Costs are going up in every single place and naturally, Paris isn’t immune. It’s simply probably the most costly cities on this planet—if you happen to let or not it’s.
However that’s solely one model of Paris. As a result of even with as little as €25, you possibly can nonetheless have a implausible day right here. One that features good meals, breathtaking artwork, sightseeing, and time to discover essentially the most iconic neighborhoods.
Whether or not you’re touring on a funds, making an attempt to expertise the town like locals do (as a result of we don’t do positive eating each night time both), or simply wish to stability out a splurge day with one thing lighter—this information is for you.
Right here’s find out how to spend a full day in Paris on 25€—wine, dinner, and iconic views included.
Salut, I’m Lena – journey planning skilled and parisienne since 2006 🩷
📌 200+ handpicked spots I really love – Get free entry to my Paris map 🗺️

Paris on 25€ – A Full Day With out Lacking Out
I’ve lived in Paris for 20 years. And sure, I’ve recognized what it’s prefer to have 20 cents in my account. So I discovered find out how to profit from what this metropolis presents without cost—or near it. Seems, it’s rather a lot.
So, right here’s for you find out how to spend a day in Paris on a funds – with out even noticing it.
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Breakfast à Paris (below 4€)
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Breakfast is hands-down the best place to economize in Paris. Each bakery sells contemporary, buttery croissants or ache au chocolat for round €1,20 to €1,50. And right here’s the perfect half—you don’t want to go looking.
With over 1000 boulangeries throughout the town, you’re by no means greater than 5 minutes away from one. Actually anyplace in Paris.
Tip: In case you discovered an excellent bakery, already get a sandwich for lunch!
If you would like espresso—and actually, you in all probability do—many bakeries serve it too, typically for below €2. Alternatively, head to a neighborhood brasserie-tabac. Skip the vacationer zones and keep away from the Instagram cafés on Champs-Élysées.

In a daily neighborhood spot, an espresso on the counter prices round €2. Sitting down inside (en salle) would possibly push it to 2,50–3 €, nevertheless it’s nonetheless cheap.
Whole? Round €4, and that features:
- A correct Parisian pastry
- A espresso completed the native means
- And a slice of actual Paris—morning bustle, regulars chatting on the bar, and the odor of espresso within the air
In case you’re aiming for an much more native expertise, quite a few cafés and brasseries in Paris nonetheless supply espresso on the counter for simply 1€.
That can assist you discover these spots, the Metropolis of Paris has created an interactive map highlighting institutions the place you possibly can take pleasure in a espresso at this worth. Discover the map right here.

Morning Stroll – Monuments & Artwork
After breakfast, begin strolling. Paris is greatest seen on foot, and this route follows what’s referred to as the Axe Historique—a straight line of monuments operating west to east by way of the town.
It begins on the Arc de Triomphe and stretches all the best way to the Louvre.
#1 The Arc de Triomphe
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Start on the Arc de Triomphe, considered one of Paris’s most iconic monuments. No must pay or climb. Simply stroll up shut and take it in. The carved particulars are placing up shut. Right here, you’ll additionally see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a quiet monument to the fallen of WWI.
Stand there a couple of minutes. Watch the chaos of twelve avenues feeding into the roundabout. Then preserve going.

#2 The Champs-Élysées
Head down the Champs-Élysées. It’s probably the most well-known avenues on this planet—huge, dramatic, and made for grand parades.
Lined with massive names like Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Ladurée, it nonetheless impresses, particularly early within the day. However actually? Don’t linger. It’s touristy, overpriced, and feels a bit like a sophisticated postcard making an attempt too laborious.
For my part, there’s one thing weirdly trashy about it. Stroll it, see it, then transfer on.

#3 Le Petit Palais
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Just some steps off the Champs-Élysées, the Petit Palais is among the most underrated museums in Paris. It’s a part of the town’s Musée des Beaux-Arts, and actually, it has the whole lot the big-name museums supply—with out the crowds or the entry price.
Inside, you’ll discover artwork from Historic Greece to the early twentieth century. Suppose Rembrandt, Cézanne, Monet, and a few placing Artwork Nouveau items. Sculptures, icons, work—it’s all there.
The constructing itself is a cause to go. Initially constructed as an exhibition house for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, it’s a stunner. Grand halls, intricate mosaics, ironwork. And within the center, a peaceable inside backyard that’s good for a quiet break.
No ticket, no reservation. Simply stroll in. It’s free, it’s calm, and it’s simply probably the greatest museum experiences in Paris.

