Easily among the most beautiful cities in the world, Paris definitely lives up to the considerable hype it receives. If you don’t want to visit London first then Paris should definitely be the first European city you visit. The city is on the expensive side compared to most of the rest of Europe, but the place is so nice that it still feels like good value.
Many people visit Paris and London on their first trip to Europe so I wrote a very detailed best Paris and London itinerary in 7 days to help out.
Paris is fairly expensive for Europe, but it’s not as expensive as you might fear. The attractions are reasonably priced and hotels can be good value if you don’t need to be in the center of everything.
It’s almost impossible to get a bad meal in Paris and the food in smaller neighborhood restaurants tends to be quite affordable, especially considering the quality.
Wine in Paris ranges from shockingly inexpensive to shockingly expensive, and the cheaper stuff is often surprisingly good. Beer in Paris is weirdly expensive though, so it’s better to cultivate your wine appreciation and save beer for elsewhere.
| Population | 2,200,000 |
| Area | 11,800,000 |
| Timezone | UTC+1 |
| Currency | Euro |
| Airports | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris-Orly Airport (ORY) |
In some ways Paris can be a very expensive city to visit, but it doesn’t have to be. If you book a hotel overlooking the Seine and you eat at the restaurants nearby you might think Paris is the most expensive city in the world. However, if you stay a bit outside of the center and focus more on restaurants where Parisians (rather than just tourists) eat, the place can seem like a bargain and the food will be better.
There are plenty of cheap hostels as well as moderately priced hotel rooms scattered all over the city, and unlike many other destinations, staying in a central location isn’t critical in Paris since the Metro connects everything with ease. To save time choosing a place you can check out our recommended hotels and hostels for Paris, which gives you 7 great options in different price ranges.
Paris always seems to be filled with tourists, but officially the high season lasts from May through September. In August many of the locals are on their own holidays and have left town, but hotel prices still usually stay high for visitors, even though many shops and restaurants are closed for the month.
October through April is considered the low season, though the winter holiday period is also very popular here so if you are coming then you should book as early as possible.
Outside of the peak summer season it’s usually quite easy to get a hotel in Paris upon arrival, though the best deals tend to be found online in advance, as the better, cheaper, and more popular places do get full first.
| Rating | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
 | 25.26 - 83.16 |
| 55.79 - 168.42 |
| 71.58 - 271.58 |
| 80.00 - 315.79 |
| 204.21 - 488.42 |
Ibis Canal St. Martin Doubles from €91/night | |
| Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
| Hostel Bed | 23.16 - 49.47 |
Le Montclair by Hiphophostels Beds from €25/night | |
Our pick: The best cheap and central hostel in Paris |
You don’t want to skimp with the big attractions, though fortunately they aren’t too expensive anyway, and most museums have free-entry days once per month so if your budget is tight you should investigate that. We discuss whether the Paris Pass is good value or not on another page. The free walking tours given by Sandeman’s New Paris are excellent and well worth the €5 or so tip you’ll want to give the guide at the end. And all the gorgeous architecture and monuments can be appreciated for free from the sidewalk as well.
The hop-on, hop-off bus tours of Paris are probably the best way to spend three hours early in any visit. Similar tours can be found in every major city in the world, but the Paris one is the finest of them since it takes you directly by almost every famous sight in a very short time.
The one-hour Seine cruises are also extremely worthwhile since they take you past the river-facing facades that are difficult to see from the roads. It’s best to do the Seine cruise right around sunset to see the bridges all lit up with gorgeous floodlights.
