Night's Paris Trip Report
Sep 25th, 2004, 01:05 AM
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Night's Paris Trip Report
Thanks to everyone in this fantastic forum for all of the great advice and in particular, to those who helped me out when I posted the "Paris for how cheap?" thread last month.
In keeping with the spirit of my previous post, I've decided to do a different trip report and discuss details of my expenditures to help out anyone who thinks, as I used to, that Paris is too expensive.
In general, I learned that if you are interested in traveling to see the world, versus traveling for a "vacation", your trip need not be much more expensive than what you are used to spending for everyday living at home (of course minus the airfare and hotel).
We were in Paris from September 2 through September 10 and were blessed by awesome weather. It rained for about two hours our first night there and I'm really happy to have had a Paris-sidewalk-cafe-in-the-rain-with-wine experience! However, the rest of the days were mid to high 70s.
We took it nice and slow, noticed all the little things and took time to take many incredible pictures. Our extras included a day trip to Chartres and Versailles and one overnight trip to Mont St. Michel, which has always been my dream.
Our daily purchases for two people were as follows: (In Euros, exchange rate approximately $1.20 for 1 E)
9/2/04
10.60 10 ride carnet for Metro (We went through these rather fast and ended up purchases two one day Moblis Passes and a Paris Visite each
15.00 Coffee at Esmeralda Cafe
10.00 Wine at Relais du Vin on Rue St. Denis
15.00 Crepe, ham and cheese baguette, two Diet Cokes (called Coke Light)
11.50 McDonalds (I know, but it was late and we were tired)
(62.10)
9/3/04
48.40 SCNF to Chartres
8.00 Chocolate Croissants and coffee for train ride
20.00 Croque Monsieur lunch at Le Cafe Tabac in the shadow of Chartres cathedral
1.50 Post cards
2.60 Water
10.60 Admission to Versailles (half price in afternoon)
3.50 Audio tour
.80 Bathroom fee at Versailles
4.00 Strawberries on the walk back to SCNF station. What an incredible taste!
16.00 Gyro dinner in Latin Quarter
14.00 Bateaux Mouches (Night cruise on the Seine, I was in a tank top at 11:00 at night snapping pictures of the twinkling Eiffel Tower. What weather! This is a must do at night, the buildings and bridges are lit up fabulously!)
6.00 Pecan tarts and coffee for Seine cruise
(135.40)
9/4/04
10.60 One day Paris Mobilis passes
2.40 Chocolate Croissants
10.00 Coffee and Soft boiled eggs in Montmartre
11.00 Cheesy tourist train on wheels to top of Sacre Coeur (our feet gave out and we were desperate)
13.00 Beer at Irish Pub in Montmartre Village
4.00 Postcards
14.00 Ice cream sundaes at street cafe among artists' square at Montmartre
7.00 Coffee and Perrier
8.00 Wine, cheese and chocolate for night by Seine. Noone told me how the entire Seine area becomes the scene of a party on a beautiful Saturday night. People actually brought folding card tables with cloth and dishes to set out on the bridges for their dinner! We sat on one bridge with a crowd of about 50 to listed to a string quartet play Vivaldi and other classics for an hour while we sipped the wine we had brought. Everyone seemed to have a bottle by their feet and a plastic cup in their hand to celebrate the night!
.60 Baguette
6.40 Port at all night club in Latin Quarter
15.00 Taxi to hotel in the 12th (We found out the hard way that the Metro closes at 1:00 a.m., the same time the beautiful lights of the Notre Dame turn off!)
