Realistic spending money for Paris?

$2500 for 10 days should be plenty. You do realize there is no reason to bring that with you. Just have it available in your bank account. ATMs are all over the place and you can just withdraw a few hundred EUR at a time. Also you can use credit cards for a lot of stuff, like restaurant meals, shopping, concert tickets. Use a card that has no foreign conversion fees, like Capital One. Same goes for ATM cards. Might think about opening an account at a credit union with no more than 1 pc foreign currency transaction fees.

First of all, you need to start thinking in EUROS and not DOLLARS.
The EURO's exchange rate is $1.22 to the dollar, so that's probably not what you are used to.

I would suggest getting the Museum Pass, if it interests you, and get a Navigo Decouverte Pass for transport. You can purchase any of them in the airport tourist kiosk.
http://en.parismuseumpass.com
parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/
(bring small photos with you)

As for food, entertainment and so forth, it depends on what you like to eat. A baguette sandwich or crepe is normally 5 to 8 EU. Salades are around 15 EU, good hamburgers are 15 EU. Drink tap water, it's free.

Happy Hour(s) are normally around 8h to 22h, but you have to take what they give you for the price.

For 9 days, I would up your budget so you won't have to worry so much about having fun.

Thank you for the replies.
I should specify when I said “money to bring with us” I meant in our checking account. I will not be carrying all that on me.

With dining.. we would love to do a mix of quick meals and sit down meals. We will most likely be doing the museum pass and have plans to go on some side trips. ( st. Michelle/ Normandy/ Disney land etc)

For eating, I would also recommend going to some parks and take a picnic. Especially recommend Luxembourg Gardens
There are lots of great markets in Paris where you can buy very fresh food and also shops that sell breads, pastries - highly recommend Gerard Mulot in the 6th for that and also for excellent cheeses Laurent Dubois - near Maubert market

Thank you Michael!! What a great suggestion. We will be fairly close to the gardens:)

What are the dates for your trip?

I thought your budget would be fine (though I am not a wine-drinker) until you mentioned your planned side-trips. Last-minute train tickets to Normandy and Mont-St.-Michel could be expensive. (For what it's worth, I would not do day-trips there; way too much time and money wasted traveling back and forth. Instead, I'd spend two or three nights in Bayeux and use it as a base.)

I bet your tickets to Disneyland will cost a small fortune, too. Someone commented here recently that Disneyland Paris isn't all that impressive; I suggest some research to see whether you will really enjoy it enough to justify the cost and--more importantly--the time taken away from seeing French sights.

You can research Disney tickets and train fares ahead of time so they don't have to be part of the "great unknown" that must come out of your budget. Check the SNCF website for rail fares. In many cases you can save a lot of money by buying early, but promo tickets lock you into a specific date and time of departure, so you must be careful about your planning. At a glance, it appears that one-way fares to Bayeux range from 15 to 45 euros per person. A tour from Paris to either Normandy or Mont-St.-Michel (way, way too much bus time for me) will be much more costly.

If you have a serious interest in the D-Day sights, I really feel the only way to go is a tour that originates in Normandy so half your time isn't spent getting there from Paris. A full-day tour (in a van, not a big bus) will cost about 100 euros from Bayeux. The Churchill Hotel in Bayeux runs buses from there to Mont-St.-Michel, so you can make one trip up to Normandy and see both areas, but you'll need to spend some nights away from Paris.

In terms of food, you can often find really good carry-out items (including quiches, seafood salad, etc.) from local shops. You'll be able to get a good idea of what's on offer just by looking in the window. This makes a nice change from full restaurant meals; I certainly cannot manage more than one of those per day.

Acraven I love the info! Thank you:)

As for Disneyland.. we are crazy Disney fans and it is one of the things we are most excited for. We bleed Disney. We only have 1 day planned there though and I am told that should be enough.

We will be there In May., so still have a good amount of time to figure out our itinerary.

We always charge air, hotel, and transportation. We almost always pay for hotel breakfasts as a convenience so as not to have to go find a place to eat. By doing that we generally don’t need to eat lunch and will stop for a pastry or coffee. For dinner, if you’d spend $22 in the U.S., assume the same item in Paris will be €22 ($27). By doing a mix of restaurants you can manage your budget easily. We will occasionally go to a grocery store and buy items for dinner along with wine, then go eat in a park. Assuming you spent €30 each for dinner each night, you’d only spend €540 ($659) for the entire trip for meals.

Don’t know if it stills does it, but Disneyland Europe used to offer 1/2 price admission after 5pm. We went when my son was stationed in the Netherlands years ago, and the 5 or so hours we had in the Park was sufficient since it isn’t that large.

Everyone on this forum says that DLP is not impressive. Of course it is a must stop for a Disney fan. And it will be cheaper to get into than Disneyland in Anaheim from my research! Enjoy yourselves and all the improvements made for the 25th anniversary! Depending on when your trip is you might catch the tail end of the celebration.

