Budget Tips for Paris

First Sunday mornings (Oct-Mar only):

• Louvre: 9am-6pm, enter via Pyramide to avoid Rue de Rivoli crowds

• Musée d'Orsay: 9:30am-6pm near Solférino Métro

• Centre Pompidou: 11am-9pm at Châtelet-Les Halles

Always free:

• Musée Carnavalet (Paris history): Never crowded, tells story from Lutèce to Haussmann renovations

• Petit Palais on Champs-Élysées: Beautiful Belle Époque building, solid collection

• Musée Cognacq-Jay in Marais: Hidden gem on Rue Elzévir

Arrive right at opening for free days — Lines stretch to Place du Carrousel by 10am. Skip the Museum Pass at €78 for 2 days unless you're hitting Orsay, Rodin, Arc de Triomphe plus Louvre.

Eating cheap in Paris without Champs-Élysées tourist trap sandwiches or McDonald's. Did the math on every recommendation by arrondissement.

L'Ami Jean lunch menu — €15.90 for 3 courses, proper Basque bistro food, Boulevard Saint-Germain near Invalides Métro. Book ahead. Best value per calorie in 7th arrondissement.

Marché Saint-Germain food court — Vietnamese banh mi €6.50, Greek souvlaki €8.20, Italian focaccia €4.80. Indoor market near Mabillon Métro with real vendors, not chains. Beats Champs-Élysées street food trucks.

Boulangeries for lunch — Jambon-beurre €4-5, quiche lorraine slice €3.50, pain au chocolat €1.20. Eric Kayser locations and Du Pain et des Idées near République worth extra €1.

University cafeterias — CROUS locations open to public, full meal €3.30 with student ID, €8.20 without. Sorbonne in Latin Quarter and Jussieu in 5th have decent ones. Not gourmet but fills you up properly.

Total daily food budget possible: €25-30 with café and dinner included around Marais or République. I've done €22 on a good day shopping at Monoprix.

The Paris Museum Pass costs €78 for 6 days and everyone recommends it, but I did the math and most tourists lose money. You need to visit expensive museums to break even — Louvre (€17), Orsay (€16), Arc de Triomphe (€13), Sainte-Chapelle (€11.50) near Notre Dame.

Where it actually works: if you're visiting 2-3 major museums per day and using it for skip-the-line access during peak season at Pyramide entrance. The time savings at Louvre and Orsay alone can be worth €20 in convenience around Châtelet area.

Where it doesn't work: casual museum visitors, people spending lots of time at free attractions like Luxembourg Gardens, anyone visiting during off-season when lines shorter at République area museums. Many smaller Marais museums are under €10 or have free student rates.

Alternative: buy individual tickets for Louvre and Orsay, spend saved money on better meals in Saint-Germain bistros.

Just finished 5 days spending €247 including accommodation. Here's the breakdown:

Accommodation: €95 total (hostel in 10th arrondissement, 6-bed dorm)

Transport: €32 (Navigo weekly pass zones 1-5, covers everything including airport)

Food: €89 (street markets, supermarkets, 2 cheap restaurant meals)

Attractions: €31 (Louvre student rate €12, climbing Arc de Triomphe €13, rest free)

Key savings: stayed near République for easy metro access to everything, bought groceries at Franprix, used student ID everywhere possible, avoided anything in zones around major monuments. Ate lunch from markets, cooked hostel breakfast, one proper dinner per day average €12.

This isn't luxury but you see everything important and eat well if you shop smart.

Look, here's the thing. Tourist Paris around Champs-Élysées and Trocadéro is designed to separate you from your money. Skip these completely.

Seine river cruises. Overpriced tourist boats with bad food and worse wine. You see same stuff walking along quays from Pont Neuf to Île Saint-Louis for free. Save your €20 for real bistro meal.

Expensive restaurants near Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. Any place within 200 meters charging for location, not food. Walk 5 blocks toward République or Marais and eat better for half the price.

Hop-on hop-off buses around Arc de Triomphe. Paris isn't that big. Use Métro like human being. These buses get stuck in Champs-Élysées traffic and you see nothing but other tourists.

Perfume shopping duty-free at CDG. It's not cheaper, they just want you to think it is. Buy perfume in city around Saint-Germain if you must.

Here's what to do instead: walk along Seine, eat where locals eat in République, use Navigo pass. Paris isn't expensive if you're not stupid about it around tourist zones.

Spent 8 days in Paris for €289 total excluding flights. Here's breakdown by arrondissement:

Accommodation: €112 (hostel in Belleville near République, €14/night)

Transport: €29.40 (Navigo weekly pass for all zones)

Food: €98 (Marché Belleville, cooking, cheap restaurants in 11th)

Museums: €35 (museum pass for 4 days covering Louvre, Orsay, Arc de Triomphe)

Misc: €14.60 (laundry, Orange phone top-up)

Key savings: bought groceries at Monoprix République, cooked breakfast in hostel kitchen, lunch from boulangeries around République (€3-4), dinner at student restaurants near Sorbonne or ethnic places in 11th/20th arrondissements. Many museums free first Sunday of month.

Here's something random i discovered. Charles de Gaulle duty free has better perfume prices than anywhere in the city including the Sephora on champs-élysées.

Like genuinely bonkers savings especially on french brands. Dior J'adore was €78 duty free vs €105 at galeries lafayette. Chanel no. 5 was like €30 cheaper. Selection is massive too - entire walls of just french perfume.

Obviously only works if you're flying international but if you were gonna buy perfume anyway just wait until you're leaving. Terminal 2E has the biggest selection near gate K.

Even if you're not currently student, an old student ID often works at Paris museums around Louvre and Latin Quarter. Most staff don't check dates carefully at Orsay or Pompidou.

EU students under 26 get free entry to most national museums including Rodin and Picasso museums in Marais. International Student Identity Card (ISIC) gets discounts at movies around République, some restaurants, and Navigo transport.

Sorbonne and other universities around Latin Quarter have cheap student cafeterias that sell meal tickets to anyone who looks young enough. €4 three-course meals near Panthéon and Saint-Germain areas.