Hello all. My husband and I are flying to Frankfurt 12/23 to see our Army son and his family. We're planning a train trip to Paris 12/27, returning to Frankfurt 12/29. None of us have ever been to Paris so we are very excited. Our travel agent has us booked in a great hotel on the Left Bank in district 6E. We're culling our "Paris must-do" list down as much as possible since our time is limited. Any tips you can give me (especially restaurants) I would appreciate. LOL not surprisingly we are all on a tight budget and we'll have a 4 yr old with us. Many thanks!
Posted by
OP
Little, Oklahoma, USA
40 posts
Thanks, Steve. Our reservations are at the Hotel De L'Academie; she got us a great rate including breakfast.
Posted by
Westside, RP, Germany
109 posts
Kim,
On a budget my advice for resturants in Paris is to avoid them altogether. Perhaps stop for coffee and hot cocoa at a walk up stand, don't sit down to drink it. Eat packed lunches or grab some rolls, lunch meat and cheese from a Parisian supermarket. Same goes for dinner. Resturants in Paris are very expensive (especially compared to Germany even in big cities) so if you must have a sit down meal, try a small cafe with a limited menu.
Posted by
Auburn, Alabama
1064 posts
An occasional picnic is ok in Paris and is even a great idea when the weather cooperates. But Rachel's advice to substitute sack lunches for restaurant meals in Paris and to avoid the tables at sidewalk cafes to save money is too severe. Restaurant meals and sidewalk cafes are affordable if you plan carefully. The food is one of the main reasons for going to Paris or anywhere else in France and a sack lunch just does not cut it.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10597 posts
I love a picnic as much as the next person, but you will be in Paris at the end of December. Not exactly picnic weather. We were there that time of year a couple of years ago and it was freezing. It NEVER got over 33 degrees. We were stopping in the afternoons to go INSIDE to warm up and get a hot drink. Sitting outside at a park eating was not going to happen!!
The restaurants in Paris will have menus posted outside, so you will be able to see what they have and the prices before going in. Crepes are budget friendly, but you may find it will be too cold to grab one from a street vendor. You can find them in restaurants too. You can buy pre-made sandwiches, if you can find a warm place to eat them.
Have a great time in my favorite city!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
Hi Kim, There's a great book called "Cheap Eats Paris" that I recommend. The author is Sandra Gustafson.
Posted by
OP
Little, Oklahoma, USA
40 posts
Thanks for all the suggestions. The guidebooks I've been reading suggest prices are better at lunch, as opposed to dinner. Part of the adventure is finding a good meal at a reasonable price. Since the train schedules aren't out yet, it's hard to know when we will arrive and leave Paris. But, we're thinking perhaps a short guided bus tour might be a good way to see a lot of the major sites. Opinions or suggestions?