HOW TO EXPERIENCE PARIS ON A BUDGET. WITHOUT COMPROMISING QUALITY OR QUANTITY. AND FREE!!!
Here are our local tips and secrets on how to cut
corners (and lines), avoid expensive tourist traps and overall save your
precious Paris pennies with some smart, practical city advice.
TIP: sometimes a
glass of red is more worthwhile than a coffee. 3-4euro per cup/glass.
a.
Museum Madness
· Free entrance to
museums: On the first Sunday of
each month for all major museums run by the City of Paris Includes: The Louvre; Musee moyen Age; Musee d’Orsay; Musee
National Picasso; Musee Rodin; Musee Quai Branly and Centre Pompidou.
· Museums
Free in the evenings: Maison
Europeanne de la Photographie (Wednesdays) and Musee des art et Metiers
(Thursdays)
· TIP: If you go to the Louvre avoid the hr-long queue! There is an entry from
the ‘Louvre-Rivoli’ underground metro with virtually no line
taking 10-20 minutes to enter.
·
TIP: Get a 2/3 day
Museum Pass: Don't wait in lines, pick up your Pass at the Visitor’s Center (or
at the FNAC bookstore), or buy it
online before you go. The pass allows
access to many major museums. TIP: Museums close days are Mon and Tues.
b.
Transport Savings
·
Metro Saving: Buy a booklet of 10 metro tickets (approx
13.30euro) rather than individual tickets (1.80 euro). Weekly, monthly or 3-5
day passes are also available. A weekly ticket is15.40euro approx from Monday
to Sunday. Be careful, certain counter employees receive commission and will
try to persuade you to buy a 5-day tourist card claiming the orange (weekly)
card is only for Parisians or working people. Not true.
· Save getting into
Paris: For 13euro the RER Intercity train gets you
from Airport to Paris central stations, swap to underground metro lines to
catch the metro to your B&B using the same ticket - no need to buy another.
Times and maps at www.parisbytrain.com
c.
Budget Nightlife
· Pocket sized ‘What’s On’ guides out every
Wednesday (L'officiel des
Spectables OR Pariscope) are sold in news kiosk for o.40euro listing FREE shows and events around town – as
well as timetables for museums, cinemas, church recitals, exhibitions etc.
d.
FREE
Music Venues:
· Glimpse
the local jazz scene every Monday night at 7 Lézards, a basement jazz
club in the Marais where the house band performs without a cover charge.
· Open
for 60 years, the Latin Quarter jazz club Caveau de la Huchette
5 rue de la Huchette, turns into a free dance floor Thursday through Saturday
nights.
·
The
Gothic Notre Dame
cathedral gives free organ recitals Sundays at 4:30 p.m. in a storybook
setting.
· Radio France
gives 180 free concerts a year (mostly on Saturdays) by national and philharmonic
orchestras and choirs. Free tickets are handed out 30 minutes beforehand.
· Hundreds
of musicians take to the streets, bars, and cafés for La Fête de la Musique
each June 21 at sundown for a free-for-all music fest - jazz, rock, hip-hop,
electronica.
e.
FREE
Attractions:
· Notre Dame Cathedral: No fee on
the first Sunday each month (October to March) to climb the 387 step North
Tower to glimpse the flying buttresses that support this gothic architectural
structure and famous gargoyles. 6 Parvis
Notre Dame, Place Jean-Paul II
· Visit the awe-inspiring Gothic Sainte-Chapelle's
15 exquisite stained glass panels walls and rose window. No FEE first Sunday of
the month Nov to Mar. Free recitals too.
· Near
the Sacré-Coeur, where Picasso lived, Montmartre's Place du Tertre square is a lively
spectacle of aspiring artists selling souvenir artwork and drawing portraits.
· Criss-cross
the Seine River on nearly 40 wooden, metal, and stone bridges, from the 400-year-old Pont Neuf to
the eye-shaped steel Simone-de-Beauvoir.
f.
Budget
Shopping:
· Patrol
the myriad open-air food, flower, and
flea markets scattered throughout Paris, and don't miss one of
the city's most impressive flea markets, the Marché aux Puces
– the first antique bric-a-brac market
in Paris. Port de Clignancourt 75018
·
Window shop—or
as the French say, lèche-vitrines
(literally "window-lick") on Ave Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg
Saint-Honoré, one of the city's priciest streets, for a glimpse of the Paris
featured in many movies.
·
Slowly stroll the riverbank; for
quirky souvenirs and browse the book stalls that line the Left Bank on
street-level for cheap 2,3 and 4euro classics.
Flower Market: Everyday (Sundays is also a bird
market). Ile de la Cite–Place
Louis-lepine 75004
g.
Escape from Paris
· Versailles: The cheapest way to go to Versailles Castle, is via bus 171. Departures Pont de Sevres
subway (last station on line 9). ONLY 2euro (one-way) for the 30 minute ride.
i.
FREE Walks:
·
See the city from the Promenade Plantée, an elevated
railway - one of the few such linear parks in the world. Parks, arcades, public
art, people playing sports, gardens etc.
·Relish the peaceful vantage point
of the Eiffel Tower from the garden at Maison de Balzac, the home of 19th-century writer Honoré de
Balzac.
·
Plot your path through the Père-Lachaise Cemetery
with the online virtual tour
of the graveyard's celebrity residents, from Oscar Wilde's grave to Jim
Morrison's modest plot.
·
Grab a free copy of the bicycling
map, "Carte Vélo à Paris,"
at any tourism office and bike rental agencies. Navigate the city's maze of
bike lanes and scenic routes.
·
The sprawling Jardin du Luxembourg
is a landscaped garden in the Latin Quarter, featuring an 18thC Medicis
fountain, several 19thC statues, and locals relaxing.
·
In the Marais, Place des Vosges, the city's
oldest square, is surrounded by brick and stone houses and offers respite from
the busy streets.
For Paris
City Guide tips, information contact Regina Ferreira at Petite Pr:info@petitepr.com.au
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