paris for 4 days

going to be in paris for four nights with the family ( 5 of us ) would like to roughly know how much things are going to be?

for example we will be making things ourselves so supermarkets what are the prices like? also cab fares from the airport charles to 1st dist.

just so we dont get ripped off.

also places to take the kids/ (11, 6, 5 )

thanks

psj5

|||

hey, we spent five days in paris last december and contrary to what people here had said things were not as expensive as we had thought. there is oten a lot of %26#39;scaremongering%26#39; by aussies that places like Paris are %26#39;so expensive they couldn%26#39;t afford to eat out or do anything%26#39;...not the case really.

Yes things are more expensive because our dollar gets you less Euro but for example we bout sandwiches/baguettes most days for lunch at between 3-5 euro each...mostly 3 or 4 euro. Can of soft drink, 1.5 euro or 2 euro. We ate in indian restaruants, italian restaurants, and other places not right in the tourist areas and we never paid more than 27 euros for two people for dinner with a wine as well. Yes if you get bogged down into converting everything into AUD things will seem expensive but if you just concentrate on reasonable prices in Euros you will have a better time!

The Museum pass was great value at 45 euros for four days the only attractions we paid for the whole time was the eiffel tower and the grand arche. Also the audio guide at versailles is an extra (the admision is incl in the pass).

We bought water and soft drinks and snacks at small shops and supermarkets and kept them in the hotel minibar...bottled water was like 1 euro a litre, very reasonable.

We didn%26#39;t take a taxi as for two people with only two bags the train was fine.

hope this helps a little

have a great trip!

j.

|||

Haymont%26#39;s tip ... %26quot;We bought ... snacks at small shops and supermarkets and kept them in the hotel minibar... .%26quot; is exactly the right approach, although with the size of the minibars I%26#39;ve seen in Paris hotels, you%26#39;d be lucky to keep a hamster alive on any food you could cram in there, let alone a family of 5. But you may have better facilites for self-catering?

You can eat well in Paris without ever going into a restaurant, by using the specialist food stores you will find in every district. I would just buy what you need there and then - although I guess with 3 kids you need to know where you next meal is coming from! There should always be something open between 8am and 7pm - perhaps longer - but watch for August holiday closing dates in the privately-owned shops.

Buy croissants, brioche or baguettes fresh from a bakery for breakfast. Lunch or dinner from a delicatessen (variously known as traiteur, charcuterie, epicerie). If you have somewhere to heat it up, you can even buy a prepared meal ready to cook.

Mixed salads, which include protein (Nicoise - tuna, ham, salami, chicken, nuts) typically cost about 20 Euros per kilo. That may sound a lot, but they sell you exactly how much you want, packed into individual containers, and should include plastic knifes/ forks and serviettes - just ask before ordering.

For instance, if you are near the Latin Quarter on your travels, we went to Rue Buci (look for Metro Mabillon on a map) to buy a picnic. Behind the stand selling prepared baguettes at 3-4 euros - which could be heavy going for the younger children if they are not used to French bread without butter - we found a traiteur. As we couldn%26#39;t decide which of the many salads to have, the assistant offered to do a 100g %26quot;pick-and-mix%26quot;, which came to 2 euros each. Next door at the boulanger, we bought picollo breads at 0.50 euros and cans of Orangina at 1 euro. OK, so it is still 3.50 Euros each, but good quality, fresh and chilled.

I don%26#39;t think you will get ripped off because all prices should be displayed by reputable traders and you will always find menus outside restaurants. All service is included in the bid, so don%26#39;t feel obliged to leave anything extra as a tip. So what are some of the things to avoid?

Small cakes - if you can! - cost anything from 2-7 euros each, depending the quality of ingredients and manufacture. This is where the supermarkets win on price with factory production, but they are just not up to the standard of a good patissier%26#39;s.

A cup of tea is 3-5 euros. Drink coffee for the same price or less. Don%26#39;t use cafes in the department stores - you will get paper cups even at these prices. Buy water and cans of drink from the local shops, not tourist facilities.

Finally, if you%26#39;ve been to London, you might expect museum restaurants to be something to avoid, but this is not always the case. I%26#39;m told the new Quay Branley museum is good, but I haven%26#39;t eaten there myself - although you probably didn%26#39;t come to Paris expecting to see Australian ethnic art!

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 4:17 pm, September 06, 2009