(102.00)
9/5/04
10.60 One day Mobilis Pass for two
5.00 Strawberries to eat on way to Carnavalet in Marais
22.50 Lunch at Crepes Suzette in Marais after Picasso Museum (We are not really museum people, so we thought we would check out some of the smaller museums on the first Sunday of the month when they were free and see if we could brave the crowds or just purchase a museum pass later. To our surprise, we did not encounter an unbearable amount so we ended up spending a couple of hours at the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay that day as well and saved a bundle! In hindsight, I would have been disappointed if I had spent all that money on a three day pass when I only wanted to spend a couple of hours at each museum. I was really glad to have gone, though because the architecture of the museum it self was not to be missed)
3.20 Bottle water
2.00 Bottle water
4.00 Coke Light
25.00 Pasta Dinner in Latin Quarter
(72.30)
9/6/04
8.60 Quiche, pastries and macaroons to eat by Seine
9.50 Coffee at cafe near Notre Dame
6.00 Entrance fee for one to Notre Dame tower
21.00 Two souvenier T-shirts for children
20.00 Men's T-shirt
17.40 Lunch at cafe on top of Samaritaine
30.00 Pizza and Coke at Cafe Roma on Champs Elysees
18.26 Picnic supplies at Monoprix
(130.76)
9/7/04
20.80 Admission to Eiffel Tower
12.00 Chocolate crepes on Eiffel Tower in cafe (I had written off the Eiffel Tower as an obligatory Paris attraction which would be commercialized and crowded. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it! Getting there by 8:45 was key. We were one of the first elevators to ascend and there were only six other people in the elevator with us. Unlike the Empire State Building and Seattle Space Needle, they did not feel the need to pack the elevator up, which was refreshing. I felt unrushed. There was a litte cafe half way up the tower where we grabbed chocolate and whipped cream crepes and coffee which we devoured while taking in the gorgeous view from a small bench.)
20.00 Flying birds (toys for kids) bought from street vendor at Eiffel Tower
11.80 McDonald's at Galleries Lafayette (You must see the interior dome of this department store, it's exquisite!)
9.00 Coffee at Galleries Lafayette cafe
69.00 Wool coat
30.00 Dinner at Cafe Beaubourg in Les Halles
(172.60)
9/8/04
181.00 TGV tickets to Mont St. Michel
8.60 Chocolate Croissants and coffee for train ride
125.00 Lunch at La Mere Poulard in Mont St. Michel
12.00 Dessert crepes and beer
16.00 Gifts/souveniers
5.00 Apple brandy sample
6.00 Coffee at pub
(353.60)
9/9/04
8.00 Croissants and coffee
120.00 Purses
30.00 Sephora
42.00 Miscellaneous beer, wine biscuits for gifts and picnic.
32.00 Dinner in Latin Quarter
2.60 Water
(234.60)
9/10/04
(use Paris Visite card to get back to airport)
14.80 Coffee, coke, sandwiches for plane
Airfare: $1230.00
Hotel: 533.00 E or $639.60(7 nights @ 64.00 E per night and one night in Mont St. Michel @ 85.00 E.
Spending money: 1278.16 E or $1533.79
Total cost of trip: $3403.39. (Please excuse my math if it doesn't add up properly)
A note on our hotel: Hotel de la Porte Doree in the 12th Arondissment. We paid only 64 Euros per night for a double room with shower. The hotel is absolutely charming and the service could not be faulted. Our room was a good size, very nicely decorated, and had french doors which opened to a view of a typical suburban street. The street was very noisy, however. But the double paned windows in our room allowed us to sleep restfully. This may be a problem on very hot nights when you want keep the windows open. The staff was very helpful in planning our day and even held our luggage while we took our overnight trip. It may not be the choice for you if you return to your hotel several times a day, though, because it does take about 20 to 30 minutes one way if you have to transfer trains, which we almost always had to do.
This is a very matter of fact way to report on such an incredible trip, but I thought this might help someone out.
Thanks again to all!
In keeping with the spirit of my previous post, I've decided to do a different trip report and discuss details of my expenditures to help out anyone who thinks, as I used to, that Paris is too expensive.
In general, I learned that if you are interested in traveling to see the world, versus traveling for a "vacation", your trip need not be much more expensive than what you are used to spending for everyday living at home (of course minus the airfare and hotel).
