Hi Love,

Here is a fairly accurate list of expenses from our last trip, per person

Bkfst standing at the bar 1.75E
Croissant and a cuppa

Lunch 5.00E
a sandwich or picnic
1/2 bottle wine

Snacks 3.00E

Dinner at a local 20.00E
restaurant prix fixe

Sightseeing 5-9 E
per sight

Metro/bus tickets 1.00E
1 carnet for 10E

Souvenirs/postcards 3.00E

If you budget $50 per day per person you won't be too unhappy.

Not to get into a p-ing contest about London vs. Paris, but you can do fine in Paris on $50 per person per day if you are careful. Depending on your hotel the breakfast may be a great deal (like at the Ibis properties where you get a nice variety) or a ripoff (like some but not all smaller places that throw you a cup of mediocre coffee and a piece of bread with jam) for the price you pay. An old Paris hotel ruse is to tell you that breakfast is mandatory - check your bill before paying to be sure it isn't charged if you didn't eat it.
The tips about hitting the grocery stores for picnic supplies are right on. And get your bottled water or soft drinks there, too - they are lots cheaper that way. If you have one of those small folding insulated bags, take it with you.

Please, mkingdom--if you LIVE in a place you KNOW the bargains. If you are a tourist you don't. And the analogy between the Ritz London and Ritz Paris is just SO bogus. We spend 100E/night for a squeaky clean hotel in a lovely neighborhood in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. You obviously have a much higher travel budget. And your condescending "if you achieve (so British) the funds" is absolutely uncalled for. If you can't be civil, don't post.
Anyway--we ARE being asked about Paris. And it is a bargain.
If it isn't when you go, maybe you should do more research.
Even the Ibis breakfast is "expensive"--it does give you some cheese, eggs and maybe ham but it is still 7E each. Go to the cafe and have a good lunch.

If the two of you are teachers I remember reading somewhere that you can use your teacher's ID for entry to the museum in Paris. Check around and see.

Ira,

I'm curious where you were able to buy 1/2 bottles of wine. I looked at a few wine shops and little markets and could not find them.

P.S.

Is it kosher to drink wine in public parks or areas? I really did not see anyone doing this when I was there.

Geez, I did not realize that my post would touch off such a heated debate! While I would love to visit London one day, I want to focus on Paris right now.

BTW, m_kingdom, we already have paid for our plane tix, so the $600 is not to "get us there." It is for spending money.

Thanks to the Cape Cod poster . . . I will check out the museum teacher discount.

Thanks to all who gave me some info . . . I really appreciate your prompt and informative replies!

Clevelandbrown, your summary sounds exactly like what we are planning to do -gulp!- next Tuesday. I am estimating spending about $150 a day. If we go over, oh well, but if we stay under, that will be great. I am sure we will have terrific food without spending 100 euros pp on a meal. My tickets and hotel are paid for already, breakfast is included. It will be interesting to see how close we come to what I am anticipating. Since it has taken me so long to get to Paris, I don't want to put a damper on our trip by trying to save a couple of bucks every day. Our tastes and needs are simple, so I think we will come in under budget.

ilovelabs, I will try to keep track of our spending and report back. (My intentions are good, but after a couple of days I will forget them, probably. I'll try to tell from our debits and charge accounts!)

I've never even walked in the door of a $400 a night hotel. Don't know why anyone else would either, but that's a matter of personal taste.

We travel budget because we like long trips. We meet a lot of French travelers where we eat and stay so it must be okay with at least one segment of French society.

We usually spend (per person) 5-7 euros for breakfast, 10-12 euros for lunch and 12-15 euros for dinner. One time in our whole lives we blew 40 euros each on a dinner and it was good, but not any better than a lot of much less expensive dinners. Go to a crowded restaurant and the food will be good.

We get the carnet of 10 Metro tickets if we aren't on a Monday to Monday trip for the Carte Orange. We purchase the museum pass mostly to jump the lines. We take the RER into town from the airport.

We've tried the "show your ID for a discount" because we both were teachers until this year (retired now). My husband got a discount at the d'Orsay and I didn't. That was the only place either of us got a discount. It never hurts to ask though.

You will have a great time in Paris, whether it's expensive or not. You live within your budget and you have fun because you enjoy seeing new things and meeting new people and having new experiences. The fellow in the $400 a night hotel room will have different experiences, different fun and meet different people. To each his own or as the French would say . . . Vive la difference!

You'll be fine. Have a great trip and do let us know how it all works out.

my advice goes contrary to some when it comes to meals. Consider having a nice lunch and then light dinner some days. Lunch is a cheaper meal and the restaraunt is still nice. you can save some there. I had some nice lunches from the prix fixe menu that were really. You will likely drink less wine and save there too. I was travelling alone, so it was more natural to have an informal dinner for me.

Chicgal, I haven't been able to find the Hotel St. Jacques on the Internet. Do they have a website or do you have more information about it? Thanks.

Barb ASKS
>I'm curious where you were able to buy 1/2 bottles of wine. <

We had a whole bottle. I was pricing per person. I have seen 1/ bottles at wine shops.

>Is it kosher to drink wine in public parks or areas? <

Yes, but you must have the proper glass.
(reference to another thread).

I for one know how exciting it is both to plan, look forward to, and experience an holiday. However, whilst I'm sure things will work out perfectly for your holiday, is it not a little unwise to book flights before accomodation, after all they would be rendered useless if you had nowhere to reside in Paris. Say your budget is approximately 500EUR at present, at best, how many days are you in Paris for? This information would allow one to make a more accurate assessment, and I'd imagine help other people advise you on accomodation, and meal issues, etc.

I think 50 Euro (one person) is about my average. I don't eat in really fancy places, but do have some pretty nice meals out. I'm not a big spender on museums or transportation (because I prefer people-watching, sitting in outdoor cafes, and walking). I do drink a *lot* of wine though!