The free (tips-based) walking tours of Paris are also highly recommended.
| Location | Description | Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eiffel Tower (3rd level) | Elevator to top level observation deck | adults 12-24 4-11 | 29.47 14.74 7.37 |
| Eiffel Tower (2nd level) | Elevator to second level (stairs to 2nd level are about half these prices) | adults 12-24 4-11 | 11.58 5.26 2.11 |
| Louvre Museum | Tickets for the Permanent Collections (temporary exhibitions require separate admission) | adults | 17.89 |
| Arc de Triomphe | Easy to appreciate for free from the street, but this is if you want to climb the 280 steps to the top. | adults | 13.68 |
| Catacombs of Paris | This collection of bones is one of the city's top attractions. | adults | 30.53 |
| Palace of Versailles | The super impressive palace where left-wing and right-wing was invented is a train-ride away in the suburbs. | adults | 18.95 |
| One-hour Seine River cruise | These popular cruises leave from the Eiffel Tower and point out the most famous landmarks. Prices do range a bit. | adults ages 3-12 | 15.79 7.37 |
| The national modern art museum is yet another popular Paris museum. The price is lower during some periods. | adults 19-26 EU 19-26 | 15.79 12.63 0.00 |
|
| Orsay Museum | This former train station houses mostly French art from 1848 to 1915. | adults EU 18-25 | 16.84 0.00 |
Excellent food can be found in neighborhood bistros, especially if you focus on the plat du jour (plate of the day), and while beer and spirits tend to be weirdly expensive, wine can be a great bargain almost everywhere.
| Food Type | Description | Price(USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Budget breakfast | Many Paris hotels include a free breakfast, but don't expect much as the classic morning meal here is a fresh roll and coffee. | 4.21 - 6.32 |
| Budget lunch | If you look for simple neighborhood places then great food can be cheap in Paris. | 7.37 - 12.63 |
| Budget dinner | Again, the plat du jour at modest bistros will usually deliver a great meal at a fair price. | 11.58 - 20.00 |
| House wine (.375L) | House wine in restaurants is usually a great bargain in France. | 5.26 - 9.47 |
| Cheap wine (bottle) | Obviously the price of wine has no upper limit, but in local shops you can get surprisingly good quality in this price range. | 2.11 - 10.53 |
| Beer (.33L bottle) | While wine is cheap in Paris, beer is usually outrageously expensive, and happy hours are rare. | 5.26 - 9.47 |
| Coffee (cup) | Tiny cups of coffee are cheap in bakeries and expensive in sidewalk cafes. | 1.05 - 4.21 |
| Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
| Train from CDG airport to city center | 11.58 |
| Train from Orly airport to city center | 12.63 |
| Taxi from CDG airport to city center | 65.26 |
| 3km taxi ride in Paris | 12.63 - 21.05 |
| Metro ride in Paris | 1.05 |
| All-day metro pass for center | 6.32 |
Paris is convenient by train from London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Barcelona, and Switzerland, but if you are coming from farther away you’ll be flying in. Charles de Gaulle Airport is by far the largest in the city and almost all longer flights land there. Orly is the smaller airport and you can often get cheap flights from within Europe into it, and it’s also fairly close to the Paris city center.
Most of Paris is rather flat and compact so it’s a great walking city. But for anything more than a few blocks it’s worth taking the Metro underground system. It feels a bit intimidating at first, though it is easy to quickly master and there are so many stops and stations that you’ll be a short walk from anywhere you want to go.
| Month | High F | Low F | Precip (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45 | 38 | 2.2 |
| February | 47 | 40 | 1.8 |
| March | 55 | 43 | 2.1 |
| April | 60 | 46 | 2.0 |
| May | 68 | 53 | 2.4 |
| June | 74 | 58 | 2.1 |
| July | 76 | 61 | 2.3 |
| August | 77 | 62 | 1.8 |
| September | 71 | 57 | 2.1 |
| October | 61 | 51 | 2.2 |
| November | 51 | 43 | 2.2 |
| December | 46 | 40 | 2.2 |
As if Paris didn’t already have enough going for it, the city has a pleasant and mild climate almost all year long. Summers rarely get too hot so humidity doesn’t become much of a factor, and it rarely drops below freezing so snowfall is also rare.
Rainfall is consistent throughout the year but even that tends to be mild, though sudden fierce showers do happen with little warning at times. There’s always plenty of shelter available so you probably don’t need to pack for the storms, and layers are always a good idea.
| 21 Mar | 6:52am | 7:05pm |
| 21 Jun | 5:47am | 9:58pm |
| 21 Sep | 7:35am | 7:51pm |
| 21 Dec | 8:41am | 4:56pm |