Top Tips & Budget Friendly Ways To Experience Paris Like A Native
Hi guys, welcome to my blog. My name is Caroline, I am 22 and I am Irish. I am studying Commerce International in University College Dublin and I spent a year in Paris studying commerce through French. I have learned the ins and outs of the city (sometimes the hard way) and some of this information I would love to have known prior to moving there. The majority of tourists spend hours queueing to see (some impressive, some not so impressive) tourist attractions and frequently get ripped off. As a result their Parisian experience ends up being very unproductive and costly.
Paris is known for being expensive but you can definitely do it on a budget and I am going to tell you how! Young people tend to avoid travelling to Paris because it has a name for being notoriously expensive, however Paris is not actually any more expensive than any other European city. Paris is very much geared towards young people and it has become my favourite city in Europe. There is a never-ending list of things to do for young people and it is simply an amazing place to live/study/visit.
I am going to share my top tips with you and help you experience Paris like a French native, and as a young person, the best spots to visit so that you can get the most out of your trip to this incredible city.
Culture
Paris is a fantastic city if you have a European passport and you are under the age of 26 as you can get into the majority of cultural sites and museums for free on any day of the week! (Admission to most museums is pretty cheap anyway but when you are on a budget it all adds up very quickly). There are hundreds of museums in Paris but my two favourite are Musée du Louvre and Musée d’Orsay. The Louvre (Musée du Louvre) is a great place to start and the Mona Lisa is a must see! Musée d’Orsay is another great museum even if you don’t enjoy art, the layout of the museum and its architecture is well worth seeing (a scene from Gossip Girl was also shot in this museum).
L’Arc du Triomphe is an absolute must! It is an arch that acts as a roundabout with 12 different streets leading up to it. You have to go underground to get to the centre of the roundabout/the arch. You can then climb up to the top of l’Arc du Triomphe which in my opinion has one of the best views of Paris. You have to climb a long windy staircase in order to get to the top so wear comfortable shoes. You can even see La Défense, the infamous business district from the top. You will also see the longest street in Europe, the Champs Elysée. The “roundabout” has no rules as such and as a result it is chaotic all the time, from the top looking down it is like watching a colony of ants frantically moving around attempting to dodge one another.
Sacre Coeur is well worth the visit even if you don’t actually enter the basilica. It is situated at the very top of a village and there is a long hilly walk up to it but the views from the top are incredible.
Palais Garnier is a spectacular opera house. You can do a day tour of it which costs €15 and tickets to the shows can go up to €500. If you are keen to see a show, you can queue at the ticket kiosk (several hours prior to the show) and get tickets to the ballet/opera for as cheap as €10 – that is if you have half the day to spend queuing for a show that could sell out.
Trocadero is an absolute must-go! This is where you will find the best view of the Eiffel Tower. I wouldn’t recommend going to any restaurants or bars in this area as they are all very overpriced (this where a lot of tourists get caught out).
Day Trips & Tours
Chateau du Versailles is magnificent and well worth visiting on a sunny day. It is about an hour (by train) south of Paris and then a 20 minute walk from the train station. The entry fee to the palace is free for European residents under the age of 26 and the entry fee to the gardens is €10 for a student (buy tickets in Versailles because they are cheaper at the door than they are online). The gardens are more impressive than the palace in my opinion. The gardens are so vast it would take you all day to walk around them however you can rent golf buggies or bikes in order to cover more land in less time. During the summer months you can rent rowing boats and row/float on the lake. Most people bring a picnic with them and enjoy their lunch on the designated grass areas soaking up the sun. There is only one coffee shop here and several ice cream kiosks so definitely bring your own snacks.
Disneyland Paris is an absolute must if you are spending a few days in Paris. You can take the RER A (main underground train line in Paris) towards Marne la Vallée and it leaves you right at the gates of Disneyland. It takes approximately 40 minutes from central Paris. The queues are not nearly half as bad here as they are in Disneyland in America and it really is a magical experience. There is something for all ages and the firework display every evening is spectacular. If you book tickets online they are usually around €50 however if you buy tickets at the door, the price is double. There are lots of restaurants and bakeries here but they tend to be pricey so I would advise bringing snacks from Monoprix and baguettes/croissants from a bakery in Paris with you. Check the weather before booking your tickets!
You can buy tickets online here https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/
Boat tours are a great way to a get an overview of the city, learn some interesting facts and get some great photos. Paris is stunning at night time when all of the famous monuments are lit up so I would recommend doing a boat tour at night. There are several companies that do boat cruises, however don’t waste your money purchasing a “dinner experience” package etc. as you will be too busy eating (a very basic meal) to see any of the sights. I would recommend getting the cheapest and most basic tour ticket and choosing a boat that has an upstairs. I found that Bateaux Parisians were great and their most basic ‘illuminations’ tour cost €13.50 per person. The boat sails up and down the Seine pointing out the famous sights/monuments/areas. The tour lasts around 75 minutes.
