FRANCE (PARIS) BUDGET GUIDE
When we travel, I try to walk the fine line between “how little can we spend” vs “how can we make this an enjoyable experience”. This means splurging in some areas and cutting in others. I also pride myself on being a budget savvy traveler, which means I scrutinize every expense a little extra.
In 2022, we spent two months traveling through Europe. During the month of July we made Paris our home base, visiting nearby sites including Versailles, Disneyland Paris, and taking a weekend trip to the French Alps in Annecy. I’ll walk you through all our expenses and where we could’ve cut or splurged a little more.
Total: $5,675 USD (or $2,837 per person)
Transportation: $1,667
Accommodations: $1,896
Activities: $506
Food: $1,062
Souvenirs & Shopping: $222
Misc: $322
Note: Due to the nature of this trip, I’ve averaged the cost of total expenses by percentage of time spent in Paris and France. All of these expenses are for my husband and I. If you’re traveling alone, your costs will be about 60%, accounting for similar accommodation prices.
Transportation: $1,667
Flights: $997
Because of the structure of our overall Europe trip, we booked flights into Athens and out of Berlin two months later. Our overall flight cost was $2,623 and this is similar to round trip tickets for two from the US to any major European city. Since we basically took five isolated vacations within the span of our overall trip, I’ve accounted for 38% of the flight cost, as we spent 38% of our time in France.
If I were taking a standalone trip to France now, I would only consider going if the round trip flights were under $800 per person. Flight prices vary widely, but when major airlines are running deals, you’re often able to find tickets for $500 in basic economy or $700 in the main cabin. I never, ever book basic economy and in most scenarios, I would not recommend it.
Train: $491
Again, here we purchased a 10-day, two month Eurail pass for our entire journey, and I’ve broken the $773 cost out to only account for time spent in France. This assessment is more accurate than flights, as all of the train travel was roughly the same price.
With this pass, we were able to take unlimited trips on each day we activated the pass. For some journeys, this meant the ride was completely free. For most though, we had to pay a small seat reservation (between $10 and $30 pp) in addition to activating the pass.The Eurail pass also includes discounts and freebies across Europe, like the ferry cruise we took in Interlaken.
Within this leg of our journey, we took one train from Interlaken to Paris, round trip from Paris to Annecy, and from Paris to Berlin. Our seat reservations into Paris were $40 pp and our seat reservations to Annecy were $47 pp.
Public transport & Uber: $179
We almost always get around by public transport when visiting cities. Especially in European cities, where the timetables are easy to understand and use. We used the metro extensively during our time in Paris and I cannot recommend it enough.
You can buy most transport tickets at metro and train stations, but not usually at bus stations so prepare ahead of time. Most of the routes within the Paris metro system can be taken with the regular tickets, but some, like the route out to Versailles or to Disneyland Paris, must be purchased separately.
Accommodations: $1,896
I was very pleased with how affordable our stays were in France. My general rule when booking accommodation is to stay as centrally located as possible in the cheapest space that looks comfy.
Paris, France (29 nights): $1,616
We booked this apartment in Paris for a steeply discounted price for a month. We have mixed thoughts on it. The location was excellent and the apartment cute, but it was quite possibly the dirtiest lodging I’ve ever stayed in. When we notified the host, their solution was for the property manager to clean it again, though I asked for a professional house cleaner. So we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned the place ourselves. I would definitely not stay again, but Jarod LOVED it and would return. It was definitely a bargain for Paris, though some deals are too good to be true.
The other thing I’ve found across Europe is that customer service has very different standards than in the States. If you operated an AirBnB the way they do in France, you would be crucified in your reviews and have a terrible rating. Not a bad thing per se, but definitely something to be aware of.
We booked this stay for 29 nights in July to get the monthly discount, but ended up staying for 22 nights. We arrived two days late, left four days early, and spent two nights in the middle in Annecy.
Annecy, France (2 nights): $281
This was another AirBnB bust. Mid-way through our sweltering month in Paris, we wanted to escape back to the Alps. This time, we took a quick weekend trip to the French Alps. Unfortunately, we booked this place specifically due to the advertised AC, which ended up being false advertising. It was cute and right in the Old Town, but the heat, along with the lack of cleanliness and indifference from the host made it a no go in my book. It also looks like this host is no longer on the site and to that I say good riddance.
Activities: $506
This was probably the hardest category to keep under budget. Being first-timers in France, there was SO much we wanted to see. But we had to be very careful to pick and choose our excursions.
We started off our time in France with a bang by visiting Disneyland Paris for Jarod’s birthday. Much cheaper than its stateside counterparts, one day tickets aren’t too bad. We paid $88 pp -- the same ticket to Magic Kingdom would run us over $180.
In Annecy, we visited the Menthon-Saint-Bernard Castle for $11 pp and took a dip in the lake (free!).
We also did a Seine River cruise for $15 pp, visited the Sacré-Coeur, and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at midnight. Tickets to Versailles cost us $27 pp, but I honestly wish we’d skipped it. We visited the Paris Zoo and the Conciergerie, both for around $22 pp.
We also visited the Louvre on Bastille Day for free, and ate lots of picnics in the park to occupy our time. It is so easy to spend money on activities in a big city like Paris, but it’s also easy to walk around and find things to do for free.
Food: $1,062
We definitely didn’t watch our spending as much here as we did earlier in our trip, splurging on daily croissants and baguettes to split in the Place des Vosges.
With this budget, we ate out about once every day. I cooked a lot of basic meals at home, but almost all of the food we ate was incredible. We stayed in Le Marais, so we had access to lots of great international cuisine.
I didn’t track the costs for food vs. alcohol, but I’m guessing it was about a 65/35 split. I got a lot of Hugo Spritzes out (around $7 - $10) and we shared grocery store wine for dinner most nights. For a budget of $30 per person per day, I’d say we did pretty well.
Souvenirs & Shopping: $222
I LOVE buying things in the places I visit. Of course the kitschy things like postcards and magnets, but also items I’ll use in daily life, like clothes. Pulling on a hat or purse and getting to remember where I got it helps to keep trips fresh in my mind.
I was trying to minimize our shopping, but by the time we got to Paris, I’d given up and we bought a cheap suitcase to carry home all our souvenirs. We bought prints of all the cities we visited and Jarod basically got a whole new wardrobe in Annecy.
Misc: $322
Travel Insurance: $168
We always, always purchase travel insurance. After COVID, I couldn’t imagine skipping it. Especially for a trip of this magnitude. In this case, I purchased a $13,000 policy from AXA Assistance USA, that covered us in case of cancellation, interruption, or medical emergency. This was the portion for our time in France, but the estimate is accurate for a month long vacation.
Miscellaneous and Cash: $154
In most of Western Europe, you can easily pay with debit or credit cards, but it’s always wise to carry some cash. I didn’t track what exactly we purchased with cash, but we tipped walking tour guides, bought some street food, and purchased several metro tickets. Also, if you’re unlucky enough to need a restroom in Europe outside of a cafe or attraction, you’ll end up paying for it.
If you travel regularly, make sure you hold debit and credit cards with no foreign transaction fees. We have a Charles Schwab checking account that even refunds us for any ATM fees.
