A day in Paris costs €100–120 on a budget, €150–220 mid-range, or €300+ at luxury hotels with fine dining. Paris is expensive — but the tourist pricing gap is enormous: a coffee on the Champs-Élysées costs €10, the same coffee at a neighbourhood bar costs €2. The biggest 2026 change: the Louvre raised its ticket price by 45% for non-EU visitors in January, from €22 to €32. Summer is peak season — hotels run 30–50% above winter rates, the Eiffel Tower and major museums require advance booking, and third-party ticket resellers charge up to 3x official prices.
| Budget Level | EUR/Day |
|---|---|
| Budget | €100–€120 |
| Mid-range | €150–€220 |
| Luxury | €300–€500+ |
Important: Paris charges a tourist tax (taxe de séjour) of €4–15 per person per night depending on hotel star rating — collected at check-in and often not included in online booking prices. Budget for it separately. Also note: the Louvre now charges €32 for non-EU visitors (was €22 until January 14, 2026).
The boulangerie is the foundation of eating cheaply in Paris. Every arrondissement has several, and they sell croissants for €1.20–1.80, baguette sandwiches for €4–6, and fresh bread. A proper Parisian breakfast is an espresso au comptoir and a croissant — total cost €3–4 at a local café. The same breakfast at a tourist café near the Eiffel Tower costs €12–18. The rule: stand at the bar, drink fast, leave. Sitting down at a table in France triggers a surcharge, and sitting outside triggers another.
The formule is Paris's best budget weapon for lunch. Almost every neighbourhood bistro offers a two or three-course set menu at lunch for €14–18 — starter plus main, or main plus dessert, sometimes with a glass of wine or coffee included. This is the same food that costs €40–60 ordered à la carte at dinner. Parisians eat their main meal at lunch. Following that rhythm saves €20–40 per day.
The Paris picnic is not a budget compromise — it's genuinely the best way to eat in the city. The outdoor markets (Marché d'Aligre, Marché Bastille, Marché Raspail), boulangeries, and fromageries sell bread, cheese, charcuterie, and wine for €8–12 per person. Eating in the Luxembourg Gardens, Tuileries, or on the banks of the Seine with a bottle of Bordeaux costs less than a tourist sandwich near Notre-Dame and is objectively a better experience.
The weekly Navigo pass (€30.75, available Monday–Sunday) is Paris's most underused money-saver. It covers every metro, bus, RER, and tram line within the city, plus both airports (CDG and Orly) and Versailles. Buy it at any metro station with a photo. If you're visiting Versailles, this alone pays for itself — the return RER B journey costs €7.20 each way without the pass.
The Louvre is free on the first Friday of each month after 6pm. This applies to all nationalities — even non-EU visitors who would otherwise pay €32. The queues on these evenings are significant but manageable. Arrive by 5:30pm, queue outside, and you'll be in within 30–40 minutes. The evening light inside the Pyramid is also extraordinary.
Prices from SpendSanity's database — what people actually pay.
Barcelona
€60–180/day
Istanbul
₺1,700–5,100/day ($50–150)
Tokyo
¥12k–25k/day ($80–170)
Bali
IDR 500k–1.8M/day ($30–120)
Lisbon
€60–180/day
Rome
€80–220/day
Amsterdam
€100–200/day