Paris on a Budget: How to Visit for Under £250

Where to Stay: Skip the 1st, Head to the 11th

The tourist-centre hotels near the Louvre charge €180-300/night. Don't do it. Instead:

• Belleville (20th arr.): Generator Paris hostel — dorms from €22/night, private rooms from €70. Rooftop bar with Eiffel Tower views. Metro line 2 takes you everywhere
• Oberkampf (11th arr.): Hôtel Original — doubles from €85/night in one of Paris's coolest neighbourhoods. Surrounded by brilliant, affordable restaurants and bars
• Le Marais (3rd/4th): MIJE hostels in three stunning 17th-century mansions — dorms from €35/night in the heart of historic Paris. Book 3-4 weeks ahead

Pro tip: Stay near a Metro line 1 or 4 station — these two lines connect every major sight.

Eating Well for €15/Day

Forget the €18 croque monsieur on Champs-Élysées. Paris has incredible cheap food if you know where:

• Breakfast: Any boulangerie — a pain au chocolat (€1.20) and café crème (€2.50) is the real Parisian breakfast. Try Du Pain et des Idées on Rue Yves Toudic for the best pain des amis in the city
• Lunch: Grab a formule déjeuner (lunch set menu) — most bistros offer entrée + plat or plat + dessert for €12-16. Le Bouillon Chartier (near Grands Boulevards) serves three-course French classics from €14 in a stunning 1896 dining hall
• Dinner: Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis (10th arr.) is budget food paradise — Kurdish, Turkish, Indian and African restaurants with mains from €7-10. Le Cambodge at No. 10 does incredible Cambodian bobun for €10
• Picnics: Hit Marché d'Aligre (12th arr.) — Paris's cheapest market. A baguette (€1.10), Comté cheese (€3), saucisson (€4) and a bottle of wine (€5) = a feast for two by the Canal Saint-Martin

Free Paris: It Exists

• First Sunday of the month: The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou and most national museums are completely FREE. Arrive by 9am for manageable queues
• Under 26 and EU citizen? Most museums are permanently free for you
• Sacré-Cœur: Free entry (skip the paid dome climb and enjoy the view from the steps instead — equally stunning)
• Père Lachaise Cemetery: Free. See the graves of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf and Chopin
• Seine-side strolling: The Left Bank quais, Île Saint-Louis, and the Pont des Arts are all free and gorgeous
• Jardin du Luxembourg: Paris's most beautiful park — free, with free chairs by the pond
• Street markets: Marché Bastille (Thu/Sun), Marché Raspail (organic on Sunday) — free to wander, cheap to eat

Transport: The €2.15 That Goes Everywhere

A single Metro ticket (t+) costs €2.15 — but buy a carnet of 10 for €17.35 (€1.73 each). Even better: the Navigo Easy contactless card loads tickets digitally.

For a full day of sightseeing, the Navigo Jour (day pass, €8.45 for zones 1-2) is the best deal. Covers unlimited Metro, bus, RER and tram.

Budget hack: Paris is surprisingly walkable. The Marais to the Eiffel Tower is 45 minutes on foot along the Seine — a more beautiful journey than any Metro ride.

Realistic Budget Breakdown (Weekend)

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