You can buy tickets online here https://book.seine-river-cruises.com/book/7944/checkout
When in Paris do as the French do
The Parisians are the most sociable people you will ever come across. They love any opportunity to be amongst people and sipping on wine. There is a famous saying “when in Rome do as the Romans,” the same concept applies in Paris! Even if it is lashing rain, sit outside under a canopy and enjoy some food and a few drinks. However if the weather is good, follow the French to any of the gardens (my personal favourite is Jardin des Tuileries), bring your picnic blanket, a few croissants, baguettes and a bottle of wine and soak up the atmosphere – this is a favourite pass time for the French.
On summer nights when the parks are closed you’ll find everyone with their bottles of wine and snacks sitting along the banks of Seine – the whole way along it! It is honestly one of the most fun enjoyable and cheapest things you will do and you will feel just like a native.
Another great location during the day/early evening for doing this is on Champ de Mars which is the grass area just in front of the Eiffel Tower. It is a really popular meet up spot for students and workers alike with one of the most iconic views.
Bars & Restaurants
Brunch is a huge thing in Paris, everyone does it and you will often queue for up to 90 minutes to get a table in some of the best places. Brunch is expensive (usually €25 per person) but it is 2 meals in 1 and you get a crazy amount of delicious food! My personal favourite is Paperboy situated on Rue Amelot – all of their food is incredible! But some other great spots include Lockwood, Hardware Société, Le Pain Quotidien and the Soul Kitchen.
If you love acai bowls make sure to check out Love Juice Bar and the Juicerie. If you are a hot chocolate lover, Angelina’s is renowned for having the best tasting hot chocolate in France. It is one of the most famous ‘tea rooms’ in the world and quite an experience. However one hot chocolate costs €9 but you can opt for the take away option which is half the price. Another spot for chocolate lovers is Lindt – there are several Lindt stores in Paris all of which have sit down Cafés. I am a huge chocolate lover and Lindt did not disappoint and was much cheaper than Angelina (although 2 very different atmospheres).
Chatelet is an area full of bars and restaurants all of which are extremely affordable and it is an area that is usually buzzing from 1pm on a Saturday right up until the early hours of Sunday morning.
Pizza Populaire is a restaurant with a really alt style and cool vibes that have a pizza margaherita on the menu for just €5! However you need to be at the doors 25 minutes prior to opening (6pm) in order to get a seat as there is always a queue.
If you are on a really tight budget, there are plenty of Mc Donald’s and Dominos scattered around Paris too.
Happy hour is very popular in Paris usually between 3-7pm so if you want to enjoy a drink in a nice bar on a budget, then choose your times to do so wisely. There are several must see bars even if you only purchase a bottle of water for €3 or one alcoholic drink for €11. ‘Off Seine’ is a hotel shaped like a boat in the Seine River. Its bar area even has a pool and there is live music there every evening. 100 yards from this, there is a rooftop bar called ‘Café Oz Rooftop’ – it is another great spot that is on the Seine and turns into a rooftop nightclub every night. They also have themed events during the week such as “Erasmus student nights” etc.
Le Perchoir Marais is also a rooftop bar with very chilled, cool vibes and since waiters don’t serve customers here (you have to queue at the bar to get a drink), you can even experience it without ever buying a drink!
Rue Saint Honoré, located in the 1st arrondissement is one of the most expensive streets in Paris however there is a bar on this street called ‘Le Musset’ that does great cocktails for €6 until 7pm every day. They have a seated area outside with a canopy so you can feel and live just like the Parisians; sipping on nice drinks watching the world go by.
General Tips
In my opinion going up the Eiffel Tower is a waste of time and money. The queues can be quite long and it is expensive enough. When you get to the top there isn’t much to see other than high rise buildings. It is usually a disappointment for tourists.
The Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour on the hour once it is dark so make sure and look out for that!
An absolute must-buy is a transport pass called ‘Navigo’. It costs €27 (or if you are repurchasing €22) for a week and it allows you to hop on and hop off every RER (main underground train line), every metro and all public buses. You will get more than your value for money with this – even if you’re only in Paris for a few days! Make sure and bring a passport photo to attach on to the Navigo card because if you are stopped by the Navigo wardens you will be fined if your card doesn’t have a photo of you on it. You can check it out online here but buy it at any train station when you arrive in Paris - https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/navigo-monthly-and-weekly-travel-passes
Download the RAFTP app on your phone and it will tell you which train lines/ metros/ buses to take to your chosen destination.
Charles de Gaulle and Orly airport are the most accessible airports from the city. There are trains and buses from both into the city – all of which you can use your Navigo on. Even though flights are often cheaper to Beauvais airport, there is no public transport to Beauvais airport from the city – you either have to pay privately for the airport bus (€30 return to the city) and taxis cost approximately €120 to the airport from the city.
Place du Vendome is lovely to walk around too and a popular area for seeing celebrities during Paris Fashion Week.
I hope you found this blog helpful, let me know in the comments section if you have any questions and enjoy Paris if you are visiting! If you leave your email address in the comments section I will add you to my mailing list and send out an email when my next blog post is up so that you don’t miss it.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored nor does it contain any affiliated links. I took all of the photos shown in this post.