Admission costs are high. However, check into when the museums are open to everybody. It is a free day.I presume that practice is still in effect.
But the OP is a student, and with an international student card will pay a lot less than you and I would for the same things. Some will be free.
I want an International Geezer card. Sometimes they extend a senior discount, sometimes they don't unless you can prove you are a national.
But as my fellow Geezer, Mick Jagger, once sang, "You can't always get what you want!"
I see...the OP is a student. I understand that it is sometimes difficult to get students checking sccounts, so the ATM solution isn't so cut and dried. Maybe 14€ per day is a good amount for spending money. Posslbly an extra 50€ for a special splurge would be nice to keep in reserve until your last week?
There are no big discounts available for students in Paris that is going to make a difference in food or transportation. There are some age-related discounts for museums for which the OP may qualify, but there are some free museums, anyway. There are a few discounts that aren't going to affect this budget much for EU students. I don't really see the OP being a student as having any effect at all on the budget since visiting tourist sites wasn't a big plan, anyway (and, as I said, there are enough free museums). There are no student discounts at the grocery store or cafe or ice cream stand.
Remember that students and everyone saves on not having to leave a gratuity. Its included in the price of the meal. No need to over tip.
<< Maybe 14€ per day is a good amount for spending money >>
Is that going to buy food for 3 meals/day on the weekends? The E14 is for everything, not just spending money. What if she needs to wash her hair? Oops - no money for shampoo! What if she gets a cold and needs some OTC meds and tissues? That E14 won't last long.
If the OP is in Paris for a month she will need several carnets - even if she want to walk lots of places. What about the cost of a glass of wine in a cafe? What about going to the movies? What about spending anevening with friends in a student pub?
IMHO 14 euros a day is bout 1/3 of what she will need to cover even the most basic activities - and spending.
(My DD went to europe last summer with 2 friends - all 10 - and she spend about $9000 over 6 weeks. Now the OP has housing and it sounds like meals - although I have never seen a student that didn;t buy extras - but the amount listed is still, IMHO, pitifully small.)