When I see articles about the cost of a trip to Paris, the city is frequently mentioned as a notoriously expensive place to visit. Before our first trip there, Travis and I didn’t plan a budget or research prices except for a few things. We compared the cost of driving with public transit. Incredibly, driving from central Germany is cheaper and faster than plane, train, or bus. We also priced a few attractions we knew we wanted to see.
Beyond that, we were just excited to meet up with some American friends and spend several days exploring the city. Always a bit of a Scrooge, I promised myself – with encouragement from Travis – that I’d try to relax and not be a penny-pinching Debbie Downer. It was an excellent policy!
We had a fantastic time with our friends, and with the exception of the high prices, Paris exceeded my every expectation. If you’re planning your own trip to Paris, hopefully our budget will be helpful.
This is a summary of what we spent on our 5-day road trip to Paris, including lodging, attractions, food, copious amounts of alcohol, and transportation. Obviously you can spend far more or less than this depending on your style and budget. We visited twice as many attractions as we expected and ate every tasty treat Paris had to offer. We don’t regret splurging one bit. Of all the places you can easily scrimp a bit, Paris is not the place to do that.
Are you trying to figure out the cost of a trip to Paris? Let our 5-day road trip budget and itinerary give you some ideas how to plan for your trip.Lodging = €281
Lodging is often the highest expense while traveling, and staying at an Airbnb can significantly reduce the cost of a trip to Paris. We booked a private room in a shared flat for 5 days, 4 nights for €70/night – all fees included – which is a steal in the fashionable Le Marais district of Paris.
We definitely recommend the Airbnb where we stayed in Paris. If you book the same flat, note that it definitely small, though not necessarily by Paris standards. Even with the hosts there though, it’s large enough for a couple. The hosts are fantastic and actually left the place to us for the weekend while they traveled.
The apartment is a 5-minute walk to the nearest Metro station and about 10 minutes by foot to the Louvre and Notre Dame. The location is just perfect.
Though small, this Airbnb on the Rue de la Cossonnerie in Paris offers a cozy private bedroom, friendly hosts, and the perfect location in Le Marais.Cost of Attractions = €299
| All attractions we visited in Paris | Price per adult | Price for 2 |
| Louvre Museum | €15 pp x 2 | €30 |
| Le Calife dinner cruise | €67 pp x 2 | €134 |
| Louvre Museum | €15 pp x 2 | €30 |
| Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris | €8.50 pp x 2 | €17 * |
| The Panthéon | €8.50 pp x 2 | €17 |
| La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre | FREE | |
| Eiffel Tower | €35 pp x 2 | €70 ** |
| Père Lachaise Cemetery | FREE | |
| Maison de Victor Hugo | €8 pp x 2 | €16 *** |
| Marché Popincourt | FREE | **** |
*Entry into Notre Dame is free. We paid to climb the towers for an unguided tour of the cathedral, to see the bells, and for a view of the city.
**Entry into the Eiffel Tower is normally€11/adult for tickets to ride the elevator to the 2nd floor or €17/adult to ride to the 3rd floor, the top. We paid €29/adult for a guided with Cultival, which I would recommend. It took nearly 2 hours and included a tour of the underground bunkers beneath the Champ de Mars. We toured the area beneath the Eiffel Tower elevators and learned how they operate, and then were given access to the roof of the 2nd floor restaurant. This was less interesting, but we did see the wind turbines that generate electricity for the tower. Our tour ended on the 2nd floor, where we paid an additional €6/adult to take the elevator to the top. Do it all! It’s worth it!
***Entry to the Maison de Victor Hugo is normally FREE, except when the museum is housing temporary exhibitions, which it was during our visit.
****Entry at the Marché Popincourt farmer’s market is FREE, but bring money in case you want to buy something!
We’re not normally big fans of planning, but when it comes to Paris attractions, we recommend buying tickets in advance! A great place to do that is through the Paris Visitor’s Bureau. Sights like the Eiffel Tower sell out fast. We bought tickets for the Louvre, Notre Dame towers, and Eiffel Tower tour with Cultival as one purchase on this site.
You can also book lodging, shows, excursions, and transportation, plus you can buy the Paris Passlib’, a card that grants access to a bunch of museums and public transit in the city. Personally, the price of the Passlib’ is so high per adult for a 3, 4, or 5-day stay that I can’t imagine how it could be cost-effective, but if it suits your travel plans, it’s available on the site.
