- How to choose accommodation
- How much to allocate for food
- Trying delicacies
- Shopping in Paris
- Fare
- Excursions
- What is the bottom line
Paris is not a cheap city. Parisians are well aware of the magical effect only one name of their city has on people, and they shamelessly use it. Hence, expensive hotels, and high prices for food, excursions, entertainment. Tourists are willing to pay, so why not take it for granted? How much money to take to Paris so as not to feel like a poor relative there, superfluous at the celebration of life? We recommend that you have as much money with you as possible, for there are many temptations in Paris, and chances are high that a tourist will not be able to avoid them. And you don't need to! On vacation, you can afford a lot, because you don’t mind any money for impressions, and then for memories!
It is better to go to the capital of France right away with the euro. It is in this currency that all calculations are made here. But if you take dollars with you, they can be exchanged for euros at any bank. Most likely, they will accept rubles for exchange, but at a predatory rate.
How to choose accommodation
The cost of a place in Parisian hostels in 2018 varies from 19 to 50 euros. 19 euros will be asked for accommodation at the Jacobs Inn Hostel in Montmartre near the metro. For 50 euros per day you can get a room with a bath or shower in a one-star hotel, for example, in the "Hôtel de la Terrasse" on the same Montmartre. In three-star hotels in districts remote from the center (10, 12, 15, 18, 17), rooms cost from 60 to 95 euros.
For 93 euros you can stay at the Campanile Paris 15 - Tour Eiffel in the secure 15th arrondissement. Accommodation in Montparnasse (quiet and calm 14th arrondissement) in a two-star hotel "Enjoy Hostel" will cost 87 euros. The city center is just over 3 km away, but they can be reached by metro.
Hotels located in the so-called safe areas of Paris, and those that offer a higher level of service, set a higher price for tourists - 100-150 euros. On the Champs Elysees, you can recommend the Elysées Ceramic hotel (111 euros per day), in the 12th arrondissement - the Kyriad Hotel Paris Bercy Village (119 euros).
Rooms in four-star hotels are more expensive - from 150 to 200 euros per day. For accommodation in the excellent Hôtel De Castiglione in the 8th arrondissement you will have to pay 165 euros per day, in the Best Western Premier Opéra Faubourg (Ex Hotel Jules) in the 9th arrondissement - 154 euros.
More than 300 euros per night are asked in five-star hotels, for example, in the Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel (305 euros), Nolinski Paris near the Louvre (408 euros), etc. There are many options for accommodation. Each guest will be able to find accommodation in accordance with their travel budget.
How much to allocate for food
Paris hotels are not all inclusive. Tourists are offered only a continental breakfast, and this is a croissant and a cup of coffee. A person should take care of lunches and dinners on their own.
If the traveler did not come on a gastronomic tour, then he can save a little on food. How to do it?
- eat in small bistros and cafes that offer Turkish or Asian cuisine rather than French. There are a lot of such establishments in Paris. The food here is hearty, and for lunch they charge 15-20 euros;
- buy delicious pastries from local bakeries, which will cost less than a full meal. You can take cheese in a specialized shop for buns and baguettes;
- if you want to visit a truly French cafe, then choose dishes from the special menu of the day. The choice is small, but you will get an idea of Parisian cuisine. The menu of the day offers set meals consisting of a soup or main course, a snack and something sweet. The cost of such a dinner is about 25 euros.
Go to a more expensive restaurant at least once during your vacation. Many tourists are keen to get into Michelin-starred establishments, where tables should be booked in advance. A dinner at such a gourmet restaurant will cost 250-300 euros. There are even simpler establishments in Paris. Tables are always busy in regional restaurants where you can taste seafood delicacies such as mussels and oysters. The Burgundy restaurants serve excellent meats. They should be washed down with wine from the same province. The bill for lunch in such a restaurant will be about 100 euros.
Trying delicacies
Searching for the most popular French delicacies in supermarkets is a crime! The question arises, where are the truly French products sold in Paris?
