How expensive is Paris? Budget Breakdown
Figure out how much you need to budget for your next trip to Paris and gauge your expenses for transport, accommodation, sightseeing, and food
How expensive is Paris? Budget Breakdown
Figure out how much you need to budget for your next trip to Paris and gauge your expenses for transport, accommodation, sightseeing, and food
Paris is certainly known for being an expensive city, but what do people mean exactly by that? Here we’re going to give you a breakdown of every budgeting aspect of planning a trip to Paris. Along with the average and expected costs, we’ll also include comparisons between high and low seasons and our personal tips on how to keep those expenses as low as possible.
Average travel expenses
Understanding roughly how much money you’ll need for daily activities is one of the most important things to know in order to have an idea of a budget. Firstly, let us state the obvious. This amount greatly depends on the type of holiday you are aiming for and the activities you have planned.
If, for example, you are going for a luxurious, spare-no-expense type of weekend in Paris, you will spend a bit more than average. The activities you might include in this kind of holiday would be gourmet dinners on a cruise boat or champagne-tasting excursions in the French countryside .
Conversely, if you’re going on a carefully budgeted holiday with lots of self-guided tours, your expenses will be lower than average. In any case, for a Paris trip with the average amount of sightseeing, guided tours, and moving around, your budget should be between €60.00 - €80.00 (not including accommodation).
Keep in mind that full-price entry tickets to the top museums and sights in Paris go anywhere from €7.00 to €20.00.
Of course, if you have a Paris Museum Pass or a Paris Passlib’ you don’t have to worry about those. These two passes give you free access to the city’s most important sites, so you end up saving lots on these tickets.
The prices for the Paris Museum Pass - which you can get here - are as follows.
- All inclusive pass for 2 days: €52.00
- All inclusive pass for 4 days: €66.00
- All inclusive pass for 6 days: €78.00
Prices for the Paris Passlib’ - which you can buy here - are below.
- Passlib’ for 3 attractions of your choice €35.00
- Passlib’ for 5 attractions of your choice €69.00
- Passlib’ for 6 attractions of your choice €119.00 or €189.00 (deluxe)
Something else that has an impact on your daily budget is the duration of your stay. The longer you stay, the more you’ll be able to spread out your expenses (especially with the help of longer-duration passes).
If, for instance, you are visiting Paris for a weekend only, you’ll want to see as much as possible in the shortest time. This means you’ll probably end up spending a bit more on transport, trying to move between different places quickly. For this reason, we suggest you prepare to spend around €70.00 - €90.00 daily (accommodation excluded) for a shorter trip (like a weekend).
Costs of accommodation in Paris
Similarly to the average travel expenses, accommodation costs also vary greatly depending on the type of place you look for, how early you’re booking, and how many people you are travelling with. Obviously, if you’re travelling alone you’re going to spend a lot more than if you were with someone else - the cost for a double bedroom or a single is usually the same or only marginally different.
For budget-conscious travellers, the cheapest option is always a hostel. If you are travelling with a big enough group of friends, you can even book an entire dorm for yourselves. Just remember to reserve early enough to be able to do it. Otherwise, there many one or two-star hotels at convenient prices.
Of course, there are also plenty of three-star hotels, b&bs, four-star hotels, and apartments in the mid-price range. If you are staying long enough (at least a week), you can save money by choosing a place in the outer districts (arrondissements 10 to 20). However, if you are only staying for a few days, we recommend you stay as close as possible to the city centre to avoid wasting too much time on transport.
And finally, you’ll also find plenty of luxurious hotels - Paris is, after all, known for its class and sophistication. The sky is the limit for this one.
However, something that is true for all budget ranges, is that the earlier you book, the better prices and choices you’ll get. The most important thing you can do while planning your trip is to reserve your accommodation early. You’ll get more choices and lower prices.
Following are the average prices per night for a double bedroom in a hotel or apartment in Paris.
| Area |
|---|
| Central districts |
| Outer districts |
| Area | Cheapest hotel | Mid-range hotels | Luxury hotels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central districts | €55.00 - €80.00 | €90.00 - €140.00 | €230.00 - €500.00 |
| Outer districts | €40.00 - €55.00 | €65.00 - €130.00 | €170.00 - €300.00 |
However, during high season and with little notice, prices go up significantly.
| Area |
|---|
| Central districts |
| Outer districts |
| Area | Cheapest hotel | Mid-range hotels | Luxury hotels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central districts | €70.00 - €110.00 | €115.00 - €150.00 | €250.00 - €600.00 |
| Outer districts | €50.00 - €80.00 | €80.00 - €150.00 | €200.00 - €340.00 |
Costs of transport in Paris
Transport in Paris is overall quite convenient. Obviously, public transport is the cheapest option, and the most commonly used. The network covers the city in all its neighbourhoods thoroughly and with an almost continuous service, thanks to the Métro, urban buses, RER trains, funicular, and tramways. If you want to know more about this, we have an article answering all the most common questions about public transport in Paris
Depending on how long you are staying and how you plan on using public transport, you’ll be using different kinds of tickets. Here are the most popular options.
