Paris on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Paris on a budget is possible but takes discipline: beds are expensive, so savings come from food, free sights and walking. A realistic minimum is about €110 per person a day (about €60 for a hostel bed or shared budget room, €30 food, €15 sights, €5 transport).
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | €60 | €110 | €220 |
| Food & drink | €30 | €60 | €130 |
| Sights & tickets | €15 | €35 | €60 |
| Local transport | €5 | €10 | €25 |
| Per person, per day | €110 | €215 | €435 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Paris day-cost table.
Free things to do
- Notre-Dame Cathedral (reopened December 2024; free, a timed slot saves queueing)
- Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the view over the city from its steps in Montmartre
- Luxembourg Gardens and the Tuileries
- Père Lachaise Cemetery, with the graves of Chopin, Oscar Wilde and Édith Piaf
- The banks of the Seine between Île de la Cité and the Louvre, and the covered passages such as Galerie Vivienne
- Permanent collections of city museums such as the Petit Palais and Musée Carnavalet
Cheap eats
- Croissant or pain au chocolat from a boulangerie: about €1.30–2.20
- Jambon-beurre baguette sandwich: about €4.50–8
- Street crêpe: about €4–8
- Falafel in pita on Rue des Rosiers: about €8–11
- Bouillon Chartier-style canteen main course: about €10–14
Where to sleep for less
Hostels and cheaper hotels are concentrated in the 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, around Canal Saint-Martin, Belleville and the edges of Montmartre; dorm beds run roughly €40–70 a night in high season. Staying just outside the Périphérique near a metro line can be cheaper but adds travel time.
Getting around cheaply
Walk the centre and use €2.50 metro/RER tickets loaded on a Navigo Easy card (€2) or your phone. From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B to Châtelet takes about 35 minutes and is much cheaper than a taxi (check the current airport fare, which is higher than a normal ticket); from Orly, Metro line 14 now reaches the airport.
A sample budget day
- Morning: croissant and coffee at the counter (about €4), free visit to Notre-Dame, then Sainte-Chapelle (about €13)
- Lunch: picnic of baguette, cheese and fruit from a market street, or a jambon-beurre (about €8)
- Afternoon: walk the Seine to the Tuileries and the Luxembourg Gardens; two metro rides (€5)
- Evening: dinner at a bouillon-style canteen (about €15–18), then the Eiffel Tower sparkle from Trocadéro (free)
- Total: about €105–115 per person including a hostel bed of about €60
More ways to save
- Picnic: a market-street lunch from Rue Cler or Rue Mouffetard is the cheapest good meal in the city.
- Climb the Eiffel Tower stairs to the second floor, which costs less than the lift.
- Choose bouillon canteens and lunch formules over dinner à la carte.
- Group museums on days when you are under 26 and an EU resident, as many national museums are free for this group.
- Buy wine and snacks at a supermarket (Monoprix, Franprix, Carrefour City) for an evening by the Seine.
- Visit in January, February or November, when hotels are cheapest.
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Common questions
Can you do Paris on a budget?
Yes, at roughly €105–115 per person a day with a hostel bed, bakery and picnic meals and mostly free sights.
What is free in Paris?
Notre-Dame, Sacré-Cœur, the Luxembourg and Tuileries gardens, Père Lachaise, the Seine banks and the permanent collections of city museums such as the Petit Palais.
What is the cheapest way from Charles de Gaulle to the centre?
The RER B train, about 35 minutes to Châtelet. Taxis have fixed fares of about €56 (Right Bank) and €65 (Left Bank).