- cheeses. A shop selling cheeses, and there are hundreds of them in France, is called Fromagerie. The first step is to order soft cheeses that are poorly stored and therefore hardly ever imported to other countries. Connoisseurs also recommend trying goat cheeses, which, due to the pungent smell, may not please everyone. The most popular cheese shop is located on Amsterdam Street. The cost of cheeses varies from 10 to 30 euros per 1 kg;
- truffles. For exotic mushrooms, go to Place de la Madeleine, where the Maison de la Truffe is located. Not only the truffles themselves are sold here, but also the various products that they contain. The prices are different - from 17 to 47 euros;
- foie gras. In search of goose and duck liver pate, tourists go to the Fauchon deli or to the numerous small shops where foie gras are offered to taste before buying. 1 kg of goose liver costs about 100 euros, duck can be found for 60 euros;
- guilt. A large selection of French wines and other alcoholic beverages is available in the Nicolas chain of stores. Red wines cost 5-10 euros, collection wines are more expensive.
Shopping in Paris
No trip to another country is complete without buying souvenirs and gifts for those who stayed at home. What is usually brought from Paris?
Small items with Parisian symbols, however, not French, but made in China, are sold in many tourist places. Their choice is especially great near the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre. Magnets can be found here for 5-10 euros, key rings - for 1, 5-2 euros, plates - for 10-15 euros, colorful guidebooks - for about 20 euros. By the way, it is better to choose books, vintage postcards and watercolors with views of Paris in second-hand bookstores on the Seine embankment or on the ruins of the Georges-Brassens park.
Textiles made not abroad, but in France, which can make good souvenirs, are sold at the Blancorama store on rue Saint-Placid.
Quality clothes at affordable prices from last year's fashion designers' collections are sold in stores labeled "Stock". The new collections are presented in boutiques on the Champs Elysees and on the rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré. A large selection of shoes can be found on the left bank of the Seine on rue du Cherche-Midi. Generally, prices for clothes and shoes in Paris are high, but during sales they drop to an acceptable 20-30 euros per item.
French perfumes and colognes are sold in large shopping centers, in Sephora shops and in Duty Free boutiques in the center of Paris - at the Palais Royal and the Opera. Perfume prices start at € 30.
Fare
Paris's public transport system is complex, but you can figure it out. So, the entire territory of Paris is divided into 8 zones. Accordingly, a ticket for travel within the center, which is zones 1 and 2, will be cheaper than a trip, for example, to Versailles in zone 4. The tourist can travel by metro, RER trains, buses and the funicular installed in Montmartre. One ticket will be valid only when changing from metro to metro, from metro to RER, from bus to bus. That is, you will not be able to travel on the same ticket first by metro and then by bus. For tourists, the most common ticket is the T +, which costs € 1.9 from ticket machines or € 2 from bus drivers. The ticket must be validated before travel. After that, it is allowed to ride on it for two hours in the subway without going to the surface or one and a half hours on buses.
If a traveler comes to Paris for a week or more and is going to regularly use public transport, then it is much more profitable for him to buy a carnet - a "notebook" of tickets. 10 tickets in this case will cost 14, 5 euros.
Also in Paris, tickets are sold for 1, 2, 3 and 5 days. A daily pass costs 11, 65 euros. It allows you to ride at no extra charge for 24 hours within the first three zones.
Excursions
Most of the sights of Paris are concentrated in the city center - on the two banks of the Seine. On the right bank stands the Louvre - the former royal palace, and now the famous museum. The left bank is famous for its Latin Quarter and the Eiffel Tower. You can walk around the main tourist places of Paris on your own, armed with a map and a guidebook. For those tourists who are afraid of getting lost in a big city, we recommend contacting Russian-speaking guides who have developed a lot of excursions around Paris. Sightseeing tours cost from 30 to 300 euros and last from 2 to 7 hours.
Gastronomic tours are of great interest, during which tourists have the opportunity not only to see the iconic establishments of the French capital with a rich history, but also to taste local wines, cheeses, chocolate, baked goods and much more. Walking through grocery markets is interesting, where the guide will definitely introduce you to the best sellers and tell you how to choose a product. A master class from a chef in one of the Parisian pastry shops costs about 190 euros.
Local guides also offer unusual tours that will surely appeal to energetic tourists. Who said that you can only get around Paris on foot or by tourist bus? You can explore the city on a jogging walk, rollerblading or segway ride. All additional equipment is provided by the guide. The tour on roller skates will cost 30 euros for 3 hours. A segway ride around Paris costs 55 euros.
What is the bottom line
If a tourist settles in the most modest hotel and will walk everywhere and eat in cheap cafes, then he will need about 500 euros for a week's rest in Paris. If you add to this amount a few guided excursions, regular transport trips, the purchase of gifts for friends, then you can keep within 1000 euros. To this amount you can add the cost of living in a more expensive hotel. This will give you an answer to the question of how much money it costs to take with you to Paris.