Depends how many days your trip will be regarding the $600.

And 'in four months' I'm assuming you mean summer, so take advantage of all the great bakeries and markets for to-go picnic stuff and eat in the gorgeous parks all over the city.

We have always averaged about $200 day (for two) including everything (except flights) in France. This includes hotels, car rental, gas, tolls, subways, museums, food, etc. We have spent about the same amount in many other countries as well - except England where we spent about double that.

I am wondering what our trip in October will be with the dollar so low. But I figure on our last trip, the dollar and euro were about even - so I can probably count on about 200Euros a day and see what the exchange rate is at the time. We plan on cutting back some on our spending to save a little - just eating a little more inexpensively and watching miscellaneous expenses more carefully.

After all, we spent a week in New York at Christmas, and it certainly cost more than $200 a day!!! By far! So it will be worth it!

RebeccaM - I haven't stayed at the Hotel Saint Jacques yet but I am booked there next month. They are on multiple internet sites including their own - www.hotel-saintjacques.com, and several others including www.france-hotel-guide.com, www.123france.com, and parishotelsandguide.com.
A single on the top floor is 75 euros, not including breakfast. This is slightly more than I usually pay but it looks great and there are tons of great reviews of it on this forum and others.

In terms of the original question as to how much you need per day in Paris not counting hotel or air tickets - obviously you can go as high as you want but I have had some very enjoyable days for about 25 euro per person for food and metro tickets. Lots of days I don't do any "sites" for which there are entrance fees. Just being in Paris and walking around, shopping, etc is great. Of course some days I'll go to a museum or whatever, and then there's that expense. But don't think you have to be doing something for which you have to pay every day in order to have a good time. The churches, parks, cemetaries, many great buildings, sitting in a cafe (the cost of the coffe comes under food) and city itself are free.

M_K

Come on careless one - don't preach to others about typos if you are going to make them yourself.

The data below is a little dated:

http://www.economist.com/displaystor...ory_id=1535901

http://eiu.enumerate.com/asp/wcol_WCOLHome.asp

ilovelabs, I am resurrecting this thread for you.
We were in Paris for 6 days, and I have just calculated that we spent only about $925 for everything besides the airfare, hotel and transfer. $490 of that was for food. We had one very nice meal (Thanks, Underhill, for Au Petite Marguery!), a couple of bistro meals, one Chinese buffet (so unlike what we get here!) and the rest was crepes or sandwiches, which were all delicious (well, okay, one was soggy.) I should add that our buffet breakfast was included with our hotel cost. Then we had several bottles of wine, which can be very inexpensive. We got our bottled water in little markets for reasonable prices. We didn't sit in any sidewalk cafes and drink mini coffees because it was too cold and because I don't like the coffee. (Hot chocolate is wonderful!)
We used two carnets of tickets for the metro, took an evening boat cruise on the Seine, and bought 2 3-day museum passes. I spent about $150 on toiletries for myself and as gifts at Sephora, Monoprix, and Au Printemps.
I don't feel like we cheated ourselves out of anything. My only regret is that we didn't have more time there!

M kingdom is spouting meanspirited rubbish as usual.
For a visitor of modest means, Paris is at the very *least* on the same level as London, although overall, you can find better quality in Paris for the same or less amount of money. We live in Brussels and spend a lot of time between the cities as visitors and there is simply no comparison. In many of the nicer areas of Paris (like the Auteuil section of the 16th), you can find charming, but modest little hotels that offer CLEAN doubles with WORKING private bath. In the average cafe, a morning creme (coffee with steamed milk) costs under 2 euros.
As for good hotels costing a minimum of 400 euros a night, that is just plain GARBAGE. We were just at the Sofitel Le Parc in the 16th (one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Paris) in a very nice room, lots of luxuries (Bang & Olafson TV, premium toiletries, turn down service, chocolates delivered to the room by the hotel staff at no charge), breakfast and tax included, AND valet parking of our car for under 200 euros a night!! What's more, the staff offered both efficiency and Gallic charm, as opposed to the Basil Fawlty-type British churlishness that m kingdom wallows in.
With some smart shopping, you can find a nice little hotel for $70 a night (I disagree with those who say go for an apartment; it's not necessarily cheaper than a nice little hotel, especially for just 2 people).
Re meals, eating a bigger meal at lunch often nets you some good values. Les Fous de l'Ile on the Ile St. Louis, as just one example, offers a very nice, well prepared 3 course lunch for 13 euros. That type of meal is available at similar restaurants all over Paris.
How long are you planning to stay? $100-$120 a day should take care of everything without feeling like you're pinching pennies TOO much, even with the bad exchange rate.
Example: croissant and coffee for 2 people: 8 euros
prix fixe lunch for two: 35 euros (carafe of water is free, wine can be as little as 3 euros a glass).
Evening light meal (crepe, sandwich, or frites, etc.) 15 euros
(you can flip this too, by having a sandwich at lunch and a prix-fixe dinner at an inexpensive restaurant)
Average metro and museum costs for two, using passes: 12 euros. That's 70 euros and at say, $1.35 to the euro, you're still in the $100 range.
Take advantage of the many free concerts that are hosted throughout Paris every week (get a copy of Pariscope as soon as you arrive, it's under 1 euro).
So, if your total non-lodging budget is $1000, you should be able to spend a happy week for about $750, and still have something left over for souvenirs for yourselves and your nice relatives. Enjoy!!
FYI, for future reference, ignore about 90% of what m kingdom posts. Occasionally, he/she offers some helpful advice in a civil tone, but most of the time it's sarcastic nonsense from an embittered blowhard.

Hey BT,

Don't mince words. Tell us what you really think of m_k. :)