We were in Paris from September 2 through September 10 and were blessed by awesome weather. It rained for about two hours our first night there and I'm really happy to have had a Paris-sidewalk-cafe-in-the-rain-with-wine experience! However, the rest of the days were mid to high 70s.
We took it nice and slow, noticed all the little things and took time to take many incredible pictures. Our extras included a day trip to Chartres and Versailles and one overnight trip to Mont St. Michel, which has always been my dream.
Our daily purchases for two people were as follows: (In Euros, exchange rate approximately $1.20 for 1 E)
9/2/04
10.60 10 ride carnet for Metro (We went through these rather fast and ended up purchases two one day Moblis Passes and a Paris Visite each
15.00 Coffee at Esmeralda Cafe
10.00 Wine at Relais du Vin on Rue St. Denis
15.00 Crepe, ham and cheese baguette, two Diet Cokes (called Coke Light)
11.50 McDonalds (I know, but it was late and we were tired)
(62.10)
9/3/04
48.40 SCNF to Chartres
8.00 Chocolate Croissants and coffee for train ride
20.00 Croque Monsieur lunch at Le Cafe Tabac in the shadow of Chartres cathedral
1.50 Post cards
2.60 Water
10.60 Admission to Versailles (half price in afternoon)
3.50 Audio tour
.80 Bathroom fee at Versailles
4.00 Strawberries on the walk back to SCNF station. What an incredible taste!
16.00 Gyro dinner in Latin Quarter
14.00 Bateaux Mouches (Night cruise on the Seine, I was in a tank top at 11:00 at night snapping pictures of the twinkling Eiffel Tower. What weather! This is a must do at night, the buildings and bridges are lit up fabulously!)
6.00 Pecan tarts and coffee for Seine cruise
(135.40)
9/4/04
10.60 One day Paris Mobilis passes
2.40 Chocolate Croissants
10.00 Coffee and Soft boiled eggs in Montmartre
11.00 Cheesy tourist train on wheels to top of Sacre Coeur (our feet gave out and we were desperate)
13.00 Beer at Irish Pub in Montmartre Village
4.00 Postcards
14.00 Ice cream sundaes at street cafe among artists' square at Montmartre
7.00 Coffee and Perrier
8.00 Wine, cheese and chocolate for night by Seine. Noone told me how the entire Seine area becomes the scene of a party on a beautiful Saturday night. People actually brought folding card tables with cloth and dishes to set out on the bridges for their dinner! We sat on one bridge with a crowd of about 50 to listed to a string quartet play Vivaldi and other classics for an hour while we sipped the wine we had brought. Everyone seemed to have a bottle by their feet and a plastic cup in their hand to celebrate the night!
.60 Baguette
6.40 Port at all night club in Latin Quarter
15.00 Taxi to hotel in the 12th (We found out the hard way that the Metro closes at 1:00 a.m., the same time the beautiful lights of the Notre Dame turn off!)
(102.00)
9/5/04
10.60 One day Mobilis Pass for two
5.00 Strawberries to eat on way to Carnavalet in Marais
22.50 Lunch at Crepes Suzette in Marais after Picasso Museum (We are not really museum people, so we thought we would check out some of the smaller museums on the first Sunday of the month when they were free and see if we could brave the crowds or just purchase a museum pass later. To our surprise, we did not encounter an unbearable amount so we ended up spending a couple of hours at the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay that day as well and saved a bundle! In hindsight, I would have been disappointed if I had spent all that money on a three day pass when I only wanted to spend a couple of hours at each museum. I was really glad to have gone, though because the architecture of the museum it self was not to be missed)
3.20 Bottle water
2.00 Bottle water
4.00 Coke Light
25.00 Pasta Dinner in Latin Quarter
(72.30)
9/6/04
8.60 Quiche, pastries and macaroons to eat by Seine
9.50 Coffee at cafe near Notre Dame
6.00 Entrance fee for one to Notre Dame tower
21.00 Two souvenier T-shirts for children
20.00 Men's T-shirt
17.40 Lunch at cafe on top of Samaritaine
30.00 Pizza and Coke at Cafe Roma on Champs Elysees
18.26 Picnic supplies at Monoprix
(130.76)
9/7/04
20.80 Admission to Eiffel Tower
12.00 Chocolate crepes on Eiffel Tower in cafe (I had written off the Eiffel Tower as an obligatory Paris attraction which would be commercialized and crowded. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it! Getting there by 8:45 was key. We were one of the first elevators to ascend and there were only six other people in the elevator with us. Unlike the Empire State Building and Seattle Space Needle, they did not feel the need to pack the elevator up, which was refreshing. I felt unrushed. There was a litte cafe half way up the tower where we grabbed chocolate and whipped cream crepes and coffee which we devoured while taking in the gorgeous view from a small bench.)
