How to Eat in Paris on the Cheap

Paris is famous for both the quality and high prices of its restaurant food. While it's true that a meal with wine at a four-star restaurant will cost you the equivalent of many hundreds of dollars, there are still a few food bargains to be found in the City of Light.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Maps
• Restaurant Journals
• Eurail Passes
• Travelers' Checks
• Maps

1. Enjoy the bakeries. Few things are as wonderful as the smell inside a French bakery. Inexpensive Parisian treats include bread, brioches, croissants and 'pain au chocolat' ' croissant dough with a strip of dark chocolate in the middle.

2. Shop at markets and have a picnic. What could be more French than a baguette, a chunk of paté and tasty French cheese? Add some wine or bottled water, follow it up with some fresh fruit and you have a good meal.

3. Eat ethnic food, especially Middle Eastern cuisine. France's strong Arabic influence has extended to its cuisine and often offers the best food bargains. Look for Lebanese or Moroccan restaurants or 'couscoussières.'

4. Look for 'tourist menus' posted outside many restaurants. These are set price ('prix fixé') menus that offer three-course meals at much lower prices than the 'à la carte' menu. Though the choices are limited, the savings are usually worthwhile.

5. Eat at cafés, bistros or brasseries; they're always much cheaper than 'haute cuisine' restaurants, but the food will still be pretty good.

Tips & Warnings

• Get a good budget guidebook with extensive listings of affordable restaurants and cafés. Peruse different guidebooks at your local library, make photocopies of the pages you really need, then leave the heavy books at home.
• Try to find a good phrasebook and practice your French before you go; it's not always easy to find a Parisian who understands English.
• Be careful when you order wine in Paris! While a carafe of red, white or rosé 'vin ordinaire' will be decent and inexpensive, prices can quickly get out--of-hand once you start ordering from the wine list. Order the house wine and resist the temptation to 'upgrade' if you are trying to stick to a budget.
• Avoid 'tourist trap' areas if you are trying to eat on the cheap. You may find that the restaurants and cafés a block or so away from the heart of the action are a lot cheaper.

on 12/20/2005 I have frequented the Monoprix supermarket for fillings to go with the baguette (which is bought elsewhere - Bouloungerie). Various pate's, cheeses, tomatoes and lettuce can be cheaply bought, (and inexpensive wine) to be constructed in the hotel room and put in the backpack with a water bottle for lunch at the Eiffel Tower (or wherever), this allows the budget to buy a Grand Marnier Crepe for dessert! I have just had a wonderful flashback.

This proves even cheaper than the plate du jour at Caf?'s which can be pretty low cost as well.

on 11/22/2005 We have a holiday house in a small French village. When we venture up to Paris we head down the Rive Gauche which is the left side of the River Seine. If you go around PM, before many diners are out and about, there is usually an early menu set outside which is cheaper. When the place starts to fill, this menu disappears and prices rise! Also beware of bottled water prices in restaurants. By law they must provide tap water if requested.

on 11/22/2005 There is a wonderful pastry shop called Paul's Patisserie, which is a chain in France. I went to the one on Boulevard St. Michel on the Left Bank, and got one pain au chocolat for about 0.60 Euro. It is very cheap and makes for a delicious breakfast!

It is also usually much cheaper to order sitting at the bar instead of at a table, since you are usually charged extra for the pleasure of being waited on.

I also agree with the tip about the crepe stands! They are all over the place, especially near "touristy" places like the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, and the Latin Quarter. They are inexpensive and delicious. I especially recommend trying a crepe made with Nutella. It's a local favorite, and it is almost too good to be true. There is an excellent creperie on rue Cler as well, where you have the choice of having your crepe made outside the storefront (cheaper), or sitting down at a table.

on 11/22/2005 There's a small stand/crepperie next to the McDonald's at the exit of Av. St. Michel/St. Germain of the RER B which sells panninis (french hot sandwiches) and a soda for 3 euro. This is an excellent deal for those on a slim budget.

on 11/22/2005 Buy ready made sandwiches at one of the delis or go to a grocery and buy your own fixings. Then head to one of the numerous parks for a picnic lunch. Remember that in Paris parks you do not walk or sit on the grass, you must stay on the pathways but there are normally many seating areas available.