Paris has a reputation of being an expensive city. Maybe for this reason, it wasn’t until this May, I finally decided to visit the capital of France. Being a solo traveller, I had to be prepared to pay even more than couples of groups of friends, but I did not let this stop me this time. I want to be able to tick boxes on my travel wish list, and experiencing Paris in spring was definitely on it. But the costs. How much money did I spend?
Flights 68,52 €
I was able to find cheap tourist class flights with Air Malta. One of the benefits of living in Malta is definitely a possibility of exploring Europe with some low-cost airlines. This was my first flight with Air Malta, and I was positively surprised.
Hotel 347,97 €
In places like Paris and Rome, the price and quality of hotels just don’t match. I still wanted to indulge myself, and booked a nice looking private room just 10-minutes walk from the Eiffel tower. The name of the hotel was Hotel Korner Eiffel, and I booked my room well in advance to secure a good location and still reasonable(ish) prices. I had a typical tiny Parisian single room that was clean and modern. I had enough space for myself, even though the toilet was quite hilariously just next to the outside door. The breakfast was available for 9.50 € per day and it consisted of bread, croissants, yogurts, fruit, juices and coffee. If you ask me, this was expensive but hey, I you live only once.
Eating and drinking 93,19 €
So apparently I spent less money on food in Paris than I do in my home Malta. Usually I had a big lunch. Restaurants were advertising set menus of the day everywhere, and they usually were value for money. For approximately 12 – 15 euros you could get a drink, a starter /dessert and a main course, so pretty good if you ask me. Usually the menus were in French but in all places waiters explained to me what all things meant. I had only light dinners because I didn’t feel like dining and wining myself that much. There was a good supermarket just next to my hotel, I went there for some occasional snacks and drinks.
Transportation 61,40€
This includes taxis from home to Malta airport (19 €) and back (20€). From Charles de Gaulle airport I took a RER-train to the city centre (10,30€). There are two types of services. Every other service stops at all the stops between the airport and the city. Some of the stops are within not that good neighbourhood, so I decided to take a direct service that skips all those areas. It was super easy to travel with Metro even though the Paris metro map might look like a mess at the first sight. I had my return flight from Orly airport, and I travelled there by bus (8,30 €). I was early at the bus stop and managed to get a seat unlike many others. The bus can even get so full that you have to wait for the next one. So make sure you will have a plenty of time if you decide to use the bus.
Sightseeing 27 €
I was so surprised that I hardly spent any money on sightseeing. Many things were free: seeing the Eiffel tower, entering churches, sitting at parks and walking along the Seine. I only purchased entrance ticket to Louvre and to a Dali museum. Well, next time I have to use more money on doing fun stuff, like taking a Seine river cruise after the sunset.
Souveniers 34,70 €
I managed to avoid temptations, and bought only a bottle of wine, Laduree macarons and espresso cups. Paris is a shopping heaven, and you could spend astronomical amounts of money if you wanted to.
ALL IN ALL 632,78 €
So three nights in Paris was a bit more than 600 euros per one person. I was surprised to see how little I spent on food, sightseeing and flights. However, the hotel room was really expensive for one person. On the other hand, if I would have travelled with some companion, I would probably ended up spending more time eating and drinking out. Was Paris worth the money? Definitely yes!
And well, 600 euros was not that bad after all. Not at least if you compare it to my Iceland trip that starts tomorrow. More to come later :).
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