My husband and I have been planning a 15th anniversary trip (sans kids) to Rome and Paris since February. In the past 3 months, we've had a huge number of unplanned expenses, from hospitalizations to job loss to Hurricane Ike recovery (that 2% deductible will get you!).

While the logical side of my brain is saying *be responsible! don't go!*, my heart tells me otherwise.

So, for all you worldly travelers, are there any nuggets of wisdom you can share to help us work out a sensible shoestring budget? Our flights are covered using miles, but we'd need to reconsider lodging and food to accommodate a much leaner wallet. Any decent, safe places to consider? We'd be in Rome for 4 nights and Paris for 2 late next month.

Many, many thanks.

D

Just look to various lower cost options for your lodgine like pensiones, B&B, convents, 1-star hotels, even private rooms at a hostel.

Don't be afraid to eat by making picnics from the grocery store.

Think about renting an apartment in Rome instead of a hotel. The daily charge is usually lower, and you can eat some of your meals in your apartment. Another money saver is to go during museum week in Italy. This is a week in early May in which all the state museums are free.

I question whether spending two nights in Paris justifies the expense of going there and the time you'll waste en route. There's more than enough to do if you spend six days in Rome, and Rome has more free things to see (churches, public squares, museums if you go during museum week) than Paris.

Suze and SJJ, excellent suggestions, all. Thanks.

If you (or anyone else) have specific suggestions on where to stay, we'd be much obliged. Inexpensive and safe do not automatically go hand in hand and we welcome any thoughts. We've never traveled to Europe before and applied for passports specifically for this trip.

Also, as our return flight stopped in Paris, we added on a stopover and then an extra night back when life was simpler (again, having never traveled before). Having paid the change fee once, we'd rather not do it again

check realrome.com for affordable apartment rentals in Rome. The owner, Tim Pearson, is very helpful. Our family rented a 2 BR which would be much more space than you need, but there are listings for smaller (and less expensive) apartments.
With an apartment you can also save on food if you prepare some of your meals

I'd like to return to something mentioned in my post and Vttraveler's. Eating all your meals in restaurants costs $25 per day per person as a bare minimum, and usually a lot more. Eating breakfast and one other meal in an apartment cuts this way down, and it's no hardship if you like Italian bread, Italian salami, Italian cheese, Nutella, and jam. This is one big saving. The other is learning how to use buses and the metro to avoid taxi expenses. And finally, I suggest checking churches and museums to see what you can see free. Good luck.

I agree with sjj about the food options for apartments. Another plus is the excuse to visit the markets, bakeries and small stores. WE stayed in the ghetto neighborhood near Campo de' Fiori in Rome and enjoyed shopping there as well as at the local supermarket.
There are threads about the Roma Pass that you probably want to check out and as sjj notes, public transit is good and inexpensive.

Sorry you have had such a rough year and hope that you have a great anniversary trip.

In Rome you might want to look into staying in a convent. There are some which are not just for solo women traveling. Google "convent stay Rome" and you'll get a list of options. Also search this board.

I agree that an apartment stay is an economical option, but most have week minimums and/or hefty cleaning fees for less than a week. Still, you could check www.vrbo.com for some that rent by the night.

Restaurant meals will set you back quite a bit, but there are plenty of ways you can save money on food. You can buy pizza by the slice. You can the makings for a sandwich (or have one made) at the deli counter of most grocery stores. You can visit a wine bar and have a glass of wine and some excellent cheese, salami, olives, etc.

I went to Rome in March with my husband and two friends. While we did eat a lot of restaurant meals, we also did a lot of what I said above. You can see my travelogue for specific recommendations:
www.wired2theworld.com

Congratulations on your anniversary and your first international trip!

Many apartments in Rome are available for stays shorter than a week although per night charge might be higher for these short stays

A bit off topic but since you say it's your first time traveling to Europe, I'll make the pitch to "pack light". Traveling is so much easier if you go with just one small to medium sized wheeled suitcase per person. You simply don't need many clothes for a 6 day trip of casual sightseeing. Do pack two comfortable pair of shoes!

Thank you! As an aside, my maternal grandmother was an Ellis Island Bongiovanni. Cured meats, cheeses and bread are in my blood! We had already planned to visit local markets and the like -- you can't get a real feel for anywhere unless you walk amongst the locals. You know, "when in Rome" and all that jazz?

We'll check the links above and try to find a way to make this work.

D

Hi Hernandez44! I've been planning a "shoestring" trip to Europe for the last couple of months, as well, and some fellow Fodorites had some GREAT ideas of less expensive hotels in Paris on a thread of mine: http://tiny.cc/zmdfI

Big favorites in the 5th (all 113 euros or less): Hotel des Grandes Ecoles, Hotel Familia, Hotel College de France.

In Rome, we searched on Venere.com for hotels in our price range and desired neighborhoods and then cross checked them on Tripadvisor. We settled on the B&B Best Vatican (89 euros). If you can't find an apartment in time, this method takes a bit of time, but it's pretty effective.

Have a great time and happy anniversary!

I'm so glad that you are still planning on taking your trip. You need it!

I like to stay in apartments, but since you have not been to Europe, and since you are not seasoned travelers, you might be better off in an inexpensive hotel or B&B in both cities.

We used the Roma Pass while staying at the Arco del Lauro B&B in the Trastevere section of Rome. Arco del Lauro was fine, and the Roma Pass really helped; we used public transportation for everything that we couldn't walk to. Combined with the discount for museums and sights, it helped us to stay on budget.

I strongly suggest doing a good bit of reading about getting around by public transport in both cities. As budget travelers, this knowledge helps us to get around, and stay on budget.