Tickets are either emailed immediately (Eiffel trip with Cultival), available for pick up for free at the tourism office in Paris, or you can receive your tickets by mail for a fee. The delivery cost to Germany via DHL, the only option, was €14.95.
Travel Tip: Take note that the tourism office in Paris doesn't open until 10 am! If you like to hit the sights early, make sure you pick them up the day before or have them mailing to you.
“Skip-the-line” tickets are available for most attractions in Paris on the main Visitors Bureau site. Save money by having them shipped to a French address or the Paris Tourism Office.Cost of Food = €190
This one’s a toughie since we didn’t keep receipts, nor did I keep a running tally in my head like I normally do. Typically we eat out so rarely that when we do, the total price stands out. In Paris, we ate out every day – ice cream, Costa Coffee, street food, escargots at the Sacre-Coeur farmer’s market, a fancy dinner on Le Calife during a cruise on the Seine (one of the best meals I’ve ever had), and several cafes. This tally is a rough estimate.
| Homemade blueberry muffins, banana bread, sandwiches, Clif bars, salami/cheese/crackers from home | €10 |
| Cocktails and beer at Restaurant Chouchou | €15 |
| Lots of coffee, mostly from Costa Coffee | €25 |
| Lunch and cocktails + beer at Brasserie du Quai | €30 |
| Breakfast at Miss Manon | €20 |
| Cocktails and beer at Hotel 29 LEPIC bar | €20 |
| Escargots, bottle of wine, and beer at Sacre-Coeur | €30 |
| Misc. ice cream, kebabs from a street vendor, and muffins | €40 |
€7 at the Sacre-Coeur farmer’s market will get you 12 large escargots drenched in butter, garlic, and herbs. Delicious!Cost of Transportation = €190
€107
Our VW gets 5.7 liters of diesel/100 km, so 1629 km @ €1.15/liter
€54.80
We drove from the very center of Germany to a parking garage on the outskirts of Paris and back. Road tolls increase the closer you get to Paris. You can estimate the cost of tolls for your route here.
€55
We parked there for 4 days. Located on the eastern perimeter of Paris, the lot offers 24-hour parking, CCTV video monitoring, and 24/7 security guards. You can reserve online in advance and pay on arrival. They also offer multiple locations all over the city. Staff at the office spoke English and were very friendly, even printing out a detailed map for us to get to our Airbnb with specific Metro directions. We can’t recommend them enough!
+€41
This ride-sharing website is a fantastic option for cutting transportation costs. It allows you to offer rides and get paid per rider or look for someone going to your destination on your dates. The prices are typically lower than taking the train or bus, helps reduce costs for the driver, and encourages ride-sharing. The environment (- and your wallet – will thank you! We were paid €41 for 1 passenger which nearly covered all the road tolls in France.
€14.10
We bought a booklet of 10 that was sufficient for us both to ride the Metro for 5 days. Buy on site at any station. It’s a fantastic deal!
*Note: Do not put the unused tickets next to your credit cards like I did. It demagnetizes them. You can ask for replacements at the ticket booth in any Metro station.
You can find lots of good info about Paris Metro tickets and passes here.
Individual Metro tickets cost €1.80, or you can buy a stack of 10 for €14.10, which brings them down to €1.41 per ticket.Total cost of our trip for 2 = €960
Regardless of your budget or personal travel preferences, Paris really does offer something for everyone!
Despite the city’s fame for its landmarks like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, we thought we’d have to tolerate unfriendly locals, outsmart mobs of shifty pickpocketers on the Metro, and stand in endless lines to get through security at attractions.
Not so at all.
From the guy at our parking garage to staff on our fancy dinner cruise, from the hilarious security guy at Notre Dame to our Jean-Valjean look-alike of a waiter at Chouchou, everyone was friendly.
Driving in Paris was easy. The food? Gadzooks! The food deserves a blog of its own. Every single day was a fun adventure packed with new things. Yes, Paris is expensive. But it’s worth it!
Are you planning a trip to Paris and you’re not sure what to see? Check out three of our favorite experiences there!
- Climbing the Eiffel Tower on a guided tour with Cultival
- Enjoying a luxury dinner cruise on the Seine River on board Le Calife
- Ringing the bells of Notre Dame, famed home of Quasimodo
