Paris on a Budget - Ooh La La!

Paris Budget Travel Tips

When most of us think of traveling to Paris, we imagine high end French food, haute couture, and expensive hotels. It doesn't have to be that way, nor does it have to mean hostels and backpacking. There is a middle of the road, affordable option, which simply takes a little planning. Let's do Paris on a budget!

Imagine waking up in the morning in your own budget apartment rental in Paris, rising out of your comfortable bed where you've been snuggled under a down comforter with your head resting on down pillows, walking across your gleaming hardwood floor to look out your window at the sun rising over the Haussmann rooftops above, and the cobblestone street below. You stretch, walk into your Paris kitchen, and start the water heating to put into the french press to make your first cup of coffee. You can then take your coffee out onto your private balcony smothered in plants and flowers, and watch the city a few stories down begin to slowly wake, as you browse through your travel guide and begin to plan your day.

Once you've showered and dressed, you go downstairs and head next door to the neighborhood boulangerie to pick up a fresh croissant to enjoy as you walk the block to the metro entrance. Where will your day lead you? Perhaps you'll enjoy a few hours in a stunning museum such as the Musee D'Orsay, or maybe you'd like to venture out and do some world class shopping at the Galleries LaFayette or Printemps. Maybe it's a beautiful, sunny day in early fall, and you'd like to head to the top of the Eiffel Tower and see the city spread below, while there are no lines, no crowds, and you can take all the time you'd like to explore. You could always combine shopping with sightseeing by going to the Arc de Triomphe, and browsing through the many designer boutiques dotting the Champs-Élysées and surrounding streets. You might decide to take a batobus up the River Seine, or do a little sightseeing - you can do anything that you'd like with your day!

For lunch, you might decide that you'd like to grab a sandwich and a soda from a street side cafe and sit along the sunny banks of the River Seine and enjoy the fresh air, while you do a little people watching. Or perhaps you're in the mood to sit outside at a beautiful outdoor Paris cafe and enjoy a leisurely lunch served to you, and savor a glass of wine, or maybe two. Parisians are famous for sitting for hours in the sidewalk cafes, sipping coffee, watching the world go by while lost in their own thoughts. You'll see many artists sketching people and street scenes, all over the city.

It's so easy to see Paris on your own, vacation as if you live there, relax, and get into the rhythm of the city. I'm going to show you exactly how to visit Paris as if you were a local, enjoy yourself, and do it all on a budget. Paris on a budget can be done, and done well!

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