Picnic type foods in both cities are easy to come by. No problem finding lots of good and inexpensive things to eat.

Hello hernandez44

There was a thread titled 'The 100 Best Free Things to Do in Paris' some while back. I have managed to locate it, but don't know how to make it appear in this message (perhaps someone can enlighten me?)

The original author was one of the Editors Katie_H.

There are lots of freebies listed for Paris, so I hope you can locate it.

Happy travels, Di

We had a trip to Europe planned for May/June this year and 2 weeks before we left our son announced his engagement and rapidly followed with the news that it was going to be an October 2008 wedding!! So we were on a mission to reduce our costs overseas.

We stayed in apartments in Florence and Rome and it was wonderful. In Paris we saved $ by making our own coffee and going for a 'croissant run' each morning. Enjoying freshly baked croissant each morning in our own little apartment was one of the great pleasues of the trip. We also shopped at local markets and cooked for ourselves. In Florence (4 nights) we enjoyed a simple pasta and store bought sauce with some crusty bread. In Paris (10 nights) we sometimes made an evening meal of one of those gorgeous roasted chickens and potatoes that we bought from the local butcher. In either city a filled baguette or panini plus fruit/pastry was plenty for lunch and never more than 5 euros. In Rome we often ate pizza which is not expensive.

We mastered the buses and metro and bought tickets that reduced our travel costs. Only caught taxis twice, once when we were caught in an absolute downpour at 11pm and at that point we didn't care about the cost!!

It can be done, and without feeling deprived. By reducing restaurant costs we were able to visit the galleries etc that we planned on seeing. We still had plenty of cash for gelato etc and for some gifts/souvenirs to bring home.

I hope you do go and that you have a lovely time, it sounds as though you need some R&R.

This is the thread on the best free things to do in Paris
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35143882

bookkmarking

My wife and I spent a week in Paris last fall, and in two weeks are going to Rome and Florence.

You can have a great time in Paris without spending a fortune. Some quick recommendations:

Use the metro! It is easy, safe and cheap! Just learn the difference between the regular lines and the express, the express takes two tokens.

Buy lunch from street vendors. The sandwiches and freshly made crepes at the stands around Notre Dame were fantastic!

Or buy fresh bread, ham cheese and wine from a local store and make your own picnic.

A fantastic place for take out is Strohers on 51 Rue Montorgueil. The is the pastry shop the Queen of England goes to when she is in Paris. Their take out sandwiches are wonderful and the pastries are all a work of art.

Also, any of the falafel shops in the jewish quarter are great lunch for cheap. This is where the students go for an inexpensive lunch.

We also enjoyed lunches at the museums, not like the industrial cafeterias at our museums. We particularly enjoyed the restaurant at the Musee Dorsee. It is quit elegant and reasonable.

Enjoy

Racer 042

well, I guess my idea of cheap is different than others who have helped. I am an experienced traveler to Paris and I can tell you it is possible to have a great time in Paris for very little money.
Every Sunday there are free concerts in the churches. If you will be in Paris on a Sunday, just spend 35 euro cents at any news kiosque and get a Pariscope magazine that tells you where they are. The Eiffel Tower visit is more powerful from the ground than by going up, I recommend you take the metro to Trocadero, view it from that perspective then walk down to see it and I recommend you do this at night. Metro tickets are quite cheap if you buy them in packs of 10 called a carnet. One tip, you are supposed to punch a ticket on the buses but you don't really have to, nothing ever happens if you don't and you can see so much more of Paris by bus than by metro. What else is free and fabulous? The flea market on Sat,Sun and Mon, take the metro to Clignancourt. The Luxembourg Gardens any time. The Champs Elysees at night. Window shopping rue St. Honore or Avenue Montaigne. The gourmet food dept at dept. stores Bon Marche or Galleries Lafayette. A day in Montmartre. Hint: the cafes there used to be expensive but now they are cheap cheap. The Pyramide at the Louvre and the passageway between the pyramid and the Palais Royale metro where you can see a LOT of the sculpture. The gardens at the Rodin Museum...most of his major pieces are out there full sized. Any of the churches...Notre Dame of course, St. Sulpice and St. Eustache top the list. The Stravinsky fountain at the Pompidou Center. Things worth paying for that don't cost much would be the Musee D;Orsay, a boat cruise again night is best, the Arc de Triomphe for the best view in Paris.
Be sure you have a GOOD map and a metro map and a few carnets of metro tickets or take the buses for free (bus maps are on the back of the bus stop kiosques).
To eat on the cheap absolutely buy your food in a grocery store, markets are overpriced. Buy your baguettes from the boulangerie though. Especially do not buy soda at a cafe, buy it at the grocery store. You do not need bottled water, Paris water is excellent, buy one bottle in the grocery store then refill. For a comfortable, cheap nofrills but lots of charm place to stay, the MIJE, you can do a google search for that, ask for a double in any of their three hotels. They are spotless, the location is fantastic right by the Ile St. Louis. There is a grocery store a block over, great transportation here as well.
If you want a regular hotel consult Lonely Planet they won't go wrong. Any cafe/brasserie off the tourist path is likely to be quite reasonable unlness in the 6th or 7th, 8th or 16th arrondissement. Just don't eat in those areas...bring your own or visit and leave. Always get the formule if you are having more than one course, ordering a la carte is expensive. If you do go in a cage, stand at the bar, it is half the price of a table. A curious Paris custom. From either airport take RER B into Paris for 8 euros. easy as can be.
Sorry you had such a tough year, maybe your trip is just what you need.