How to do a budget friendly trip to Paris
Paris, the most romantic city in the world. It is a popular destination for many tourists and is on a lot of people’s bucket lists. As someone who has visited Paris multiple times now, I can confidently say that it is a lovely place to visit. There are many restaurants to try, cafes to visit, bakery’s to go into (good for all the foodies). Not only that, but you have lot’s of museums to visit, a late nightlife and towns to visit nearby. I know you are probably reading this thinking, how much am I going to spend here? Of course, this depends on your budget. As someone who visited whilst in-between jobs, I can tell you that there are many ways to enjoy Paris on a budget. So, without further ado, here is how to do a budget friendly trip to Paris.
Day 1: Arrive & accommodation
So, your budget is going to depend on how long you are looking to stay. This itinerary is only going to be based on 3-4 days, as you can easily visit the major tourist attractions within this time.
On day 1 you are going to arrive in Paris. From my experience, flying is cheaper than the Eurostar, but you might be able to find some good deals online. If you fly to Paris, get the train/metro into the centre. This is your cheapest option (only a few euros one way) and is very easy to navigate. Before you land, pre-plan your journey to your hotel on google. It will tell you which stops to get off of.
I recommend staying at Timhotel Tour Eiffel. We were able to get a decent price between 3 of us and a view of the Eiffel Tower (as you can see from the picture on the left).
If you arrive early on in the day, walk around the city centre and find a good restaurant. If you arrive in the evening, just head for some dinner and maybe a drink or two.
Day 2: Head to the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and Arc De Triomphe
If you decide to only do 3 days, then this will be your main day. If you do 4 days, then this will be one of the main days, but you will also have something to do on the second main day too!!
You’re going to start off grabbing a coffee and some breakfast in the morning. Once you have done this, head to the Eiffel Tower (free). It is better to do this in the morning if you want good pictures, as it is obviously the most popular and gets very busy during the day. After this, you can either go for lunch, or head to the Louvre Museum (Around 16 euros) to see the artwork, including the famous Mona Lisa. This will take up 2ish hours of your time, but it could be longer depending on how busy it is and how quickly you walk around. Once you leave, head back to your hotel to freshen up and get ready for the night.
Now these next activities are of course optional (like everything on this list), but here is what I recommend. Head to the Arc De Triomphe and take some cool night pictures. Then go for some tasty dinner near by. Once you have done this, you could either go to a cute bar, or find a club to go to. Paris, unlike some cities (looking at you London), have clubs that are open until 5-6am. It means that if you want to nap before you head out, you can. The club I went to was called Jungle. It didn’t get lively until around 2am and was very busy. The club was free entry, but you had to pay for the cloak room and the drinks were a little pricy, so obviously if you don’t want to spend much, I’d recommend drinking before you go.
Day 3: Palace of Versailles
If you choose not to go clubbing and get a good nights rest, prepare yourself for the Palace of Versailles. Have your breakfast and head to the train station. It takes around an hour on the train and then is a short walk from the station. The prices may range, but the cheapest one on the website is 21 euros. You can check out the prices here on the official website. I would say that this trip would take up half of your day, depending on the ticket you choose. When you are finished, head back into central Paris.
Free time – spend some time exploring, get food, go shopping. There are other places around Paris to visit, so spend some time walking around.
Evening: If you go when the weather is decent, you should go back to the Eiffel Tower and sit down on the grass. People often bring bottles wine or snacks and chill around here. You will also be able to watch the Eiffel Tower lights go on if you stay long enough. When it is dark and you have taken lots of cute pictures, head to a restaurant for dinner.
If you would rather go out this day, then do it! You may be too tired for the Palace if you go the day before. Also be sure to check what places are open as this may change depending on the days you go.
Day 4: HOME TIME
Of course I could suggest more things to do, but the whole point of this article was to tell you how to have a budget trip in Paris. So, as sad as you might be, it is officially home time. If you have an early departure, then you will be getting ready to leave quite early on. If you have some time to kill, go for coffee and pastry’s.
I hope you enjoy your time in Paris!! Be sure to check out some of my other posts (especially if you love a budget trip lol)