- One-way single transport ticket (T+Ticket): €1.90
- 10-journey transport ticket (T+ 10 carnet): €14.90
- Weekly pass (Passe Navigo): €22.80
- Multi-day pass (Paris Visite) for central Paris: €12.00 (1 day), €19.50 (2 days), €26.65 (3 days), €38.35 (5 days).
Of course, you might need to add extra journeys outside the city centre if your transport pass does not cover those zones. This would be the case for T+ tickets or the Paris Visite for zones 1-3. The most popular destinations outside central Paris - airports aside - are the Versailles Palace and Disneyland. Consider that these journeys on public transport will cost around €10.00 each.
This means that, on average, and by choosing the right kind of transport pass, you should be spending between €6.00 and €12.00 per day for public transport. To help you choose which pass is best for you, we have an article comparing the T+ 10 carnet, the Passe Navigo, and the Paris Visite.
If you want to use cabs in the city, you must be warned that they are a bit expensive. Following are some useful references to gauge how much you’ll be spending on taxis.
- A cab within the Parisian centre will cost between €10.00 and €15.00.
- A taxi between Charles De Gaulle Airport and Paris centre will either €53.00 or €58.00 (depending on the river bank you depart from/arrive at).
- A taxi between Orly Airport and Paris centre will be €32.00 or €37.00 (depending on the river bank you depart from/arrive at).
Remember that it’s also possible to book private transfers in advance. You can book your transfer to or from CDG Airport here or get a private transfer between the city and Orly Airport here .
Consider there are also other forms of transport you might be interested in using while in Paris. Hop-on hop-off buses are an excellent way to get acquainted with the city, for example. They can even substitute public transport for a day if what you are doing is sightseeing and going to popular neighbourhoods and sights. The most recommendable companies are Tootbus and BigBus, and they both offer daily tickets: you can get your Tootbus hop-on hop-off ticket here or book your Big Bus ticket here .
Another popular transport solution is electric vehicles (mopeds and scooters). The cost varies greatly depending on the type of vehicle you rent and how much you use it. We suggest you have a look at our motosharing article to get an idea.
How much does it cost to eat in Paris
Prices for food and drinks can also vary widely depending on the area and neighbourhood. Generally, the closer you are to the big streets and monuments, the more touristy and expensive the eateries will be. A meal can cost you anywhere between €10.00 and €30.00, for instance. Many establishments offer lunch menus (rarely above €20.00), so that is always a convenient option.
If you’re on the go and don’t feel like spending too much money on a quick lunch, you can always grab a freshly-made sandwich at a local bakery - this will be around €6.00 or €8.00. A Parisian idiosyncrasy is that wine (€2.00 - €10.00) is often cheaper than beer (€4.00 - €8.00) so you might have that as your choice of alcohol for a meal.
As per usual, if what you’re looking for is luxury and gourmet, there will be plenty of options at various price points all around Paris. And if you need a little help or a few suggestions on what traditional French dishes to try out during your stay, read our article dedicated to French cuisine and eating habits.
The best time to travel to Paris
In terms of cost-efficiency, the best periods to travel to Paris are during the low season. This would be in the autumn (mid-September to November) and in the winter-spring. However, do remember that Easter tends to be a busy time, so it’s best to plan for the time after New Year and before Easter, or after Easter and before the beginning of summer (in mid-June).
Not only you’ll find that the city is less crowded than usual (resulting in it being easier to navigate), but also that hotels and apartments don’t get booked up as easily, so you’ll find better prices all around.
If you want to know what the weather is like in every season so that you can be prepared and pack accordingly, have a look at our article about the different seasons in Paris.
Travelling on a budget
If you are trying to avoid unnecessary expenses and you have a tight budget, there are quite a few things you can do to help yourself.
Starting with the basics, we’ll say that accommodation is one of the first things you should secure. Paris is a wildly popular destination, so you need to reserve fast in order to get reasonable prices. You can book your hotel or apartment in Paris here directly.
Then, it’s also good to keep an eye out for special discounts. There are quite a few ways you can save money on entries and tickets, you just need to be informed. Most discounts apply to young visitors, retirees, people with disabilities, students, or large families, so be on the lookout if you belong to one or more of those categories. For example:
-
Children under the age of 3 travel for free on Paris’ public transport.
-
Children aged 4-9 are entitled to discounts on Paris’ public transport.
-
People under 18 (from any country) or people under 26 with EU residency have free access to national museums and permanent collections in Paris.
If you don’t benefit from any of the entry discounts, you can still save huge amounts of money by getting all-included passes like the Paris Museum Pass or the Paris Passlib’. With these, you can get free access to all the most important monuments in Paris for several days. We strongly recommend you do this instead of getting individual tickets for each venue.
The Paris Museum Pass is ideal if you want to visit many sights, since it is an unlimited pass for 2, 4, or 6 days. The Paris Passlib’, on the other hand, is perfect if you have a select few venues you want to visit since it allows you to pick which activities you want to include with your pass. You can get your Paris Museum Pass here or your Paris Passlib’ City pass here .