20.00 Flying birds (toys for kids) bought from street vendor at Eiffel Tower
11.80 McDonald's at Galleries Lafayette (You must see the interior dome of this department store, it's exquisite!)
9.00 Coffee at Galleries Lafayette cafe
69.00 Wool coat
30.00 Dinner at Cafe Beaubourg in Les Halles
(172.60)
9/8/04
181.00 TGV tickets to Mont St. Michel
8.60 Chocolate Croissants and coffee for train ride
125.00 Lunch at La Mere Poulard in Mont St. Michel
12.00 Dessert crepes and beer
16.00 Gifts/souveniers
5.00 Apple brandy sample
6.00 Coffee at pub
(353.60)
9/9/04
8.00 Croissants and coffee
120.00 Purses
30.00 Sephora
42.00 Miscellaneous beer, wine biscuits for gifts and picnic.
32.00 Dinner in Latin Quarter
2.60 Water
(234.60)
9/10/04
(use Paris Visite card to get back to airport)
14.80 Coffee, coke, sandwiches for plane
Airfare: $1230.00
Hotel: 533.00 E or $639.60(7 nights @ 64.00 E per night and one night in Mont St. Michel @ 85.00 E.
Spending money: 1278.16 E or $1533.79
Total cost of trip: $3403.39. (Please excuse my math if it doesn't add up properly)
A note on our hotel: Hotel de la Porte Doree in the 12th Arondissment. We paid only 64 Euros per night for a double room with shower. The hotel is absolutely charming and the service could not be faulted. Our room was a good size, very nicely decorated, and had french doors which opened to a view of a typical suburban street. The street was very noisy, however. But the double paned windows in our room allowed us to sleep restfully. This may be a problem on very hot nights when you want keep the windows open. The staff was very helpful in planning our day and even held our luggage while we took our overnight trip. It may not be the choice for you if you return to your hotel several times a day, though, because it does take about 20 to 30 minutes one way if you have to transfer trains, which we almost always had to do.
This is a very matter of fact way to report on such an incredible trip, but I thought this might help someone out.
Thanks again to all!
Sep 25th, 2004, 01:49 AM
#2
Night,
Thank you for this great report!
We are taking our first trip to Paris in December and your report was very enlightening (is that a word?)in many respects. Sounds like your trip was fantastic!!!
Thank you for this great report!
We are taking our first trip to Paris in December and your report was very enlightening (is that a word?)in many respects. Sounds like your trip was fantastic!!!
Sep 25th, 2004, 04:45 AM
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What a nice report, thanks for sharing! I think your experience will show many people who have not been to Paris but are planning to go see that it really does not have to be expensive. You can have a wonderful time and experience so much, even when you are on a budget. Glad you had such a great time!
Sep 25th, 2004, 05:25 AM
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Hey, I like those cheesy tourist trains...the one in Nice is fun. Did the Montmartrain give any English dialogue about anything, or does it just cart you around in a loop?
It sounds like Hotel de la Porte Dorée is a good value, if the location is acceptable - have seen the website pix - looks very nice.
It sounds like Hotel de la Porte Dorée is a good value, if the location is acceptable - have seen the website pix - looks very nice.
