Need Some PARIS Help

yeah not for a couple, $100 each.

If you want to cut costs:

1) You can (and should) decline the breakfast and go to a pastry shop to save time & money.

2) $50 euro per person is enough for a nice meal, but in Paris not a fancy one. Don't worry about that--a nice meal in Paris is--nice.

One trick for eating at a posh place is to go there for lunch, which is cheaper than dinner.

Another dollar stretcher would be to save the "nice" meal for Epernay, where the food is (I am sure) great and the prices are sure to be better.

3) To save a little more, don't buy your museum pass before you go. They are for sale everywhere in Paris with no surcharge. Picnic. Don't take cabs.

I think maybe Kent was going to say that $100 per person per day is feasible but that $100 per day for both of you may be difficult. If so, I agree. A shame to spend a bundle on airfare and lodging and then have to scrimp on what you came to see.

Your concerns show you have your eyes on the prize. Don't stress out! It will be great.

It can be done but carefully. Consider staying at Hotel Kensington nr Eiffel Tour and rue cler area. Eat a fab meal at La Varangue 1 block from hotel. skip hotel brfast and east at pastry shop or crepe stand nearby and stand for your cafe au lait saves lots.. Nightlife, strolling the Seine is fabulous or take a Seine cruise. You do not need to pay for the ambiance and beauty of Paris. There are many free church concerts all this is in Ricks guidebook. Do not be nervous I manage every year. It is best not to drink alcohol. If you want some buy a bottle of french wine and have a picnic on the garden at the base of eiffel tower everyone does it and it is wonderful.have fun.

Thank you for your tips.

We are doing some more hotel research this evening. We are both big foodies so we want to eat lots, everything from street food to a white table cloth dinner.

So i'm assuming breakfast at hotels is NOT required? Most of the emails i've gotten have said something to the affect of 'room is 90EURO, breakfast is an additional 7EURO per person'

I think we will save our nice meal for Epernay, and again in Brugge. My mothers wine rep is working on helping us get into a Champagne vineyard for a good tour and hopefully they can help us with finding a nice place for a 'romantic' dinner.

Thanks for the tips thus far! Keep 'em coming!

Ask your hotel what comes with breakfast. Sometimes they put on a huge spread for 7 euros which for me was a great price! Having a petit dejeuner at a cafe will cost you the same if not more and you get way less. Also if you are a coffee drinker, most places you get free refills. I like eating lots at breakfast so I don't need as much throughout the day. Saves me a little money!
We stayed at the Hotel Sevigne (in the book) and we really liked it. It was 89 euros for the two of us and it cost 6 euros for a decent size breakfast.

This is a cut & paste from an answer by Jona, a Paris resident, from a discussion of a few weeks ago about the cost of dining in Paris:

I typically budget myself when eating out accordingly (per person).

Petit-dejeuner - Croissant/pan aux chocolat, espresso or cafe creme €5 to 7

Dejeuner - Brasserie or Cafe - look for the Menu or Formule options €12 to 18

Diner - Bistro, Cafe - €18 to 30 including wine

Diner - Restaurant - €25 to 50 with wine

This being said - you can always find cheaper alternatives - such as Pizza one night (always great) because the pricing above is "French Cuisine". You can easily have a dinner for €15 to 20 per person including wine and dessert if you go Italian.

Sushi, Crepes, Panini, Sandwiches at lunch can help save Euros.

Save some cash for wine instead of coke !!

You can decline the breakfast. A typical charge for breakfast these days is €8 or more per person, that's $25 for breakfast--you can do better than that by walking down the street.

I can manage to eat very cheap in Paris.
I get yogurt and fruit for breakie and keep in room fridge( mini bar) . I go out for a coffee( 3-5 euros max) .
I get crepes or sandwiches for lunch and eat on the go , 5-7 euros including a canned pop from a corner store.
I always buy an ice cream, about 5 euros.
I spend a bit more on dinner since I saved money on breakfast and lunch. I can manage on 20 euros a night for dinner, but can splurge on a really nice meal once or twice per trip( last time I treated relatives to a meal out that cost the 4 or us 348 euros for lunch) .

Thanks for the tips on eating!!

What i'm thinking we'll do is eat on the go a few days when we're planning on doing a lot of walking around. One day we want to sit at a cafe or bistro for a few hours and relax and enjoy ourselves. I know it might be a few extra euro's but its something we want to do, and its something we both enjoy doing at the brasseries in town here.

forgive my ignorance but...are street stands normal? are they everywhere like they are in NYC? Also, walking into a bakery and just getting a pain au chocolat, etc and walking around is the norm. as well?

