the cost of surviving

Hi,

I%26#39;m planning my trip to paris (4 days, not long enough). A friend of my mothers has just returned from spending 2 weeks there. Now according to this lady, the cost of eating in a cafe or restaurant is very expensive. She made a point of saying that we should avoid eating out... completely. If we need food, to go to a supermarket, and buy the bits and pieces, and make the rest up in our hotel.

Now, this seems like a bit of scarmongering. I realise that eating out at a high class 5 star restaurant is going to have a high cost associated with it...

But is this the case with everywhere else?

For instance, Grand Appetit? I heard that they serve a full plate of veggies and tofu etc, which was enough for 2 people, yet only cost ~ 20 euro.

Are there any good places to survive (nutritionally) whilst on a budget?

Yvette

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Hi Yvette -

%26#39;Scaremongering%26#39; - what a FANTASTIC word for what so many people do when they talk about all sorts of things in Paris!!

Yes, the food prices can vary according to location and quality - but that being said, I%26#39;ve had some top-quality meals for rock-bottom prices.

Please, please don%26#39;t restrict yourself just to the supermarkets (even though you can find great stuff there.)

The menus at most restaurants are posted outside and the prices are clearly marked, so there will be no surprises once you get inside. If you don%26#39;t like the selection or prices at one restaurant, walk half a block and you%26#39;ll find yourself at the next restaurant.

I%26#39;m betting your mother%26#39;s friend is one of those people who is naturally so cheap, she steals the sugar packets from restaurants to get back at them for %26#39;overcharging%26#39; her.

Have a GREAT time!

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In neighborhood bistros, most fixed menus %26quot;le menu%26quot; or %26quot;la formule%26quot; will run about 28 - 40 euros per person, and I would say the vast majority are at 30 euros. That includes three courses.

Brasseries in the %26quot;Flo%26quot; group have a fixed menu at 28 euros for 3 courses.

Wine will cost extra, but not a ton extra.

Creperies are cheap, like 15 euros total per person.

Les

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Hi,

yep, i too have been the victim of %26#39;scaremongering%26#39; from friends who have visited Paris! They were like %26#39;we just had to eat soup every day%26#39;...whatever....they obviously ate in proper restaurants and bistros, right next to main tourist attractions etc...my BF and i visited for 6 days before Christmas and we found very reasonable eating to be had allover the city. We never paid more than 25 Euros for our dinner, that%26#39;s for two of us! We ate japanese/asian (in the 9th not far from galleries lafayette) , Indian (very reasonable place in the 9th) also Italian...sandwiches and pizza etc for lunches from bakeries like %26#39;Paul%26#39; and others similar to places like Laurent in australia. things like that were like 3 -5 euros for massive baguettes/sandwiches and pizza witha soft drink and sweet often included!

We filled our mini bar in the hotel with supermarket bought water (1 litre for about 1 euro) and soft drinks...again like 1 euro...and purchased snacks to keep in our backpacks during the day too. Only once we got caught out at a cafe near Notre Dame where we sat outside and found ourselves paying 5.50euros per coffee! At the same time though the view was great, we were absolutely exhausted and needed the closest place to sit and recuperate...we sat with that one coffee for about an hour without being hassled out the door too.

We had friends that travelled at the same time as us and they really did the strict budget thing and only bought food at supermarket etc and ate out once in their week in paris...in the end we think we spent the same as them, ate what we enjoyed and didn%26#39;t feel at all like we were scrimping or missing out on anything.

have a good trip

j.

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Scarmongering is the right word! Paris is expensive, but millions of French need to be able to afford to eat, right? Not everything is so expensive that even the French can%26#39;t afford to go out, they pack most places - away from the tourist crowds.

I ate at Cafe du Marche on the Rue Cler (7th) each of my 4 visits. Below is a newspaper article from 8/06 - plats from $9E

sweetnapa.com/2006/…cafe-du-marche-paris.html

Personally, I like the 7th, others don%26#39;t (too touristy?), but the point is, if you leave the immediate area around most of the %26quot;sights%26quot;, wander down some sidestreets, get a restaurant guide, you can find quality local French food that doesn%26#39;t cost an arm and a leg.

Lots of recommendations on this board! Go and eat, sightseeing for your tastebuds, you can%26#39;t really pass on French food and end up eating baguettes every day %26amp; night, can you?

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Of course quality is a key issue here. Yes, one can easily spend hundreds on fine eating,, but, I also know that if you wander around the touristy Latin Quarter,, where little cafes/ bistros line certain narrow streets, there are many places that offered three course meals for 15. - 20- euros( in fact we found a few even cheaper) . Very basis menus,( roast chicken and fries , beef stew etc) so your freinds assertion of being unable to find reasonably priced food to dine out on is just plain unfounded.

There are crepe carts that sell 5 euro crepes, and pick up a pop/soda/ water at a small store for a euro , and there is a light lunch.

Nasty secret, ,, I travelled with my teenaged son, so we hit McDonalds for breakfast serveral times as he likes %26quot; an egg breakfast%26quot; as opposed to the french bun/ bread breakfast. An Egg McMuffin was ( two years ago) less then one euro( .95 as I recall) , so two eggs Mcmuffins and a hot choc were less then 4 euros. Cheap breakfast .

If you are from Australia it is difficult with the exchange,,, but, I have been to Hawaii many times, and many Australians seem to go there, and trust me food in Hawaii is also very exspensive,, plus the exchange, so, I do not find Paris much worse.

I think the word %26quot;scaremongering%26quot; is perfect.

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