Is Paris Expensive?

Paris is one of the most expensive cities to visit in Europe. Whilst there are cheap and free activities, the city is famous for its art galleries and fine dining that you won’t want to miss completely when visiting Paris. In this Paris travel budget, we break down the cost of accommodation, transport, activities, eating out and wine in Paris.

Is Paris Expensive?

There’s no escaping the fact that Paris is an expensive city to visit. Budget €180 daily per person for a visit to Paris, or €540 per person for a long weekend (3 nights). If you plan to eat out in restaurants for lunch as well as dinner, increase your budget up to €200 per person per day.

During our weekend trip in February, we spent €60/£50 each per day not including flights and accommodation. Adding in accommodation costs, our daily spend was closer to £150/€180 each.

Average Costs in Paris:

Here is a breakdown of the average costs in Paris:

How To Travel on a Budget in Paris

There are ways to keep costs down. The best way to reduce your travel budget in Paris is to:

• Avoid taxis and take the metro or the bus instead
• Enjoy more free activities such as walking along the River Seine, to Paris’ parks and up Montmartre
• Plan your visit to include the first Sunday of the month when The Louvre and other major museums are free
• Minimise eating in restaurants, and instead buy a baguette and cheese for lunch from a local shop
• Stay in a cheaper part of the city and take the metro into the centre for the day

Whilst there are free and cheap activities in the city, this is mostly weather dependent. Being outside in the parks and exploring the streets is great in good weather, but in the winter months it’s too cold and wet to spend too much time outside. Not to mention, Paris has some of the best art galleries in the world, so you’ll want to budget enough to visit at least a few of those.

Cost of Flights or the Eurostar to Paris

If you’re travelling from London to Paris, expect to pay around £100-150 for return flights departing on a Friday and returning on a Monday. During the summer months, flights may be more expensive because it is high season. From London Gatwick, the flight time is a short 40 minutes. Once you arrive in Paris, you can take the metro from the airport to the city centre for €10.30.

Cheap Flights Tip! We use Skyscanner to check prices and book our flights. When you search on Skyscanner, select “full month” to see which dates have the lowest prices.

The other alternative is to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. The train takes 2 and a half hours, but is a more sustainable option than flying. It’s estimated that the Eurostar produces 80% less carbon emissions than a short-haul flight but if you do fly, you can offset your carbon emissions. Eurostar prices vary significantly depending on the days of the week and the season.

Cost of Transport in Paris

Paris is a big city, but fortunately there are multiple budget-friendly transport options. Whilst taxis are expensive, the bus and the metro are reasonably priced and can take you across the city. A day ticket for the metro €13.90 per person, or a single ticket is €1.90. It’s also possible to buy a pack of 10 metro tickets.

We spent a long weekend in Paris, but mostly walked and took the odd single-ticket metro journey. As our hotel was located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, it was very central and therefore we didn’t need to buy a metro day pass during our trip to Paris. More budget conscious travellers though may opt for cheaper accommodation outside of the main city centre and buy a daily metro pass to get into the centre of Paris.

Paris also has rental bikes and electric scooters available across the city. You’ll need to download the app and connect a payment card in order to use them, but once you’ve got the app downloaded, you can pick up a bicycle or scooter from most street corners. Just remember to park it up in a designated bay when you’re done.

Accommodation in Paris is expensive. For city centre hotels, expect to pay €100 per night minimum for a double room with many of the nicer hotels charging €200+ per night. Hotel prices are less in low season and ramp up in the summer months.

We were kindly invited to stay at the Hotel Bel Ami, which is very central at just a 15-minute walk from the Louvre and boasts a Green Key sustainability certification. However, the hotel is pricey at €200+ per night. This is the expected price for boutique and luxury hotels in the city centre of Paris.

If you’re travelling on a tighter budget, look for hotels or hostels further from the main city centre which are close to metro stops. Paris is well-connected by metro, so as long as you’re near to a stop then you’ll be able to easily reach the city centre. For the most budget conscious travellers, try looking for homestays in Paris. These tend to be the cheapest accommodation options.