I Prefer Paris: Top Ten Paris Bargains

I received this valuable list of Top Ten Paris Bargains from Sonia who works at the marketing department at www.hostelbookers.com, an excellent resource for booking hostels. It always great to know where the bargains are in Paris and this list has some nice surprises I didn't know about.

Top Ten Paris Bargains
A Budget break in Paris? C’est impossible?! It’s a Paris cliché that Gallic chic doesn’t come cheap, and travelers always complain that the city of lights is costly. But there are loads of ‘bon prix’ to be found along the Parisian streets, you just have to look beyond the Louvre…

1. A Bargain Bistro
L’Avant Gout (26 Rue Bobilot 75013), is a gourmet bistro famous for its signature dish ‘Le pot au feu de cochon aux épices’. The lunch menu is a true bargain- for €14 you get an entree, main course, a glass of wine, and coffee all included in the price.

2. The Batobus
A trip along the Seine is the perfect way to see Paris, but avoid the overpriced tourist boats blaring irritating commentaries. From Mid-April to November, the Batobus is a great budget alternative, and it stops off at all the main sites, looping from the Eiffel Tower right round to the Champs Elysee. Take to the water for €12 for one day or €16 for two, and hop and off when you please.

3. Another Tower
Whilst the Eiffel Tower may be Paris’ most iconic way to see the city, the Montparnasse Tower offers a far cheaper romantic view. Ignore the tourist lift and take your loved one to the café on the 56th floor. Grab a gourmet café au lait, enjoy the sights below, and spot that other famous tower from the window!

4. Vintage Finds for €5
Free P Star, and a few other unnamed, tiny shops in the Marais, are a vintage mecca for sourcing cool secondhand clothes. Crammed to the rafters with fur coats, pretty dresses, leather jackets and platform boots, hoards of chic Parisiens elbow each other out the way in search of the perfect bargain outfit. The real draw for bargain hunters are the €3 and €5 ‘bins’, where you can rummage for some truly unique pieces.

5. Cool Cocktails in the Marais
This cobbled former Jewish quarter is now the hippest hot-spot in the city, and at around 8pm most of the bars have a happy hour, where you can get a pint of beer or a cocktail, and some bar snacks for under €5.

6. The Musee D’Orsay
This is a well-known museum, but I really think this is one of Paris’s best-value galleries. Housed in a beautiful old train station, it showcases a range of art from 1848 to 1915, but is most famous for its impressive collection by the Impressionists Monet, Degas, Renoir and Cezanne. Smaller and easier to navigate than the Louvre, tickets are only €5.50 on Sundays and for under 25s.

7. Cemeteries and Churches
The ultimate bargain when visiting Paris, all the cemeteries and churches in the city are free to enter. Cemeteries like Montparnasse and Pere Lachaise are completely free, and are home to many famous graves, from Jim Morrisson to Jean Paul-Sartre. The Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and a whole host of lesser known churches like Saint Sulpice are some of the cities grandest buildings, are just as beautiful inside, and cost nothing to visit.

8. Monoprix Macarons
Whenever I visit Paris, I pay a visit to the many amazing patisseries in the city, and occasionally indulge in one of Lauduree’s sumptuous macarons. These candy-colored confections cost a bomb, so you can only limit yourself to one at a time! For a delicious treat at about a third of the price, head to supermarkets Franprix or Monoprix, and stock up on the little boxes of mini macarons. The quality is almost as good, and you’ll have enough to share round!

9. A Paris hostel
Forget dingy dorms and dirty shared bathrooms, it’s easy to find a stylish hostel in Paris, and many have better facilities than most budget hotels. Prices at Le Montclair Montmartre start at only €26 a night for a private room, and the hostel is enough to convert even the most skeptical of travelers, with a free breakfast, internet facilities and a stylish lounge, all in the heart of bohemian Montmartre.

10. And finally…the Louvre for less
If you are desperate to visit the Louvre, at least do it on the cheap. The Louvre is free the first Sunday of every month, but all of Paris knows this - so the queues are vast. It’s far less stressful to visit on Wednesday and Friday evenings, between 6 and 9:45pm, where the admission fee is halved, and you won’t have to wade through the crowds to see the Mona Lisa!

www.hostelbookers.com

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook. First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

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I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com