Sep 25th, 2004, 10:17 AM
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Topman, I bought the Moblis passes at the Metro station window, very convenient.
Travelnut, the Montmartre train did not have any commentary and unfortunately had plastic windows all around which blocked out most of the breeze. But it was heaven to us to be off our feet watching Montmartre unfold before us. The tickets from the train have a sketch of the train on them and made a great scrapbook item.
The hotel was in an excellent neighborhood, we felt safe at all hours of the day. It's on the edge of a park near a roundabout. There was is a monoprix one block away which is a Paris supermarket chain like Target where you can get absolutely everything, and an elementary and preschool school in a charming old building nearby. It was cool to see the Parisians go about there business away from the tourist drawing neighborhoods.
Travelnut, the Montmartre train did not have any commentary and unfortunately had plastic windows all around which blocked out most of the breeze. But it was heaven to us to be off our feet watching Montmartre unfold before us. The tickets from the train have a sketch of the train on them and made a great scrapbook item.
The hotel was in an excellent neighborhood, we felt safe at all hours of the day. It's on the edge of a park near a roundabout. There was is a monoprix one block away which is a Paris supermarket chain like Target where you can get absolutely everything, and an elementary and preschool school in a charming old building nearby. It was cool to see the Parisians go about there business away from the tourist drawing neighborhoods.
Sep 25th, 2004, 11:06 AM
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Night, I am the type of person who enjoys seeing itemized breakdowns of expenses and so this report was very enjoyable for me 
. I think this plan is great for giving people an idea of how to budget for Paris.
. I think this plan is great for giving people an idea of how to budget for Paris.
Sep 25th, 2004, 11:24 AM
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Thanks so much. Before I married my husband 35 years ago I itemized every package of gum and parking meter dime. Since then things have spun totally out of control! I printed your report for him so he can prepare for $15 coffee. Seriously, it all looks doable and affordable and it's great to have someone point out that you do not need to have $300 dinners to have fun in Paris!
Sep 25th, 2004, 11:48 AM
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Great report. And as others have said, I think it really helps some people to see what it really costs for things. That you can indeed have a wonderful time without staying in luxurious hotels and eating at fancy restaurants. I travel like you do (I'm probably even cheaper) and have a great time. I know there are so many people out there (in the world, not just on this forum) who have no idea how affordable it can be and because of that they don't go and miss out on so much. I was recently talking to some people who I don't know well, about my trip last summer. Some of their questions were: "You went ALONE! - without a tour group?!" "How did you manage, how did you know where to go?" "How could you afford to go to Europe?" - and the saddest question - "What's gelato?". I've directed them to this forum. Thanks again for sharing.
Sep 25th, 2004, 07:19 PM
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Thanks for the info about the Mobilis passes..very helpful as I've never used them and will be in France next year.
So, you went to McDonald's...like this is some sort of crime...I once went to a Chucky Cheese in Hong Kong...but I'm STILL good looking and rich, too!
Thanks again for your wonderful and oh, so refreshingly NOT gushy hen-party-oriented trip report.
So, you went to McDonald's...like this is some sort of crime...I once went to a Chucky Cheese in Hong Kong...but I'm STILL good looking and rich, too!
Thanks again for your wonderful and oh, so refreshingly NOT gushy hen-party-oriented trip report.
Sep 27th, 2004, 10:32 AM
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great report - I'm going to print it up and do the day in Versaille and overnight in Mont St. Michel - I've been there before but I want to take my husband - where did you stay in Mont St. Michel? Did you like it?
Sep 27th, 2004, 12:16 PM
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Great report! We were in Paris Sept. 2-7. I remember that rainstorm at night on Sept. 2... but every other day was sunny. It felt warmer than 75 to me, though!
I enjoyed reading about all the food you ate. And isn't the Seine glorious at night? All those people on the bridges! I wish we could drink outside here in the prudey old States...
