According to Yahoo Finance, Paris is the second most expensive city in the world for travelers (only New York City is more expensive). As a solo traveler with nobody to split hotel or taxi costs with, Paris can feel even more expensive. So what is a realistic daily budget for solo travelers in Paris?
In this guide, I am going to record everything that I spent in Paris on two different days. First, I’ll talk about my second day in Paris, when I was staying in a hotel and had a few special activities booked. Then, I’ll talk about another day, a week later, after I’d moved into an Airbnb with a kitchen and had a pretty standard day of Paris sightseeing on the itinerary.
Hopefully, between these two days you’ll get a sense of a realistic budget for a solo traveler in Paris. I consider this to be a pretty average mid-range budget for a solo trip to Paris, in that I did stay in private accommodation but I didn’t splurge on any Michelin-starred meals or private tours. At the end of this article I’ll share a few tips for travelers heading to Paris on a tighter budget.
Paris Solo Travel Budget: Day 2
This is everything that I spent on my second full day in Paris as a solo traveler. I chose my second day in Paris as my first was filled with airport transportation, hotel check-ins and jet-lag, none of which was particularly interesting. So, what did I spent on one day in Paris?
Accommodation
Upon arrival in Paris, I checked into Hotel Chopin, a two-star hotel in the Grands Boulevards neighborhood. Hotel Chopin piqued my interest because it is located inside Passage Jouffroy, one of the famous covered shopping arcades from the early 1900s. I really enjoyed my stay here and would definitely consider staying here again on a future trip to Paris.
I booked my stay at Hotel Chopin more than six months in advance. Taking advantage of early-bird pricing I was able to secure a rate of €116 per night for an Economy Room. The city of Paris also charges a tourist tax of €3.25 per night.
Total Accommodation Cost: €120
Transportation
Today, I took the metro three times. A single metro ticket costs €2.50 and a day pass costs €12, meaning that I’d have to take five separate metro journeys for the pass to be a good value. I didn’t anticipate making five metro trips, so I decided to buy single tickets and ended up spending €7.50.
Total Transportation Cost: €7.50
Activities
I had three activities scheduled in advance for this day (which is two more than I’d usually plan, but you’ll see why in a minute).
Up first, in the morning I had a reservation on the Glasswalk at Galeries Lafayette. I recommend this in my guide to free indoor things to do in Paris, as it’s not the outside rooftop terrace (which is also free) but rather a glass walkway suspended beneath the department store’s famous dome. Since it only takes five or ten minutes, I thought it would be a nice start to my day.
The next thing on my schedule for the day was an early-afternoon wine and cheese tasting at O Chateau. Intended to replace lunch, this tasting consisted of five wines (including champagne), five cheeses and bread, in a historic Parisian wine cellar. The cost was €85, and I’ve reviewed the entire experience here.
Since the Pompidou Centre is closed until 2030 (at the earliest), I was on the lookout for a new destination to experience contemporary art in Paris. Enter Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, the private art collection of the Pinault family (they own Louis Vuitton and many other luxury brands).
On the first Saturday of each month the Pinault Collection offers free admission after 5:00 pm. I happened to notice this during my trip planning and was able to reserve a ticket for 18:30; the earlier spots were already “sold out” three months in advance. This saved me €15 compared to paying the normal ticket price.
Of note, even with my timed ticket I still had to queue for more than half an hour to enter the Pinault Collection. I think wait times are particularly bad on the free evening, but more reasonable on the days you have to pay for a ticket.
Total Activities Cost: €85
Food & Drink
As this was one of my first full day in Paris, I was still feeling a bit jet-lagged in the morning. From my hotel, I popped into one of the first cafes I could find and had a typical French breakfast of coffee with milk, fresh orange juice and a baguette with jam for €7.50.
The wine and cheese tasting at O Chateau was more than enough food for me at lunch, so there was no extra cost beyond the ticket itself.
After I toured the Pinault Collection I strolled down Rue Montorgueil, which is known for its many restaurants but it was a bit too busy for my liking. I returned to the area around my hotel and had a vegetarian crepe with goat cheese, honey, nuts, spinach pesto and cherry tomatoes for €13, with a glass of sweet apple cider for €4.70.
Total Cost for Food & Drink: €25.20
Other Expenses
This is so embarrassing! I broke my own cardinal rule of never paying to use a toilet and spent €1 to use the bathroom in the Les Halles shopping center. I should have taken a photo because the line for the women’s room was more than twenty minutes!
Total Budget for One Day in Paris: €239
Paris Solo Travel Budget: Day 7
This is everything that I spent on my seventh day in Paris as a solo traveler. I picked this day because it was quite representative of what a normal day of travel in Paris looks like for me, and there were several things that made it differ from the day I wrote about above.