With 9 days, you will be there for at least 1 calendar week. Get a Navigo Decouverte transit pass for 22.80 EUR each, plus a 5 EUR initiation fee. Also bring a 1" by 1 1/4" passport type photo that will be attached to the pass. Can be a selfie printed off on a printer with the reduction set to the right size, or a photo copy of your passport photo reduced to the right size.

It goes from midnight Saturday night to midnight the following Saturday. It includes all RER, Metro, Bus transport in the Paris region, including the airports, Versailles, Disneyland.
https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/navigo-monthly-and-weekly-travel-passes
So use this during the week to go to Versailles and Disneyland, and either to or from CDG if the timing is right.

Looking at a trip in 2012, wife and I averaged $225/day (EUR/USD was about 1.3 then) and we had several restaurant meals with a good bottle of wine. We stayed busy every night.

You should have a Plan B, in the event that you should decide to go on a picnic.
Only the Place des Vosges (grass) and the chairs at the Tuileries and Luxembourg Jardins will be accessible.
Go to the supermarket for cheaper items. You can take one bottle or can from the pack if you want to.

If you do go to any fancy shops, like Bon Marche, you will be out of pocket in no time.

It's plenty for me but each person has their own approach. Assuming you have your flight and lodging set. You can map out sightseeing and transportation - doesn't have to be perfect - then budget for that. I really like the museum pass. Since it runs consecutive days, figure out how many days and sights on those days, then plan your day trips or sights that aren't covered by the pass for the days without a pass. Transportation is similar, you can think about your transportation needs and roughly budget a navigo pass, metro carnet, city bicycle rental, boat cruise, train, etc.

You can switch days/sights around but this will give you a rough idea what you will be spending. It will help to center your plan around active days on a museum pass.

Meals can be really variable too. I tend to get something quick for lunch then shop set menus for dinner (because I'll take more time for dinner). Figure a few euros every time you want a drink, five euros for a light breakfast of coffee and a pastry (if it's not included at your lodging), eight to ten euros for a take away sandwich and beverage at lunch, and maybe up to 25 or 30 euros for a set menu dinner including a small karafe of wine (could be a lot more if you go to a fancy/popular restaurant).

After that, there's shopping. That's completely up to you. It can be nothing or it can be crazy. I normally don't shop at all. Last time in Paris I shrunk my sweater in a laundromat so replaced it at Galleries Lafayette for 165 euros.

Not sure the Navigo Decouverte would be worth the rigamarole it for only 9 days. Sounds like a situation for a carnet of 10 metro/bus tickets.

Rigamarole amounts to 2 minutes at any Metro or RER ticket window, assuming you have your photos with you. Since the Navigo Decouverte Semaine is a 7 day pass (for one calendar week), it is perfect IMO. You expressed interest in going to Versailles and Disneyland, well outside of Paris. Without a Navigo, you have to buy separate return tickets at that ticket window (or from a vending machine) to get there. With a Navigo, you just scan your pass to open the turnstile, then again when you exit the the station at your destination (that is the way the RER system works). You can't use carnet (t+ tickets) for these journeys as they are more expensive than the inside-Paris fares. Then besides these, it covers all the Metro and bus rides in the city you take during that week.

And if you ever go back to Paris in the next 5 years or so, you can recharge the Navigo when you arrive, at a ticket window or a vending machine.

PS. I know nobody goes to Paris to eat at McDonalds, but for breakfast, an Egg McMuffin and a coffee costs less in Paris that it does in Green Bay, and the coffee is way better.

It is pretty much indisputable that a quick lunch from a carry-out place and a more substantial dinner are the best plan from a sightseeing standpoint, but in France I often found super prices on 2-course lunches that represented balanced meals and offered the right amount of food for me. Dinner combos tended to be larger (more than I could or should eat) and more expensive. So if economy becomes important and you have the time at midday, taking advantage of the lunch deals can be a good strategy.

Many have mentioned a picnic. My question.. should I pack a blanket or buy one there? Also is alcohol allowed in public spaces?

Don't take up space in your suitcases with a blanket!! Many parks won't let you sit on the grass anyway. Just use a bench or chairs. They're usually plentiful.

I think your budget of $2500 should be adequate, but what you didn't include in your original post was local transportation costs. That is not an insignificant amount, especially when travelling outside the city. I agree that the Navigo Decouverte is a good (great) idea. It will more than pay for itself with trips to Versailles and DLP, and maybe to or from CDG. Look at buying advance tickets if travelling further outside Paris ( whether it's a day trip or an overnight). That would save money, but comes with the caveats of nonrefundable tickets and specific departure times. For the days not covered by the Navigo pass, just buy a carnet for metro/bus travel in the city.

The Museum pass will be worthwhile if you plan to visit many of the places covered by the pass. But it requires a bit of planning so that you plan it's use during days when when your intended sites are open. Most of them are closed at least one day a week. And don't forget that the pass is for CONSECUTIVE days. Visit DLP before or after you use the pass.

