gracegv

Hi,

I realize that the ammount of money each traveler spends on a trip will vary from person to person, but since this will be my first time to Europe I just want to know if I'm on the right track here in order to know how much money to take.

Me and my husband are going to be in Paris for 5 nights. Our hotel has already been payed for. Will $130-150 euros per person per day allow us to have a nice visit? (Museums, transportation, food, sightseeing and souvenirs).

I'd love to get some advice here. Thank you!

StCirq

It's hard to tell whether you are talking in dollars or euros, as you use the dollar sign, then write "euros," but in any event yes, that is adequate assuming you're using public transportation, eating in moderately priced restaurants, visiting the normal places, and not planning to bring back a 14th-century armoire. Obviously, there are economies to be had with métro passes and museum passes and discount boat rides and such, but yes, it's adequate.

nytraveler

You will be fine unless you want to eat at Michelin 3* restaurants every night. That would ruin your budget. You can do one splurge dinner if you want - then that amount should be fine for regular pleasant ones - as long as you don;t plan on shopping. If you will be shopping all bets are off.

gracegv

I'm sorry for the confusion in the ammount I gave. I am talking euros, and nytraveler, I realize with shopping in mind that's impossible, but we dont plan to do shopping. The idea of having one splurge dinner is one we had in mind, other than that, regular lunch/dinner is what we are aiming for.

dunia123

I think that $260 - $300 would be more than adequate, if you're not counting hotel and don't plan on shopping. We typically rent an apartment, so often have breakfast & coffee in (which cuts down on spending). We were just there, and I'd say on average spent 100-120 Euro for dinner for two (so $125 - $150), which included wine and often dessert. (Sample restaurants: L'Hedoniste, Cafe des Musees, Les Saisons, so very good but no Michelin stars.) That leaves a lot left over for breakfast, lunch, museums, metro, etc. Have fun!

Gretchen

It should be quite ample. If you consider 10E for breakfast at a cafe, even 20E for lunch, and a 35E prixe fixe for dinner, you see you have quite an ample amount left to add some wine at dinner, and your other activities for the day.

denisea

You should be fine....avoid cafes right around tourist areas (more expensive, worse food).

In cafes, have your coffee or drink at the bar, it is less expensive than table service. Go with tap water and avoid the bottled water at restaurants. Crepe stands are a great, inexpensive meal. Usually you can save by skipping breakfast at the hotel. We always buy pastries at a local patisserie or occasionally have breakfast at a cafe.

Buy a carnet or two of tickets for the Metro/bus to get around.

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21895/ticket-t/

Consider the museum pass if you can plan your visits on consecutive days; the pass is sold in 2,4 or 6 day increments but have to be used consecutively. They are convenient and at popular sites, will allow you to skip the long lines (although there may be security lines to wait in, they still save you some time).

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/