We don't want to stick out like soar thumbs, so we're trying to do as much research as we can.

If you do not want to stand out like a sore thumb, then do not wear sneakers or track shoes, wear your smartest clothes in Paris at least,for girls do not wear US style "anchorwomen" make up.And speak quietly!Parisians dress very simply and stylishly with very simple but elegant hairstyles. You can eat very well buying food from markets, a baguette, ham cheese and tomato, sit on a bench( do not walk around eating, it is tacky) and with a small knife and two small spoons which you wash each day( which goes into check in baggage) make yourself a delicious lunch,a tub of yoghurt, a divine peach or banana and save those euro for the perfect coffee, enjoyed in a Paris cafe watching the world go by.Nothing beats it.Paris is the most wonderful city in the world-have a wonderful time!

JB- Yes, you can walk into any Bakery and get one of anything and walk out. We went for a pain au chocolat and other goodies (one for each of us) every morning for breakfast (made coffee at the apartment).

I just finished reconciling our financials from our trip to France. I think $100 is very "doable"- per person, especially as a student. My daughter was just there for a semester abroad and made several trips into Paris with touring and food for much less than $100 per day. We (family trip) spent $143 per day per person, not including flights in/out, souvenirs, and not including the apartment, but we did some expensive things. It includes 3 daytrips outside the city; Normandy (private tour guide), Disney, Versaille and all the transportation/touring costs. We spent $65 per person per day, just on food (about 40% of our budget minus the above), but we ate all lunches/dinners at cafes/brasseries. I can tell you that even the cafes vary greatly in price. If you do some research here you can plan some very nice meals at less expensive prices (ie. we found Cafe Lescure, recommended by Kent here, to be a wonderful bargain- 24E; 3 course dinner menu and it comes with 1/2 bottle of wine). The nice part about Paris is you have the table for as long as you want, even just for drinks- so you can still have the nice experience at cafes even if you're eating a picnic before or later in the park. We were sitting at Les Deux Magots for dinner and I remember noting how many tables around us were just having drinks and sitting there people watching and they were there at least as long as we were. I'd feel bad sitting at table at a nice place like that during the dinner time in the US with one glass of wine for several hours, but it's a common thing in France.

JB, try hotwire.com for your hotel. The benefit of going thru hotwire is the hotels are prepaid so that's one less worry before going. A 3 to 3-1/2 star hotel is a hilton, crowne plaza, sheraton. So if you are on budget you can find a lower star hotel for cheaper. In London I am staying at the Sheraton for $89 (dollars!) per night for 3 persons.

Or, see if you can get an apartment. Some places will allow you to rent for 3 days. I found mine at rentalo.com. My apartment came to 111 euros a day, and we have a full kitchen, a washer, and 2 bikes to use.

Your budget of $100 per person is do-able. Sure you'll not going to eat in fancy places but on a day or two you can splurge, and then eat modest the rest of the trip.

Spurge eating during lunch. Its cheaper and you still get linen napkins. My splurge is eating at the Eifel tower for lunch. The prefix is 36 euros per person and it includes VAT. Dinner, however, is double! So I get to eat in the Eifel and stay within budget.

Also as others said, skip getting the Muesum pass before hand. Get it there. The fees they charge us for the "Convenience" is outrageous.

For a cheap breakfast in France or Italy walk into any bar and have a cafe plus croissant standing up for about 2 Eu.

Thank you all so much for these tips - things are starting to shape up nicely.

I found a great website last night with apartment information - they all had such great prices and great location, but unfortunately they were booked for the week i'll be there. However, they did refer me to some AMAZING Bed and Breakfast places on vineyards or farmhouses in Epernay where we'll be - we might stay in Ay because it seems more scenic!

I think we'll splurge one or two nights - we don't get there until 11:35 on the 12th so that day will most likely be a short day of walking around and getting familiar with the place - nothing fancy for dinner, a cafe for sure. Versailles is one day, and we'll be doing all the 'main attractions' the other too, so i'm hoping we wont spend nearly as much and can really splurge our last night or so.

I'm saving up for the French Riviera so that maybe if we have extra $$ we can enjoy a nice meal by the water as our 'sendoff' to Florence!

Does anyone know about the Paris Museum Pass? I was informed that students don't have to pay for most museum entrances? Does anyone have any information about this?

click here for budget tips on Paris (from the LA Times)

JB, Students UNDER 18 don't have to pay for many museum entrances, students over 18 often get reduced rates, but not free. Bring student card for id.
You know you can google all the major sites in Paris and get the exact admission rates.
Louvre apparently has had some free evenings for students but that promotion ends soon I have heard.