And speaking of DLP, ignore the naysayers. As a fellow Disney fan, I know where you're coming from. We've been there several times, and really enjoy it. They did a fabulous job of shining it up for the anniversary last year. Just be flexible in your expectations. It is definitely NOT a clone of DLR. One day should do it, as long as you arrive a little before rope drop. They have variable pricing, as I'm sure you're aware. Some days are cheaper than others, depending on expected demand. You can get a 1 day 2 park ticket for as little as €69 (needs to be purchased in advance online).. Try to go on a weekday for lower crowds (-and cheaper tickets)

A picnic doesn't need a blanket. Think, putting a lunch together and going to a park and sitting on a chair or bench to eat your meal. I also see people eating their lunch on the grass on nice days without blankets. The big gardens all have a lot of seating. One place I enjoy is Arenes de Lutice, it's a ruined Roman ampitheater that's used by many Parisians on their lunch break while kids play football on the arena floor. There is some park around it with a lot of trees and more private park benches too.

"Also is alcohol allowed in public spaces?"

Rules regarding alcohol in public spaces differ. Watch for the signs posted outside of parks. Generally, alcohol offenses are not enforced unless the users are obnoxious, violent, obviously drunk etc. Discretion is the word here. This article although dated will give you some idea of the many variables in the answer to your question.

https://www.myfrenchlife.org/2012/06/15/france-paris-rules-on-drinking-in-public-places/

You can enjoy a bottle of wine or beer if you are discreet about it, and if you are not in close proximity to kids playing.
If you run out of Navigo Decouverte money, you can buy individual tickets from the Metro machine.
If you take the Bus, however, you may not use them for transfers.

For what it's worth, I would not do day-trips there; way too much time and money wasted traveling back and forth. Instead, I'd spend two or three nights in Bayeux and use it as a base.

I think that this is great advice. If you want to go to Normandy, spend a few days and really see it. You´ll have the time.

Get a Navigo Decouverte transit pass for 22.80 EUR each, plus a 5 EUR initiation fee. Also bring a 1" by 1 1/4" passport type photo that will be attached to the pass. Can be a selfie printed off on a printer with the reduction set to the right size, or a photo copy of your passport photo reduced to the right size. It goes from midnight Saturday night to midnight the following Saturday. It includes all RER, Metro, Bus transport in the Paris region, including the airports, Versailles, Disneyland.

Is the Navigo Découverte really a pass or is it not just a reusable card costing 5€. The card must be loaded with a fare to be usable. Fare options are 1 day, 1 week (starting on Monday, ending the following Sunday), 1 month, or 1 year. Given your planned itinerary, it would be a mistake not to take advantage of Navigo fares.

For the days not covered by the Navigo pass, just buy a carnet for metro/bus travel in the city.

While purchasing a group of 10 tickets will save you money over the ticket´s individual price, for métro/bus/tramway/funicular travel in Paris, you want the ticket t+, available at 1.90€, 2.00€ from a bus driver, or 14.90€ in groups of 10. A carnet is not really a ticket is it? A carnet is but a group of any 10 tickets which may or may not be tickets t+.

I don´t think that when using the English language menus at ticket kiosks, the word carnet ever appears. It might be better to look for the ticket t+ specifically if that is what you want.

If you run out of Navigo Decouverte money, you can buy individual tickets from the Metro machine. If you take the Bus, however, you may not use them for transfers.

I believe it is just the opposite. Only tickets t+ purchased for 1.90€ individually or in booklet form of 10 for 14.90€ may be used for bus transfers. Ticket t+ purchased from the driver at 2€ may not be used for transfers.

Barbra - it only takes a minute or two to re-charge a Navigo Decouverte.
The groups of kids were probably raising hell or drunk.
You will be fine if you do not go near the kid's playground.

The EURO exchange to the DOLLAR is 1.22 EURO.
You'd better get used to this.

We went to Disney Paris this past summer and loved it. We bought our tickets ahead of time and were abel to get access tooth parks for the cost of one park. It made it easy and efficient to get in. We took the train out ( bought that am as it makes no difference in cost if you buy ahead or not) The train takes you right to the park's entrance. We did both parks in one day.

I think your budget is fine. We did not spend that much for 6 days as a family of 4. We use our credit cards or everything 1) because we get points and 2) we have found that we get the best exchange rate with credit cards.

Have fun!

You have received good advice. I would just like to agree with those that say Normandy and MSM are too far for day trips. Just assume you will be back another time. It took my 4th trip to Paris/France to finally have time for those places. Also, the Navigo Decouverte is a very good idea and will save you a lot of money. It card itself is good for 10 years. You just reload it when you want to use it. Mine expires in December. Maybe I need to go to Paris this year... :)

Enjoy your trip! Paris is my very favorite city!!