I enjoyed reading about all the food you ate. And isn't the Seine glorious at night? All those people on the bridges! I wish we could drink outside here in the prudey old States...
Sep 27th, 2004, 02:00 PM
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Thanks for that report. I was also in Paris at the same time, and I agree that the weather, for the most part, was unbelievably fantastic!
Strangely enough, during that 2-hour rainstorm on the night of Sept. 2, my friend and I found ourselves at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was only sprinkling when we decided to go up (which made the line nonexistent, which we thought was a plus), but at the top, it was raining quite hard. It actually made it very interesting, because when the light show started we felt like we were in the middle of lightning bolts. Which sounds awful, but we found it very surreal and were laughing at the absurdity of being at the top of the Eiffel Tower at the only time it rained in several days.
Strangely enough, during that 2-hour rainstorm on the night of Sept. 2, my friend and I found ourselves at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was only sprinkling when we decided to go up (which made the line nonexistent, which we thought was a plus), but at the top, it was raining quite hard. It actually made it very interesting, because when the light show started we felt like we were in the middle of lightning bolts. Which sounds awful, but we found it very surreal and were laughing at the absurdity of being at the top of the Eiffel Tower at the only time it rained in several days.
Sep 27th, 2004, 04:39 PM
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What a great thread! I thought we were the only obsessive/compulsives who keep track of every expense on our trips. I have an entire list of our expenses for our recent 16 day trip in Italy, France, and Holland. I don't know why I keep track of this stuff, but we've done it for years. Hey, would anyone like to know what we spent camping our way down the Skyline Drive in Virginia in 1996?
Sep 27th, 2004, 08:10 PM
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I really appreciate all the positive feedback! I must say I was a bit hesitant to try this approach but I really thought such a post would have helped me out as I was very budget conscious. If you've never been to Europe, it's all a big mystery and you would never have any way of anticipating the little things that make a trip from start to finish.
Radiofanatic,
We stayed at a place called "Le Vieille Auberge" in Mont St. Michel. It's about half way up the mont next to a cemetary. The walk from the main street takes you under a couple of ancient arches and three sets of stairs. The lobby is unspectacularly updated, but the room itself retained a lot of charm. Small, with a sloped ceiling, divided into three sections, fantastic view! We were very pleased with how clean it was, the bathroom with shower was completely renovated. We ran into a couple from Minnesota who happened to be staying at the same establishment. Their room was $125 Euros, (ours was 85 E) further up the Mont above the cemetary. They couldn't say enough about their room. Having traveled the world over they said it was the best room with view for the price they could recall.
A note about your day trip to Versailles. We took the SCNF train to Chartres, not knowing that we would pass Versailles. On the way back, we got out at the Versailles station, but we couldn't exit without the small metro type tickets. I wondered if we would have to pay additional money to exit and return back to Paris. We just showed the agent our printed SNCF round trip tickets to Chartres when exiting and entering, and we were waved through both times. I hope that makes sense.
Radiofanatic,
We stayed at a place called "Le Vieille Auberge" in Mont St. Michel. It's about half way up the mont next to a cemetary. The walk from the main street takes you under a couple of ancient arches and three sets of stairs. The lobby is unspectacularly updated, but the room itself retained a lot of charm. Small, with a sloped ceiling, divided into three sections, fantastic view! We were very pleased with how clean it was, the bathroom with shower was completely renovated. We ran into a couple from Minnesota who happened to be staying at the same establishment. Their room was $125 Euros, (ours was 85 E) further up the Mont above the cemetary. They couldn't say enough about their room. Having traveled the world over they said it was the best room with view for the price they could recall.
A note about your day trip to Versailles. We took the SCNF train to Chartres, not knowing that we would pass Versailles. On the way back, we got out at the Versailles station, but we couldn't exit without the small metro type tickets. I wondered if we would have to pay additional money to exit and return back to Paris. We just showed the agent our printed SNCF round trip tickets to Chartres when exiting and entering, and we were waved through both times. I hope that makes sense.
