A good number of us will be traveling in France this year, and perhaps others are still contemplating a trip. I think we're all more careful about money these days, but it's also very possible to enjoy a trip to France and travel on a more limited budget.

What tips do you have to share with other travelers about traveling more economically in France?

Kathy

It is cheaper and slower in the countryside, with much more to see and do.

Stay away from the Day Tripper stops.

Also try renting a "Camping Car" or bring your own.

Bon voyage.

One of the pleasures of France for me is eating out, but when Shannon and I stayed in the Loire Valley, we learned to eat our "big meal" at lunchtime.

The first day of our stay at the wonderful "Le Ferme du Petit Souper" cottage, we went to the weekly market in Montrichard and stocked up on fresh eggs, awesome roasted chicken, pomme de terre, cheese, and other goodies.

Each day we'd tour a town and/or chateau and enjoy a meal out (mmm mussels in Amboise), then cook at home at night. (Actually, Shannon was the cook. ) I think we spent less than €35 at the market, and that lasted us for three nights' dinners for the two of us. One day we went to the "Fete du Pain" and stocked up on bread, too.

Colleen gives a good tip, based on her travels with Shannon.

In countryside, picnic !
It is a good system to picnic for lunch, then cook with local ingredients at your rental for dinner.
France has an "official" list of "les plus beaux villages" covering the entire France. In other words, it is a list of the best pucinic spots, wherever you are.

Ferme-auberges:
For a celebratory Rabelaisian meal, go to a ferme-auberge and pig out on farm-fresh foie gras and lamb and duck and tartiflette. Children especiall like the less retrictive setting and appreciate seeing the ainimals and plants up close.

Seafood in the city:
In Paris, or another big city with access to fresh seafood, instead of paying through the nose for a seafood platter in a good brasserie, get a seafood platter of the same quality and freshness from the local market. You can "book" a dozen , or 3 dozen, oysters, a few hours or few days in advance (opening fee: 1 euro per dozen oysters, at my local poissonerie) prepared on a bed of ice on a platter.

Shopping:
Shop in the vintage shops (dépôt-vente) stores in Paris. Where do you think this queen of cheap gets her 60's Hermès and Gucci and Ferragamo and Prada?

Lastly, back to food: save, yes, but try not to save by saving on quality. Discounting on your travelling experience is not what travelling is about. Go for the fresh -- anything, asparagaus, in-season mushrooms, in-season fruit, présalé lamb, premium chocolate, farm foie gras.
(Actually nothing that I cited above is expensive…)

The main expense is often lodging, and you can't beat renting a house in the countryside or in many cities/towns - particularly if there are 2 or 3 bedrooms and you split the cost of a weekly rental with friends or family. Not to mention splitting the cost of a car! This also applies to families that would require a couple of hotel rooms to accommodate children. And of course you can shop the local markets for food, eating out only for lunch when daytripping. We do this and feel like we're leading a fabulous lifestyle, though it is actually a cheap experience.

(I realize that on this forum, I'm preaching to the choir!)

Linda

I think by renting apartments as Slow Travelers, we're already economizing over hotel rentals. Therefore, I doubt I have any "new" information for those of us who have been doing this for years.

Have an evening glass of wine at your apartment instead of a bar or restaurant.

If you need multiple cups of coffee or tea to get you going in the morning, make those pots at your rental.

Avoid US soft drinks (or other US food products). We drink sparkling water... still not cheap at restaurants, but less than soft drinks especially at the grocery store.

Museum and metro passes. We only take a taxi when exhausted.

In France, we find the fixed price menus to be a good deal for nice dining, even at the more expensive restaurants. In Mougins, Nice and Cap Ferrat last year, we found fantastic restaurants with 18-28 Euro dinner menus (per person) that included 3 courses. Whatever was the special (in season) was usually the best deal. Find the place locals dine where the menus aren't in English-- memorize key food words in French so that you can read the menu.

Cameron

A Mougins (vieux village) restaurant, Resto des Arts, last year that was loaded with wonderful food -- we had dinner there several evenings and we were the only Americans in the restaurant each time. This was dining outside, too.

If you are visiting in June or September, don't miss the Jours de Patrimoine - a Sunday each month when many of the chateaux and heritage sites offer free entry for everyone.

Menu Ouvrier are excellent value and copious meals at lunchtime, very often with wine included in the price and a self-service buffet to start with, followed by a main course, cheese board and dessert - around 11 euros. You wll not want more than pate, fresh fruit and a glass of wine in the evening.

Stay with someone who really knows the local area (sorry for the plug!), but that way you will find out which are the best value places to eat - and those to avoid, where to shop economically, where there are the good local wines direct from the viticulteur - far more fun to buy there and much better than supermarket offerings, and who will have discount tickets for some visits and wine purchases. You will also save time, as gites with owner-residents can also advise which are the best places to visit and when they are open.

