Spending in Paris

Cost per day varies widely by budget, financial resources and travel preferences. We'd have to know more about your travel preferences. But you know those and here's how to think about the total daily cost: Your daily cost, not including accommodations, is made up of basically 4 things: the cost of food, admission to attractions, local transportation, and shopping. 1) Cost of food: The cost of eating varies widely, depending on where you eat. Sit down "table cloth" restaurants will cost more than cafes, which will cost more than the few fast food places that you can find in tourist Paris. In the areas where most tourists are, there aren't as many fast food options as we're used to here, and you don't have a car to find the ones that may exist. 2) Cost of admission to attractions/sights: In addition to food, admission to sights can add up fast: "major attractions" can be $10 to $20 or more per person, "minor" sights will still cost $5 to $10 per person. This is one area where you don't want to cut back too much, after all, this is why you paid all airfare and hotel cost, to be able to do and see the things you want to do and see. 3) Cost of local transportation: the Metro, RER regional train, perhaps a few taxis at night when you want to get back to the hotel. You can only cut back so much on this, you have to get around and probably can't walk everywhere you want to go. 4) Cost of shopping: only you know this, it's the cost that's most under your control. If you tell us more about your trip, someone may be able to give you more specifics. But someone else's food budget in Paris may not be applicable to you. There's a tendency, here, for people who eat for less to tell you about it, while people who eat for more don't reply to posts such as this one.

The two of us ate dinner four nights in Paris this past June. Two nights near the ET, two nights near Notre Dame. The restaurants all had outdoor seating (horridly hot the week we were there). We ordered from "the menu" -3 courses-and drank either summer beaujolais or house wine. The food was good, but not fancy gourmet. The total bill each night was between $75 and $90. In Monterey, a comparable meal would be about $120. Hope this helps.

Here's another example...we ate often at 2 restaurants on Ile Saint Louis this summer...one had a 2 course prix fixe dinner for $13 OR a 3 course prix fixe dinner for $16. Each one had several different choices. The second restaurant we had a large pizza each and either a salad or a dessert and it cost about $18 each. The food was very good at both restaurants... And everything Kent said above is so true... there are so many variables... but without including shopping, I'd say $50/day is reasonable.

Kent's advice is well thought out, but I don't agree with his assessment that there are not many fast food spots in tourist Paris, or that you'd need a car to get to them. I guess maybe it depends on your definition of fast food. If you only classify it as McDonald's, Starbucks, KFC, Subway, then no, there isn't as much. But I've never had difficulty finding something to eat in Paris that was quick. There is always a sandwich shop w/ simple choices of meat, cheese & veggies on a baguette, crepe stands are pretty common w/ ham & cheese, scrambled eggs or Nutella & banana are typical offerings, and I've seen Asian takeaway delis spring up where you can get everything from a green salad w/ the fixings to hot dishes like noodle soups or chicken & pork entrees to go in a foil tray. They give you plastic cutlery and paper plates if you need them, all you have to do is find a park or bench for your picnic lunch. So it's definitely not that hard to find a cheap meal to go and avoid spending a long time at a restaurant with waiters. I don't recommend you always eat quick & cheap. One of the best parts of Paris is fine dining in restaurants or sampling great food at bistros & brasseries. budget to include dining like that during your trip.

Last summer my family and I purchased a metro pass for the underground train and found it very easy to use and a reliable source of transportation. I was shocked when we got out of the train station below Montemarte and walked by the elevator and realized to late that we were about to climb 4 or 5 flights of steps. It was well worth the view and the crepes we had once on top. We loved the water fountains that were available throughout the city as well and found ourselves filling our bottles often. It was quite hot last summer.