How to do Paris on a shoestring

'Paris on a shoestring'. That's what I Googled before departing for France. With a strong euro, a weak pound and no income flow expected for a couple of months, this break was always going to be less in the style of the rich and famous living it up at The Ritz and more like George Orwell in 'Down and Out in Paris' (okay, not quite that extreme but you get my drift).

As it turned out, a frugal approach paid many dividends:

- Venturing around on foot better opened my eyes to the real Paris. Needless to say, you had better enjoy walking if you wish to take this approach.
- Avoiding the long queues for the major sights (already visited on a previous visit) meant there was very little of the frantic rushing around so typical of short vacations.
- The money saving definitely added up over the three days and it helped to put a good sized dent in the price of the emergency Eurostar ticket I bought to get back to London after missing our flight, but more on that later!
- We made the most of the perfect weather conditions.
- Learned that Paris can indeed be done on the very cheap but not if you take the 'box-tickers' approach to holidays. Also, I'm not sure if I'm different to most people in this respect but I find that a great many free and cheap pleasures yield almost as much satisfaction as the ones I pay good money for. You can't beat a nice cup of tea or coffee, a good sit down, a simple bit of bread and cheese, etc.
- I gained an appreciation that it isn't always necessary to take the metro/tube when venturing about a city. When I arrived back in London I managed to cover a large swathe of the center of the city by foot, in just half a day.

Let's see how a short stay in Paris can be achieved on a shoe string budget:

Day 1

- Landed at the Charles de Gaule airport (CDG) in the morning, where we picked up an excellent free street map of Paris, and caught the RER train to central Paris for 9 EUR. Note, Eurostar would be more convenient as it takes you directly to the Gare de Nord metro station, from which you can walk around Paris without the need to catch a main line train. Also, travel light and there is no need to go to your hotel until the evening. This saved us valuable hours.
- Using a small guidebook that had several walks plotted proved invaluable for bearings, snippets of historical context, pointers to key buildings, etc. I have to say, contrary to widespread opinion the locals seemed more than happy to provide directions.
- Wondered around the Jewish quarter (Le Marais). Bought a Macchiato (1.7 EUR). Lunch comprised a baguette and soft cheese in true Parisian style, and was bought from a supermarket for just over 1 EUR. Water purchased for 0.50 EUR. Enjoyed lunch in one of the small parks that dot the quarter.
- Made our way south to the river, where we visited the two islands out of which Paris grew. Here you find the supremely gothic Notre Dame.
- Keep on south for the Latin Quarter, home to the Sorbonne and a highly scholarly and cosmopolitan atmosphere. Food of all varieties can be found in this quarter. It isn't particularly cheap but supermarket type shops hold a variety of cold snacks which will fill any hunger holes. Bought a tub of cous cous for a mere 1.5 EUR and a freshly baked raisin roll for 0.50 EUR. Enjoyed food in a large park (Jardin de Plantes) after visiting the nearby Mosque de Paris, which has a beautiful but pretty expensive restaurant in the Moroccan style.
- Train to hotel for EUR 1.60. Single tickets take you anywhere on the Paris metro, unlike the London tube which charges more the further you travel. If you are only staying for a few days it's probably worth buying a Carnet of 10 single tickets, which works out to around 1.10 EUR per ticket - the Carnet is also pretty flexible as the tickets can be used over several days. Note, the once popular 'Carte Orange' travelcard is no more and has been replaced by a Navigo card, which is more expensive but may be worthwhile for longer stays.

Days expenditure: around 16 EUR, (or 7 EUR ex train from Eurostar). The above itinerary is great if you want to do Paris in day and head back in the evening, and you wouldn't even need to step onto the metro.

Day 2

- Buy a Carnet and split tickets between the two of us, at 5.6 EUR each.
- Buy bottles of water at the supermarket for 0.18 EUR and 0.50 EUR.
- Travel to Monmartre in the north to visit Sacre Coeur, then down to Montparnasse and back to the center, where we relaxed on the most comfortable reclined chairs at the beautiful Jardin Tuileries. In the evening we checked out the very grand Grand Opera and then headed down to the main theatre in Bastille. Nothing good showing but the weather was great and we wondered down to the Seine and all the way back to Le Marais.
- Ate a variety of breads and some cheese which we bagged at our breakfast buffet, although to buy these at the supermarket would have only cost around 3 EUR.
- Enjoy one of the best salads I've had in a while for a mere 3 EUR, accompanied with hot bread. Nice way to end the day.

Day 3

- Deciding to step it down a gear, we wondered along the Pont Neuf bridge, saw the postcard picaresque book and picture sellers along the river front, and visited the spectacular Louvre which is situated on a nice area of parkland and is worth seeing even if you don't plan on going inside. From here, it was back to the far end of the Tuileries park, where we relaxed for several hours. Expenditure was about 5 EUR in Paris on drinks and an ice-cream. There was no smuggling of breakfast buffet items this day, but we ate so much in the morning that I'm sure I could have gone without for several days (photographic evidence of my largest ever breakfast can be found here). From here, it was a 9 EUR ticket to CDG airport.

Theoretical spending* on the holiday excluding the main train rides to CDG worked out to around 10 EUR a day, which is pretty darn cheap. I've excluded travel into Paris as this depends on your location, and our hotel expense, which was about £63 per person for three nights, although this included a very good value hot breakfast buffet. Just as George Orwell lived on his 'tea and two slices' so our approach was heavily bread based, although this was through choice as other items could have been bought from the supermarket at low cost. To save money you have to use the supermarket as the cafes and restaurants tend to be eye wateringly expensive, with a croissant, orange juice and coffee easily costing £5. In most cafes, a single coffee can set you back 4-5 EUR if you want to sit down and watch life go by, but the same drink may be a third of the price if enjoyed at the bar (most places have stools so you can still sit down).

Key tip: If you want to experience Paris in all it's glory and at low cost, make sure the weather is nice. It was perfect when we were there, allowing us to explore by foot, buy picnic type foods from the supermarket, and eat al fresco. Without good weather, it would have been a struggle.

* I say theoretical spending, because things took a turn for the worse at CDG and we missed our flight! Suffice to say the Eurostar return the next day blew a slight hole in the budget.