Look for a self-catering rental with free internet access to cut down phone call charges and internet-cafe fees.

Oh - and enjoy nature too. Picnics are such a pleasure, cycling through the forests or wandering around a local lake by a nature reserve and seeing how the French really know how to enjoy their wonderful countryside.

For us--two people--a week at a B&B is cheaper than a gite. This is in the country. Maybe the costs work out differently in the city. We eat lunch in a restaurant and picnic in the evening at the B&B. Breakfast is included in the B&B price.

Frenchholiday, I too highly recommend the Journees du Patrimoine in September (3rd weekend?) for free (sometimes reduced-price) entry to museums, chateaux, manoirs, gardens, and lots of other interesting sites not often open to the public.

We've talked to visitors who think French charges are too high for museums, etc. Our entertainment is cheaper--driving Michelin's green roads, going to markets, checking out the villes/villages fleuris and Most Beautiful Villages, walking on marked randonnees. My favorite "museum" is the patisserie--so many beautiful things on display, and all for sale.

If you rent a car in France, get one with a diesel engine. Diesel fuel costs a lot less than gasoline here, and diesel engines get significantly better mileage than gasoline engines.

Buy fuel at the supermarket pumps (SuperU, Intermarché, Champion, Leclerc, Auchan, etc.) rather than in service stations. It's a lot cheaper. Especially avoid filling up at gas stations on the autoroutes.

Rent as small a car as possible for the number of travelers in your group so that you will get the best rate. And avoid driving on autoroutes if at all possible. The tolls are very high. For example, the toll on the autoroute from Saint-Aignan to Paris is about 20 euros each way, and the trip takes 3 hours or more. If I drive small roads to Paris, I save fuel because I'm not driving as fast and I don't pay the tolls. It takes more like four hours to get there. That extra hour is worth it to me, and I get to see a lot more of the countryside than I would on the autoroute.

If you can, rent a gîte from Gîtes de France. So somebody said, lodging is about the biggest expense you'll have unless you eat in Michelin-starred restaurants every day. Gîtes de France prices are very low compared to gîtes owned by anglophone expats who cater to English-speaking visitors.

And yes, avoid expensive drinks in cafés (unless you just want to while away a few hours sitting outside on the terrace and watching people walk by). Buy local wines and have them in your gîte or hôtel. Buy sparkling water or even soft drinks at supermarkets, not in cafés. (That said, a glass of local Touraine wine in a café in Saint-Aignan costs only 1 or 2 euros...)

As AiP said, don't sacrifice food quality to price. You don't have to. Prepared foods, whether fresh or frozen, cost a lot more than fresh meats and vegetables, whether in supermarkets or outdoor markets. If you can cook your own chicken rather than buying it cooked at the market, for example, you'll save money and you might get a better chicken, actually.

We just returned from a week in Paris and had a marvelous time on a budget. I think the best tip for anyone planning a trip is do your research. With the internet and great websites such as SlowTrav.com, that is easy. Based on what we learned, we were able to save money by

Buying a museum pass
Using public transportation
Renting an apartment
Eating our meals in the apartment or packing a picnic

My only other thought is to consider the convenience of all alternatives. For instance, we took the RER train from/to CDG because it was convenient (no change of trains and the station was 2 blocks from our apartment) was fast, and was the most inexpensive option. If we had had to change trains or pull our suitcases for several blocks, a taxi would have been the right option.

Such great ideas presented here. And yes, renting by the week as an alternative to hotels is a no brainer on this site!
If you can buy wine "en vrac" it is very cheap. Many wine growing regions have local wine cooperatives that will fill your own container, with a hose of sorts, with the local product. In the Rhone wine area, we had our choice of rose, white or red. It was a pretty good "daily drinker", and was a huge quantity for about $8. Many rental houses have such a container for your use.
Linda

OK, this may/may not be practical, depending on your situation when traveling this year, but I'm rethinking my communications options when we'll be in France this June.

Our house rental includes Skype installed on a computer. Computer-to-computer calls with Skype are free - so that covers some contacts back here in Canada. But for a payment of a minimum of $14.00 I can purchase Skype Credit which allows me to call land-lines or mobile telephones. As best I can figure out, calls from France to Canada are under 3 cents a minute for calling a land-line. But I can also use it in France to phone around & make arrangements when we're there.

No hassles with SIM cards, adding time, charging the phone.

I've never considered taking my laptop on our travels. I know many do.

Who has used Skype? Any issues I should be aware of?

quote:

Who has used Skype? Any issues I should be aware of?

I've used SkypeOut (calling from the computer to a landline or mobile phone) occasionally both at home and when traveling. Although my computer has a built-in microphone and speakers, it works better to use a headset, as you can get feedback from the speakers.

Of course, the main issue is that other people can't easily call you unless they use Skype on the computer. If you pay more (I believe it's $18 US for 3 months, or $60 for a year) you can get an online phone number that people without Skype can use to dial you. I don't have any experience with that, though.

