Paris budget getting tighter and tighter!
 

We have reserved an apartment in Paris for October 13-20, 2008. We're using frequent flier miles, so the flights are free.

The apartment rental is 800E per week, which is now about $1400. I'm afraid that by October, it will be closer to $1600.

We were planning on getting a 6-day museum pass, but are now considering a 4-day pass. We're not "foodies," so our food budget should be low, but I'm not sure what to budget for food -- we're thinking about 100E or less per day (so now, about $170 per day). Is this a reasonable food budget? We'll have a kitchen; I usually don't cook on vacation, but I wouldn't be opposed to this.

I've been looking at transportation from airport to apartment, and I guess we could forego the cab to save some more money, but I know from experience that when we land in Europe, I'm usually so tired that I REALLY want to just take the easiest transportation to our hotel.

Here's our dilemma: We're thinking about postponing the Paris trip, and traveling somewhere in the U.S. instead.

We've been to Europe several times (including France, but never Paris). We've been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit, but there are still places in the U.S. we haven't seen and would like to see. We use a lot of frequent flier miles to travel, so we try to get the most "bang for the buck" with them. If we don't make it to Paris this year, we have lots of time to go there another time. I don't want to spend our whole trip worrying about the money we're spending when the money could have been better spent in the U.S.

What do think is a reasonable budget for 7 nights for food? We anticipate having several picnics for lunch, and I've been reading all the restaurant tips.

If you have any other budget tips, please let me know. Thanks very much.

HI S,

>The apartment rental is 800E per week, which is now about $1400. ...

The current quote is $1.54 = 1E. That's about $1200 - $1300 if your bank charges conversion fees.

>100E or less per day (so now, about $170 ..)...

100E pd for food if you are eating in is very, very generous. If you are eating out, that is not unreasonable. That's only $160.

I've saved you $170. :)

((I))

Thanks, Ira!

I haven't actually checked the Euro to dollar rate the last couple of days.

What about if we had croissants/hot chocolate or coffee for breakfast, picnics (usually) for lunch, and then eat out for most dinners (but not at expensive places)?

Since you're going to have an apartment, why don't you change around with your meals.

Stop by a good brasserie for lunch. The menus are much cheaper for lunches and often the food could be better.

Then, take the ingredients for the picnic to the apartment.

Another tip: Change to a cheaper apartment. You could drop 25% of your apartment cost ($400) and you might have more bang for your buck. Cheaper apartments do not always have shoddy digs. You might find something in a differenet arrondisment but that could be good too.

The first vacation to Paris and paying my own bills, I stayed at a very, very cheap hotel. This was in 1978 and my wife and I paid $15.00 per day for the couple. The breakfast was included. Okay, the toilet was down the corridor and the bath was downstairs one floor but IT WAS CHEAP. We bought snacks on the street~crepes, murguez sandwiches, etc.. It was all good food when you're trying to save money.

And, after you've had a good trip to Paris, send a good report to all of us about how to vacation in Paris on the cheap.

Blackduff

Flying to Paris for FREE saves a lot of money!

Hi S,

Food budget - inexpensive to moderate per person

Croissant and a cuppa standing at the bar - 3.5 - 4E.
Sandwich or salad and 1 glass wine
10 - 15E
Dinner 25-35E

Of course, buying a picnic and a bottle of wine would be about 1/2 the price of lunching at a resto.

Very good croissants are about 1.25E at a bakery.

You can get some instant coffee for use at the apt.

Stop worrying and enjoy your visit.

((I))

Hello Samsaf :)

I feel your pain. We are leaving for France in just a few weeks.

<i>&quot;What about if we had croissants/hot chocolate or coffee for breakfast, picnics (usually) for lunch, and then eat out for most dinners (but not at expensive places)?&quot;</i>

Did you plan to go out to breakfast? My goodness, you have an apartment. Why not go down to a bakery in the morning, pick up some croissants or other delicacy, and enjoy your breakfast in your room? That's what we do.

While you're out and about somedays, stop by a grocery store, pick up some sliced ham, cheese, maybe even some eggs. Slap it all together, and you've got the most delicious breakfast sandwich you could imagine!

For lunch, picnics are great. Stop at the pedestrian bridge Pont des Arts with your lunch goodies and watch the boats go by. Or grab a gyro (very filling!), or a crepe. Or maybe after such a filling breakfast, all you need is a piece of fruit and cheese, plus vino!

Remember, you'd probably be charaged some amount ($100-$150) to put those miles back into your account. Would there be a cancellation fee from the apartment agency/owner?

Happy travels!

You could take the taxi on arrival to Paris, then learn how to use the RER to go back to the airport when you leave (taxi=50&euro;, RER 9&euro;)

If your apartment is walkable from Arc de T, place de l'Opera, Gare de Lyon or Gare Montparnasse, you could take the Air France bus or the Roissybus for 9-14&euro; pp, then walk to your apt. If you aren't that close, you could get a taxi the rest of the way for under 20&euro;. These buses are very easy to board, pay the driver, they stow the luggage, no reservations needed.

A very nice dinner for us is 70&euro;, but 40-55&euro; is very attainable. Sometimes we eat walk-up Chinese for 25&euro;... Walk-up sandwiches, pizzas, quiches, salads for lunch or picnics... I think $100 or so per day average for food is reasonable.

You can completely rethink the Museum Pass - IMO it is getting too expensive. Some museums on it are actually free anyway. Make a list of those museums you really care about, look up their entrance fees and compare. The Paris Tourist Office website doesn't provide the fees, but it does provide the museums' websites. http://en.parisinfo.com/

You can buy the 'Carte Orange' week pass for the metro/bus for 16-17&euro; pp; it is good Monday-Sunday. You are then leaving on Monday, so you won't need anything anyway (or just an RER ticket to go to CDG).

