Paris on a shoestring.......

Kiera D

Heading to Paris for the first time in a week or so. Can anyone recommend must-do/see things etc....also just tips on saving cash in whilst there on food etc would be much appreciated!!

jetsonx

Top Five Tips for Saving Money in Paris
=============================


1) Buy Metro Tickets by the Carnet (booklet of ten) Way cheaper.
( Un carnet de billets svp)

2) Eat in Flunch ( www.flunch.fr). Restaurant chain in france that serves
gr8 food @ great value prices e.g. meal can be had for €8.

3) Avoid all restaurants/cafe by major tourist attractions - their prices are usually 20% higher.

4) Avoid any drinking places in Pigalle district or you will be quickly parted with all your money!

must sees
========

the sewers of paris (not kidding) guided tours daily.

the graveyard where Jim Morrison and Wilde are burried.

p.pete

I spent 2 or 3 days walking round Paris for free
It's a cool place to walk around - lots of interest. Didn't spend any money going into museums etc. (except Dahli museum which was a massive dissapointment).

Metro is really cheap and easy to use too (as above, a book of tickets is clever).

For food I nipped into their bakeries - gorgeous stuff in there and can be really well priced although prices to vary for the same thing.

Loobz

Hey. Im going to Paris 23rd August.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=172222

By the way, I would like some info about the flea markets over there. Where are they? Which is biggest etc? Thanks

Hope this helps.

deRanged

jetsonx wrote:

1) Buy Metro Tickets by the Carnet (booklet of ten) Way cheaper.
( Un carnet de billets svp).

there are also tourist passes good for up to 5 days. I bought one
and it saved me a fortune - also meant I could hop on a metro whenever I felt like it. You can criss-cross Paris really easily in the course of a day that way. They're available in the metro stations.

rom1

- If you're planning to take the metro/bus often during the day, I recomend you to buy a "Carte Mobilis Zones 1-2" (EUR5.30). It gives you unlimited travel on all subway lines for the whole day. It's funny, I couldn't find anything in English about it on the RATP website. They're forcing toursists to buy their expensive tourist passes!

- The most famous flea market is the Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen (http://www.parispuces.com/en). On the website, it is said it's the biggest in the world. One word of advice: travel light and take great care of your belongings. The north suburbs (Saint-Ouen included) are not the safest around Paris.

Loobz

Thanks Rom1. I cant wait. Get a few bargains maybe.

Ponster

Everything that jetsonx said

Flunch is cool 'cos the veggies are 'all you can eat' and chips count as veg in France

Pere LaChaise is the place to go to see Jim. It's not a huge grave and some find it weird that people would visit a graveyard but it's the third most visited place in the city!

Stay away from Irish bars, esp in the Pigalle area. A pint will cost you about 6euro upwards in these type of places. In a French bar you can get a pint for 4 but don't expect an 'Irish-type' place.

The fish & chips of Paris is the kabab. Sold in Greek and Turkish places. Ask for a 'sandwich grec frites' and whatever sauce 'red/mustard/white sauce/mayo'. And you'll get a feed for about 3.50euro. The meet isn't processed as it is in most Irish kebab places and you get chips poured on top.

Bri

Do a search of this forum cos there's a few threads already.

True they try to get you to buy the Tourist-aimed metro passes. Myself I found the carnet pretty useless considering how much you use the metro. Buy a weekly Carte Orange for a few bob more than a carnet and have UNLIMITED travel for the whole week. Allows for mishaps - getting lost, machine screwing up, etc. If you ever get off at the wrong stop and then realise AFTER you've gone through the ticket machine there goes a precious ticket! Oh and watch your pockets as you go through the barriers heard from alot of people that pickpockets nick your wallet as you go through the 1-way system and then laugh and run away. Harsh or what?!

Dali museum is ok - hard to find(ish) and small. Loads of museums free on 1st Sunday of the month, although the Louvre Q will be about 4 miles long by midday.

As I posted a while back on another Paris Q - Cite Universite do dinner and lunch 7-days a week for 2.80 and it's self-service. It's got it's own RER stop (also covered by your metro pass)

The Catacombs are surreal - great for a weekend visit cos everything else is too busy. Try the Pantheon, Jardin du Luxemburg and the Eiffel Tower top floor at night (be there by 22.30 to get up).

Boi de Boulonge (sp?) is a great park a bit out but still covered by the all important metro line.

Shopping: Val d'Europe is a modern cheap (somewhat) mall 1 stop away from Disney land. Not exactly bargain city but better than the Champs Eillyses.

Food: Sitting down anywhere is seriously expensive. Wine is a huge part of that cost. There's set-cost menus all over the place and down near Rue Mouftard (Latin Quarter) you can get a great 3-course lunch with steak for a tenner.

And no I can't spell any of these to save my life!

Any other things - PM me if you want.

jank

would anybody recommened a hotel to stay?
should be heading there start of september

Redleslie2

The Melocoton pub in Rue Descartes has a happy hour every day until 10pm, pints of Leffe, the greatest beer ever, are €4, €5 after 10, Stella is €3.80 or so. It's technically a Basque pub but it's a mostly French crowd. There are huge sandwiches to be got in places on Rue Mouffetard for €2.50.