ME AND MY WIFE ARE ON A TIGHT BUDGET TO FO TO PARIS, LAUSSANE AND ROME. WE ARE GOING TO TRY THE YOUTH HOSTELS AND TAKE THE TRAIN WITH A EURO SAVER PLUS FOR $296 PER PERSON. I NED SOME SUGGSTION ON HOW TO SAVE MONEY

This may not be very helpful if you've already bought the passes; but if you're only going from Paris to Lausanne and Lausanne (via Milan) to Rome, you can do it for about half that much money by simply buying point-to-point tickets when you get to Paris. You can check fares for Paris to Lausanne and Lausanne to Milan at www.sncf.com and for Milan to Rome at www.trenitalia.com. If you're also going back from Rome to Paris on the train, then the passes might not be so bad.

You might want to consider booking a standard one-star hotel room. They are often cheaper than hostels for two people - plus a hotel gives you a private room rather than a sex-segregated dormitory room. Saving money on food is pretty easy - just take advantage of grocery stores, food stands, and small cafes. I often enjoyed our picnic meals more than food from restaurants. Don't budget too tightly - because the whole point of going is to be able to see museums or sights that you can't otherwise see - so allow some room in your budget for fun stuff. <BR> <BR>I found cheap hotels for Paris at hotelboulevard.com - you can search by area, cost, etc. Generally a one-star hotel will be quite bare bones, possibly a little nosiy at night (bring ear plugs), and you may have a shared bath. But, the hotel will generally be safe, clean, and certainly adequate for its purpose (sleeping). We also found the hotels listed in Lonely Planet to be good budget options. Book Rome as far in advance as possible - it is expensive and tends to fill up. <BR> <BR>Agree with poster above - if you are only making a few train trips it is probably cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets in Europe (second class) than to buy a rail pass. Check ricksteves.com to compare the price of point-to-point tickets to that of a rail pass. Of course, if you plan to make a lot of side trips, etc. that will require a lot of train travel, then it might be cheaper to use the pass. <BR> <BR>I hope this helps - enjoy your trip!

I think transportation and lodging are your main costs, so there's not much more you can do there than suggested. I agree that if I were traveling as a couple, I would not stay in a hostel, you can get a very cheap hotel for about the same rate (I don't think cheaper, at least not in Paris) and it can only be better. If you are literally counting every france, I think hostels will be cheaper and you can save even more if you will sleep in the group rooms rather than a double. I have no other suggestions except the obvious--buy food in groceries or markets rather than dining out in restaurants, although actually, if you look for cheap restaurants, they may be a better deal and give you a greater variety of food (especially cooked) than buying your own. Also, I don't think it's much fun to travel and not dine in local places -- maybe for breakfast or lunch. I don't think there's any other magical formula to save money. I don't know the others, so just can say that in Paris, if you really want to save, you will save a lot if you eat or go to cafes NOT in the main tourist areas (ie NOT on Champs-Elysees, rue de Rivoli or near Notre Dame and St-Germain)--you don't have to go far, just a few blocks. If you stay in a hostel in Paris, most of them are a little farther out, anyway, so there you are. Stay in the 11th, that is cheap and fairly close to things; or try the 13-15th arrondisements. try www.cheaphostel.com, it lists both hostels and some very cheap hotels, as I recall.

One more thing (and, please, someone correct me if I'm wrong), there are three scales of prices for eating in many restaurants in Paris: Least expensive is to stand at the counter/bar, more to sit at a table, even more to sit at the outdoor table. Still true?

If you are a student bring your college ID. Students get discounts in many museums, tourist attractions, etc. <BR> <BR>Buy Metro tickets by the Carne (a group of 10 tickets).

I don't think this has been mentioned yet: For at least Paris, if you will be visiting museums, check out the musee card. You will need to balance admission prices and the number of museums you'll visit versus the cost of the card....

cristina, <BR> <BR> can you tell me what 11 13 and 15 arrodisement mean. by the way what are the must see in paris we have about 3 days to see. thank you

JULIE, <BR> <BR> I HAVE MY ISISC CARD BUT MY WIFE ONLY HAS HER COLLEGE ID CARD. WHERE CAN WE USE THIS FOR DISCOUNTS ie WHAT MUSEUMS OR BUS PASSES. THANK'S A LOT

I have only been to Paris (in Europe),but I can sniff out a bargain with the best of them. We stayed ,by luck, at the hotel that Rick Steeves for his tour groups while in Paris. It is called Castex Hotel,but unfortunately it is being renovated (starting November) and will triple in price starting 3/2003. This site seems to have some great potential for charming and inexpensive hotels: http://www.eurocheapo.com . We are also visiting Rome next year and I concur that it seems very expensive compared to Paris. I was thinking about train travel, but discovered Ryanair.com instead. We will be flying from Rome to Frankfurt Germany (one way) for a total of Euro 57.00 for the three of us. Ryanair has hubs in London,Brussels, and Frankfurt. It is interesting that we are also going to Rome, Switzerland and Paris next year . We are renting a VW Golf station wagon -picking up in Frankfurt-dropping off in Paris for about $450. Not cheap, but it will give us the flexibility that we want. Email me if you have any questions. I love surfing the internet for bargains. Tim

it is MY WIFE AND I......