I have seen listings for very nice, central apts with one bedroom for a little less than 800&euro;.

We stayed in a charming apartment just a couple blocks away from the more typically expensive arrondissements. It rents for E550 a week. You don't really need to cook. There are lots of charcuteries and markets that sell ready made food; all you need to do is reheat it. French supermarkets also sell lots of different foods than you'd ever find in the US.

Also want to chime in that 100 euro/day for food for 2 people is plenty. A lot of restaurants have set menus (2 or 3 courses) and they run around 20-25 euros per person. That plus a light lunch, you'll definitely have enough money for food on this budget.

100 euro a day is generous for what you describe. You won't actually have to &quot;cook&quot; in your kitchen, as someone already mentioned, just being able to bring in ready-made foods, use the frig for wine, etc. will be great. The idea above of having your larger hot meal at Noon time is really worth keeping in mind.

A money-saver is stocking the frig with basics like cheese, yogurt, fruit, bottled water, wine, but that can also be a time-saver too, so you're not tied to looking for a cafe and a sit down meal when you'd rather be on the run.

Here is a sweet looking studio for only 400 Euro:

http://www.atelierfige.com/paris_studio_5th_arrond.html

I have not stayed there - but I want to!

As for other money saving tips, I don't bring much new to the table - buy food at outdoor markets for dinner (after a long day of sightseeing, one of those roast chickens tastes mighty fine), or hit up one of the Asian take out places on the way home.

You don't want to totally give up cafe-sitting - but try to stay away from cafes in the main tourist areas, and find cafes where students and locals hang out.

And don't buy more food for your apartment than you can eat - I always have trouble with this. :)

That food budget should be fine -unless you plan on fine dining.

There are many casuale places in Paris where you can have light meals at reasonable costs and if you stick to daily menus you can get great dinner deals. (I don;t like having the big meal at lunch - since I then lose action for afternoon activities.) But a sandwich and glass of wine or beer in a little cafe for lunch can be quite reasonable - esp if you eat away from the major tourist streets.

Having breakfast and snacks at home will also save quite a bit.

Thanks so much, everybody. I'm checking out all the suggestions. Will let you know what we end up deciding.

Samsaf - have you paid a deposit on the apartment? And yes, the redeposit on miles is usually per account - I am not sure if you used one or two ff accounts for the tickets.

We are taking a family of 5 (maybe 6) in December. I plan on eating most meals in - just a few out... I like the eating lunch out while we are running around and then doing breakfast/dinner in.

Only you can answer how much do you want to go?

We've sent a $700 deposit check, but he said he won't cash it. We are supposed to pay the whole amount (present apartment is 800 Euro) when we arrive. The cancellation policy is that we receive deposit check back if we cancel up to 2 months before arrival date.

As far as frequent flier miles, it would cost $75 per person to redeposit them, but we would also get back the taxes we paid for the tickets, which is about $70 each, so it's about even.

I've been looking at other apartments all evening. www.paristbestlodge.com, where we have our present apartment, also lists another apartment for 500 Euro per week, but I'm not sure about it.

Also, we're looking at www.allure-apart.com/ (the Eiffel Tower apartment). It would be 600 Euro for our week, and someone on tripadvisor highly recommended it. It's not in the 6th, but it still seems like a nice area. And the apartment looks really nice. But I'm not sure if they rent Monday to Monday.

Julies, what apartment did you rent?

Dawn, I've been reading your posts about your trip. I hope you have a wonderful time!

100E per day for two sounds generous as that's about our budget for a family of 4. We will be in Paris in April so I'll let you know how we fare!
When staying in an apartment we love eating in at night. It's just more convenient after a long day of sightseeing.
Breakfasts are fresh croissants, fruit, baguettes with ham and cheese, coffee and juice (teenage to feed!). We usually eat lunch out and pick somewhere casual for 10-15E per person and nearly always eat dinner in the apartment. My daughter loves pasta so I cook some with a simple sauce (or pesto) at least twice. I add leftover cold pasta to a salad for the next eve. Add wine, olives and more cheese and everyone is happy. If we do eat dinner out it will be on our first and last nights when the kitchen is empty and the cook has the night off!

http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_182.htm

This is where we're staying. We paid in $$ so it helps a little with the exchange rate.

Question on the RER v. cab v. bus v. shared shuttle from CDG. I would like to avoid taking a cab to save some money and also we are arriving around 7am so by the time we leave the airport will be rush hour. Three of us our traveling (my husband, 1.5yr old daughter and myself). Our apartment is right by the Luxembourg RER stop on Blvd St. Michel.

I am guessing that at rush hour a cab could be 90E and an hour? That would be most convenient since we are traveling with a baby and have all of her gear with us (carseat, stroller, couple of big rolling bags). It is pretty pricey, especially for a slow trip.

How difficult is the RER to navigate with luggage? are there elevators both at the airport and at the central paris stops? Would the bus be easier? or by the time we buy two tickets and get a cab from where ever we get off the bus to our apt on Blvd Saint Michel will the taxi be only marginally more expensive.

I looked up the various shared shuttles and it would be about 30E for the two of us. That seems like it could be the easiest. However, I haven't done a shared shuttle in Paris. Do they make you wait a long time as they collect other passengers?

Sally30:

I suggest you not even consider taking the RER into Paris with the baby and luggage after a long overseas flight. The shuttles are quite reliable, and should not take you much longer into the city than a taxi. Granted, there may be others to drop off before you, but the vans are not that large (7-8 passengers?), and there won't be that many stops. With the RER, you may not be close enough to your accommodations to walk, so there may be other transportation needed (taxi, metro, etc.). Additionally, entry and exits to the RER may entail stairs. Take a taxi or a shuttle.