Paris Travel Cost: 4 Days Under 250€ | Traveling on a Budget

Paris is an expensive city, that's a fact, and the average price of a vacation to Paris can go up to 150€ per day. But what if I tell you that it's possible to set your Paris travel cost to 250€ or less, for a 4-day trip? If you're a budget traveler, this post is for you!

Flights

Depending on where you're from, this could either be one of the cheapest expenses or your most expensive one.

Personally, I live in Portugal and I catch most of my flights from Lisbon airport. If you're looking for cheap flights from Lisbon to CDG or ORY (the airports closer to the center of Paris), chances are you'll find something around 50€ or 60€. 

I was very lucky on this one because I saw that Vueling was having a 2 for the price of 1 sale. This means that, instead of 60€, I only paid 30€ for the round flights with seats booked (but only a backpack included).

Accommodation

This is another of the highest expenses of the trip, but this obviously depends on what's your travel style. Maybe if you're a backpacker and enjoy staying in hostels, if you don't mind a shared room and shared bathroom, you'll probably find some options near the center. 

For me, a private bathroom is a non-negotiable, even if it comes with a higher cost - and in this case, even if it means I'll have to search for accommodation far from the city center, to avoid spending too much money.

I was traveling with my boyfriend and for 3 nights in a double room with a private bathroom (without breakfast) at Ibis Budget, each one of us paid 76,95€.

Our hotel was located in La Villette, and even though it's far from the center, it was cheaper to buy subway tickets than to pay for an accommodation with a better location.

Transportation

Paris has a great subway system, and considering our accommodation was far from the centre, we were expecting to catch the subway at least 2 times a day. If you multiply by 4, the duration of our stay, would mean at least 8 subway trips.

A tip if you're visiting Paris, is that if you purchase a pack of 10 tickets it would be cheaper than purchasing the tickets individually, so that's what we did - and we used all of the 10.

Adding the cost of the trains to Versailles, our total cost with transportation was 24,2€ per person.

Food

On our first day, we grabbed lunch at McDonald's, but apart from that, we always bought food at the supermarket and baguettes from bakeries (which were around 3€ and very delicious). Our expenses with food were around 50€ per person.

Attractions

Thankfully all museums I wanted to visit are free for European citizens under 26 years old, but in case you no longer qualify for this amazing discount, I would recommend getting the museum pass. If you're planning to visit 3 or more attractions, it will save you money.

The attractions I ended up paying for were the Eiffel Tower (and I chose the ticket that included the lift to the top, instead of the stairs), and the Catacombs. Regarding the Catacombs, I booked the last-minute tickets, because they're cheaper than the ones booked in advance. You can set an alarm to remind you to purchase them at midnight, to ensure you get tickets for the time slot you want.

My expenses with the attractions made up a total of 39,10€.

This gives me a total of 220€ for 4 days in Paris, which is a very budget-friendly value for this city. You can also check my Paris itinerary to help you plan your trip.

👉🏻 How I could've saved some money to stay on the 200€ budget?

• Not booking seats on both flights
• Reducing the number of subway/bus trips
• Getting a cheaper ticket for the Eiffel Tower (by using the stairs instead of the lift)
• Replacing the first lunch at McDonald’s with a baguette from the bakery

👉🏻 Tips to avoid overspending and traveling to Paris on a budget

• Instead of eating out, grab sandwiches at bakeries (search for "patisserie" or "boulangerie" on Google Maps to find the ones closest to you. This can get you a tasty meal for 3€;
• If you have the chance, visit Paris while you qualify for the free entrance to monuments, for Europeans under 26 - if not, double-check if the Paris Museum Pass can save you money;
• Search for accommodation far from the centre (but closer to a subway station);
• Consider using a cashback app while you're booking your trip, such as Beruby - you can register with my code "raquelvsa" to receive an additional 1€ on your first purchase.

👉🏻 Save this for later and pin this article on Pinterest

Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok

10€ discount booking a trip with Omio

5% off on your travel insurance