We have someone who is willing to lend us their apartment in Paris. We're trying to gauge what it would cost us per day to stay there. We would probably want to eat out sometimes but we're willing to cook and eat in too if necessary. We won't rent a car. If it's not too expensive, we will jump at the opportunity!

My wife and I lived in Paris for a month last Fall and we self-catered most of the time. We found food prices marginally more expensive than what we are used to in Canada, but the quality is higher. A freshly made croissant in the patisserie across the street was €1.25. We ate scores of them. If you shop at the local markets - there are masses of them throughout the city - it can be even cheaper. A good meal in a reasonable restaurant is around €25. Travelling around by Metro is very cheap by anyone's standards. A good wine is half the price that you will be used to paying. You would be crazy not to grab this opportunity. Go for it.

Look at it this way.

- You have to pay for airfare.
- Lodging is free.
- You'll spend money on food (but you would spend money on food at home). How much more or less will depend on where you live.
- You'll spend some money on transportation (but not as much as buying gas for your car at home).
- And you'll need some sightseeing money; depending on what you do perhaps an average of 30 Euro per day or less (for 2 people) since there are lots of free things to do in Paris.

A year and a half ago I spent $933 (apart from airfare and lodging) for a month in Paris.

Your trip to Paris will cost only slightly more than staying at home. Why would you pass it up????

Depends on your life style.If you are a high maintance type of person that enjoy having lunch and dinner in expensive restaurants then it would be a very expensive day..

When I travel eating at the best places are not my cup of tea and dont mind to have baquettes for lunch or have dinner at medium priced restaurants.

However, I am also aware that when I visit my family that live in different parts of Italy and France,I will be eating delicious gourmet meals.

Anyway returning to your original question it can be economical if you are careful and buy food already cooked, for example roat chicken, frites etc.., at the local market, have ham baguettes or pizza for lunch and have dinner in small economical cafe or Bistro,

Of course the Euros is up again..I miss the good old days when the dollar was very high, I remember that one year one dollar was equivalent to 8 franks..

Ah! Those were the golden days...

It's not too expensive compared to most major cities, but it's hard to say what you expect. If you eat out at all, you'll have to spend some money, just as in any place, but don't expect to get full breakfasts for $7 or a cup of coffee for $1 or anything like that. Things in stores are not as cheap as the US, in general, although some fresh foods are comparable in price (bread is cheap). Entertainment should be about the same as a big US city. Transportation is cheap in Paris compared to a lot of big US cities, you can get a transport pass for around US$25 a week, I think, not sure on the latest.

The big thing will be eating (and drinking) out, and lots of people blow a lot of money on those things.

Hard to say what your idea of "expensive" is. There are plenty of good restaurants where you can get a 3-course prix-fixe for €20-25 per person. Less if you go for 2-course or even get take-out.

There are many museums (under the Municipal museum umbrella) that are free, and also lots of free activites, such as parks and cemeteries. Obviously, one expenditure is public transport but that's not too expensive. If you don't mind cooking at home, having picnic lunches, I can't imagine this will be that expensive.

Like others mentioned, it does depend on how high maint you are.

(Not counting airfare or hotel) I can live off of 20euros per day if needed, but I averaged about 60euros per day simply for comfort. On some days (a few in a row) I would be quite thrifty in order to "save" that money for a wild night out later in the week.

If you do some research, it will pay off on your trip.

~Jay