Paris on the cheap - 2026

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Budget accommodation	Budget travel	General tips

 PARIS, like any big city, can be an expensive place for visitors. The cost of living is higher in Paris than in other parts of France, and generally speaking the same is true of hotels and places to stay – though not necessarily for restuarants. Here are some tips and useful information to help you stretch your pounds, dollars or euros as far as they will go.....

One thing is certain, and that is that it's worthwhile booking things up well in advance. Travel tickets, hotels, and even - if you plan to visit lots of things and don't want to waste hours queuing to get in to the main museums and monuments, a visitor pass.

  Leaving everything until last minute, or even until you reach Paris, will be more expensive, may be very frustrating, and will cost more.
     
     Before booking your trip to Paris, before booking a hotel, the first thing to do is to decide if you want to stay in the city (and as  Paris is a living European city, there are plenty of residential quarters and plenty of hotels throughout Paris "intra-muros"), or in the suburbs. You may even decide that it is in your interest to stay well outside Paris, and come in on a fast train for the day.

Budget accommodation in Paris  

Staying in central Paris: Advantages: access, time. If you are young and energetic, or even not-so-young and energetic, you can walk to and between a lot of the Paris tourist attractions. You'll save the cost of public transport, and the time and cost of commuting into the city. You'll also see a lot more of the city, as long as your eyes aren't glued to the sidewalk or pavement.

     Disadvantages: hotels near the tourist areas are generally quite expensive; cheaper hotels are often in less attractive areas of the city, far from the tourist sights and attractions, or else on the edge.
P If you come to Paris by car, parking will be a major extra cost. Few central Paris hotels have their own parking facilities, and those that do tend to be at the higher end of the price range.


Staying in the suburbs of Paris: Advantages: hotels and hostels will on the whole be cheaper, and hotel rooms may be bigger.
P Hotels in the suburbs tend to have parking space, often free.
If you choose a hotel or hostel that is near a train station, access to central Paris can be relatively easy and quick. Check out hotels in the south east and south west suburbs. There are many suburban hotels belonging to the cheap budget chains such as Première Classe or Formule 1.  Check out Paris hostels too.
    Or check out this interactive outer Paris hotel map  that only lists independent hotels with parking, often free, and within easy walk of a train or RER rapid transit station for central Paris.
     A recent advantage, in 2025, the cost of public transport in Paris, for most users, was slashed, and the process was simplified. Today, basic flat-rate travel tickets (from 2.10 € for a single ticket, 12.30 € for a day pass) cover the suburbs too, not just central Paris, so there's no need to factor in large travel costs for staying out of town).
     Disadvantages: check that the cheaper room cost is not offset by travel time - though remember that it is advisable not to take your car into Paris. Also, if you stay outside Paris, you'll have less time to enjoy Paris by night.

Budget travel in and around Paris - 2026

For essential info about cards and passes, see How to use public transport in Paris.

Paper tickets for journeys on Paris public transport have been phased out. Virtually all journeys now require a card of some sort, or an app. The simplest card is the  Navigo Easy card which can either be loaded on your phone, or bought as physical  plastic card from any ticket counter or from the purple-and-white ticket machines in any Metro or RER station.

The Navigo easy card

The plastic card itself costs 2€, and, as the name implies,  is very easy to use. You just "load" tickets onto it (for instance a pack of 10 metro tickets or a Paris Visite pass) at a machine, or at a sales counter, then tap it on card readers at the turnstiles. Navigo easy cards are not personal, and do not carry your name or photo, meaning that you can lend them to a friend. However, you must write your name on the back if you load a Paris Visite card, which is personal .

When you have your Navigo Easy card or app, load onto it either a Navigo Day Pass (€12.30 for all zones, excluding airports) , or one or more single tickets, cost 2.55 € each, or a pack of 10 single tickets for 25.50 €.  Single tickets have no date limit. Each ticket is valid for 2 hours travel, or until you pass through an exit turnstile.
Note: A Navigo day pass does not include access to/from Charles de Gaulle or Orly airports by RER train. For such destinations, you must load an airport ticket (or else use metro 14 to get to Orly)

However if you are using the app on your phone, you may prefer to load a Navigo Weekly Pass (€32.40  valid for a calendar week, i.e. Mon to Sun, and including airports), which can be  cheaper depending on your arrival date. You can load this onto a plastic Navigo Découverte card, for which you'll need a passport photo. You may like to compare Navigo Découverte with the often advertised Paris Visite card.... which is more expensive..


What to see and do in Paris:  
      If your budget is limited, visit the Paris for Free page. Even the Louvre is free, if you know when to go or - in many cases - if you are under 26 !

General Budget Paris tips:

The dos and don'ts to make your dollars or euros or pounds go a bit further......

Do.....

• Book your hotel in advance so you have time to get a good rate. It is possible to find a two-star hotel or a one-star hotel double room for under 80 €uros a night, and hostel accommodation even cheaper... though difficult at peak periods
• Use ordinary public transport -  Buy a daily or weekly Navigo Easy pass. This can either be loaded on a plastic card (cost 2€ when you buy it from a ticket office) or on your phone for free.  Details
• Visit the great free attractions of Paris - Notre Dame cathedral (for now!) , Montmartre,  the banks of the Seine, wander along the Champs Elysées and more. There are also free museums, including the Petit Palais just off the Champs elysées, with its Monets and impressionists and more. Many major museums are free on the first Sunday of each month. 
• Eat your main meal at midday - when many restaurants offer a full meal for less than 25 €uros; Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants are particularly good value. Take something simpler in the evening.
• Pay by credit card or in cash that you get from an ATM (check your own bank's charges for foreign transactions)
• Check out the list of free concerts in parks and churches, specially in summer.
• View Paris from on high by touring round the "metro aérien", the elevated metro (particularly lines 2 and 6) which circles round inner Paris, above the boulevards, at second story level. A normal ticket is all that is needed. 
• Drink at the bar. Many Parisian cafés charge less for customers who stand at the bar than for those who get served at a table.
• Use the Velib bike hire system - but take care. Use it correctly, and it will just cost 1 € a day.

Don't....

• Don't take a coffee or a beer at a pavement café on the Champs Elysées, or any other tourist trap. 
• Don't take breakfast in your hotel, unless they are charging less than 9 €uros. go to the nearest café; most cafés offer a light breakfast.
• Don't eat in glitzy boulevard restaurants in the evening;
• Don't use taxis for short trips
• Don't try to exchange foreign cash or travellers cheques - not even in banks. But if you have to, avoid changing small sums, as the commission is often a flat rate.
• Don't go to the top of the Eiffel tower: the views are already pretty spectacular from the second level (see Eiffel tower ticket prices)
• Don't try to find a hotel when you arrive. Book one in advance.
• Don't use the Velib bike hire system unless you realise how it works.

Click here for Paris tourist attractions info :  Notre Dame, the Louvre, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, and much more.  Or see the Eiffel tower info page,

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