Accommodation
After four nights in Hotel Chopin I moved to an apartment in Le Marais for the next eight nights. The apartment was hosted by an Airbnb Superhost and included a combination bedroom and living area with a proper bed, a full kitchen and a bathroom with a washing machine. The cost per night was €134, so a bit more than the hotel but the savings from doing some cooking at home (and the enjoyment of having more space) was worth it.
Total Accommodation Cost: €134
Transportation
Because I was in Paris for more than one full week, on the first Monday of my trip I purchased a weekly Navigo travel pass. This cost €5 for the actual card and €31.60 to load a weekly travel pass. This made my average daily transportation cost only €5.25 each day this week, and included unlimited trips on the metro, buses, local RER trains and even the funicular to Montmartre.
(Shown above is the actual entrance to the Palais Royal – Musee du Louvre metro station! It’s so pretty!)
Total Transportation Cost: €5.25 (one seventh of the Navigo pass price)
Activities
The main thing that I had booked today was a 9:00 entrance to The Louvre. I purchased a six-day Paris Museum Pass for €110. It included admission to The Louvre, which is normally €22.00. To learn more about the Paris Museum Pass and how to get the most value from it, you can read my guide here. I will be updating it shortly to include the six-day option!
In the afternoon I strolled around and visited some of my favorite free spots in Paris, including the Salle Oval Reading Room at the National Library Richelieu, which was just opposite the restaurant where I had lunch.
Total Activities Cost: €18.33 (one-sixth of the Paris Museum Pass price).
Food & Drink
I started the day with breakfast in my Airbnb. I had a few slices of fresh bread topped with French butter, cheese and jam, and some coffee with milk. I had bought the bread at Poilane, a well-known sourdough bakery, so it cost about €2, and the rest of the ingredients probably cost about €3 at a Parisian supermarket near my apartment.
Knowing from experience that I’d be hungry when I left the Louvre, I made a reservation at a restaurant called Maceo for lunch. They offer a three-course fixed-price lunch menu for €38, and there is always a vegetarian option for each course. I had tap water (“une carafe d’eau”), which is free, and one glass of wine from their extensive wine list for €9. The vegetarian options on the day of my visit included:
- Cold soup of green peas, dill and ricotta
- Greek-style risotto with fresh herbs, grilled peppers, confit tomatoes and feta cheese
- Elderflower-infused creme brulee
I wasn’t very hungry at dinner so I went back to my Airbnb and made a salad with a tomato from the Marché des Enfants Rouges (€1), a ball of fresh mozzarella (€1) and half a bag of mâche (€1.50).
Total Cost for Food & Drink: €56.50
Other Expenses
I didn’t spend any other money today.
Total Budget for One Day in Paris: €215
Saving Money as a Solo Traveler in Paris
You can definitely spend less money in Paris than I did. These tips can help you reign in your spending during your own Paris trip:
- Stay in a hostel. I have stayed in hostels all over Europe and highly recommend them for solo travelers. I could have cut my accommodation costs in half by staying in a shared dorm room at a nice hostel like the new The People – Paris Marais, or at the Saint Christopher’s Inn near the Canal Saint-Martin.
- Skip the Ubers and taxis. I’ve been to Paris four times, and I’ve never needed to take a taxi or Uber. For the cost of one taxi ride you can get a seven-day transit pass!
- Eat your biggest meal at lunch. Many restaurants will offer a lunch menu, which is the French word for a set multi-course meal. You can usually choose two courses (appetizer + main or main + dessert) or have all three, and you’ll pay a fraction of what it would cost to order each dish a la carte.
- Limit your shopping. You don’t need to buy new clothes for your trip to Paris and you also don’t need to splurge on luxury shopping while you’re in France. You’ll notice that my daily budget is focused on experiences, not on things.
- Secure your stuff. When you don’t have a travel partner with their own credit card and bank account, being pickpocketed is especially inconvenient, costing you money, time and energy. Consider getting an anti-theft daypack or purse.
- Go somewhere else. There’s so much more to France than Paris, and outside the capital prices can be a lot cheaper. Consider spending a few days in Paris and then heading south to Provence or Burgundy.
I have been to Paris many times and written lots of helpful guides to the city. Before you go, make sure to give these ones a read:
⚠️ Tips for Traveling Solo in Paris, France
🛍️ 12 Things to Know About Grocery Shopping in Paris
🌸 How to Make a Custom Perfume in Paris
🇫🇷 The Best Areas to Stay in Paris
🎨 How to Spend One Day in Montmartre
💬 Essential Rules of French Etiquette for Travelers
🌃 Things to Do in Paris at Night (Solo-Female Approved!)
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