This topic has more about Internet calling.

There is also a new service from Google called Google Voice that gives you one number for all your calls, but I believe it isn't actually publically available yet. Here is a NY Times article about it.

- Roz

Visit Sommieres market on Saturday morning.
The bars have a "formule BBQ".
You order drinks, and the bar owner provides plates, knives serviettes.
You then stroll over to the oyster stall and order your oysters (from Euro 3.00 / dozen). Whilst he opens the oysters, you visit the market and buy ham, saucisse, cheese, bread, hot chicken, etc - don't forget the lemon.

Collect the oysters and take your picnic with a glass of wine in the shade of the arches as you watch the world go by :





A group of us do ,this year round. The photo is in November - hence the coats !

Peter

That's it, Peter, I'm getting a tattoo of Sommières.
Love the formule bbq. Who says France is not user-friendly?

- Don't buy more food than you can eat. I have this problem often. I want everything, so buy too much and end up not being able to finish it all. Cut it back and buy more later if you need it.

- Take out from ethnic foods places can be very reasonable and tasty, too. Kim, Colleen and I got a big spread of Chinese food from an Asian deli in Paris for something like 24 euro for 3 people and Colleen and I had tasty schwarmas in Honfleur for something like 11 euro (including fries.) In fact I think those schwarmas may have been the best thing we ate in Honfleur.

- Go to Auchan for wine. I've bought some decent table wines there for 4 euros a bottle. I love Auchan but I have a thing about giant European supermarkets (this is where I usually get into trouble with "buying too much.")

- If you go out for pizza, take home your leftovers. It makes a tasty picnic the next day. Pizza seems to be one thing you can get away with taking leftovers home.

quote:

Shopping:
Shop in the vintage shops (dépôt-vente) stores in Paris. Where do you think this queen of cheap gets her 60's Hermès and Gucci and Ferragamo and Prada?

Americano:

Do tell! Where are the good ones (especially in the 5th and 6th?)

quote:

- Go to Auchan for wine. I've bought some decent table wines there for 4 euros a bottle.

Even better, take an old 1 litre water bottle to the Cave Co-operatives in Languedoc and buy VRAC. You can get quite a good wine for Euro 1 per litre.

Even, even better : you can always taste the wine even if you don't buy !

Would I make this up ?



Peter

There are some great ideas here... thanks everyone!

Our family usually tries to stay in rentals, but sometimes we need to stay in hotels too. I used to always think in terms of 3* hotels, but last year on our walking trip in the Cevennes, we stayed in mostly 2* hotels and even a 1* hotel. These were perfectly fine, just not so many amenities, and very economical. An arrangement with breakfast and a table d'hotes dinner can also be a very good deal.

I'll put in a plug for an occasional chain hotels too. We usually prefer to stay someplace with more local "charm," but at the Marseille Airport we now stay at an Etap or Ibis hotel-- very functional, and even lower rates if you book in advance. The Etap room is tiny, but we just need a place to spend eight hours before an early morning flight.

It can also be more economical to visit less touristed places where accommodations and even restaurant meals are less expensive. We loved the Cevennes and prices there for rentals and hotels are lower than you'll find in other areas, certainly much less expensive than Paris.

And we find that much of the best of France is free: the beautiful countryside, villages and towns to explore, and of course the great hiking.

Kathy

quote:

It can also be more economical to visit less touristed places where accommodations and even restaurant meals are less expensive.

That is definitely true. One of our least expensive (and most enjoyable) European trips was to the Languedoc, a beautiful and fascinating area, but much more affordable than Provence, on the other side of the Mediterranean.

- Roz

Be sure to check Slowtrav tomorrow for some exciting ideas on economical travel!

Know you're budget and stick to it! Seems like obvious advice, but I find that when I'm overspending on a trip in France (or anywhere for that matter) it is because I've lost sight of my budget. Necessity is the mother of ingenuity.

Since we have long given up on the Museum Pass in Paris as it does not suit our travel style (we apparently travel too slow!), we have become more conscientious of historical sites and museum admissions. Research ahead of your trip to see who has free admission hours. Many larger places also carve up admissions into smaller chunks based on what you want to access. Sometimes just visiting the grounds or a special exhibition is enough. Pick a mix of must-sees, freebies, and places you can leave a modest donation (like many churches and cathedrals) to spread your budget a bit further.

quote:

Originally posted by woodstock:
Do tell! Where are the good ones (especially in the 5th and 6th?)

In the sixth, Les 3 Marches de Catherine B on n°1 Rue Guisard has very high quality vintage stuff, like old 60s Hermès and Chanel accessories. It has been around for a while and was even featured in a memorable scene in "The Last Tango".

Also see this thread .

We have some excellent tips to help you get the most out of your travel euros, over at Slowtravel Tours. See our new SlowCheapo travel Tips!