#4 Place de la Concorde
On the backside of the Champs-Élysées, you’ll attain Place de la Concorde. It’s probably the most central and prestigious squares in Paris—enormous, open, and filled with historical past.
At first look, it’s perhaps a bit underwhelming. A number of site visitors, a number of stone. However look nearer. Within the middle stands the Luxor Obelisk, a gift from Egypt within the 1830s. It dates again to the thirteenth century BC and initially stood on the entrance of the Luxor Temple. Therefore, it’s older than Paris itself.
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It’s additionally the place Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette have been executed through the French Revolution. Guillotines have been arrange proper right here. That calm house with the fountains? It was once a public execution website.
Right now, it’s admittedly extra concrete than allure, however that’s altering. Town plans to rework the sq. right into a greener, extra pedestrian-friendly house, with timber and shade.
For now, take it for what it’s: a website layered with royal energy, revolution, and odd symbolism.

#5 Tuileries Backyard
Proper after Place de la Concorde, you step into the Tuileries Backyard—Paris’s oldest public park. It was designed within the sixteenth century for Catherine de’ Medici, subsequent to the now-lost Tuileries Palace.
It’s formal, elegant, and open to everybody. Lengthy gravel paths, rows of timber, statues scattered round. An ideal place to stretch your legs or decelerate a bit.
Seize one of many traditional inexperienced chairs, sit by the fountain, and take a break. Similar to Parisians do.

#6 Louvre Pyramid
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A spotlight of any go to to Paris—the Louvre Pyramid marks the doorway to essentially the most visited museum on this planet. However after the Petit Palais, you’ve already had a stable dose of artwork, so there’s zero guilt in skipping the ticket line.
The glass pyramid was accomplished in 1989, designed by Chinese language-American architect I. M. Pei. On the time, it brought about a scandal. Individuals mocked it, referred to as it misplaced, even ridiculous.
Now? It’s cherished. A logo of recent Paris. Clear strains, symmetry, and an ideal photograph spot, particularly with the historic palace as its backdrop. It’s an ideal photograph spot.

Lunch Like a Native (Underneath 10€)
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Lunch is the proper time to maintain issues easy—and surprisingly Parisian. It’s additionally a wise approach to keep away from massive bills with out shedding high quality.
Positive, you would sit down in a restaurant and spend 20€ on a good meal. However typically, it’s not any higher than a low-key, genuine possibility. And in Paris, meaning heading to a native bakery.
Choose up a contemporary jambon-beurre—the traditional ham and butter baguette—or a slice of quiche. Then head to a park. The Tuileries Backyard is a good spot. So is the peaceable courtyard on the Palais Royal.
Need one thing much more versatile? Seize a baguette custom (it’s acquired extra chunk and taste than the common type), a chunk of Camembert or Brie from any grocery store, perhaps a handful of cherry tomatoes or grapes, and a chilly drink.
And if this not for you, you even have Pret-â-Manger, Exki, or Day by day Monop for salads and bowls.

Afternoon Wandering – Viewpoints and Neighborhoods
After exploring the Axe Historique of Paris, it’s time for some Nineteenth-century allure and one of many metropolis’s most iconic neighborhoods: Montmartre.
#1 Palais Royal
Begin simply throughout from the Louvre Pyramid and slip into the calm of the Palais Royal backyard.
It’s tucked between arcades, a bit hidden, and looks like a spot that was by no means meant to be public. That’s as a result of it wasn’t—initially constructed for Cardinal Richelieu within the 1600s, it later grew to become a royal residence and a hotspot for pre-revolution gossip. Now, it’s gravel paths, trimmed hedges, and iron benches.
Within the center, you’ll see the Buren Columns—striped pillars coming out of the bottom at completely different heights. Individuals hated them once they have been put in within the ‘80s. Now? Everybody needs a photograph. Emily in Paris filmed right here, nevertheless it’s been a favourite lengthy earlier than streaming made it stylish.

#2 Bibliothèque Nationale Richelieu
Then head towards the Bibliothèque Nationale Richelieu. This one’s elective, however if you happen to’ve acquired a couple of minutes, peek inside.
The studying room is breathtaking—enormous domed ceiling, elegant symmetry, gentle flooding in. It’s been not too long ago restored and now looks like stepping right into a Nineteenth-century dream of what information ought to appear like.
You don’t want lengthy. Simply 10 minutes inside and also you’ll see why it’s well worth the cease—even when just for the ceiling.

#3 The Lined Passages
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Preserve strolling north and also you’ll hit a string of Lined Passages—Paris’s authentic buying arcades from the Nineteenth century.
Some are lined up, so you possibly can just about stroll from one straight into the following. Glass roofs overhead, mosaic flooring under, ironwork particulars throughout. About 20 nonetheless exist, largely within the 2nd and ninth arronidissement. They’re calm, barely pale, and filled with attention-grabbing outlets.
Begin with:
- Galerie Vivienne – polished and traditional, with wine outlets and outdated bookstores
- Passage des Panoramas – the oldest, buzzing with postcard stalls and tiny bistros
- Passage Jouffroy – charming mixture of toy outlets, tearooms, and a wax museum
- Passage Verdeau – quieter, extra relaxed, filled with prints and classic finds

#4 Montmartre
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From the coated passages, preserve strolling north by way of the ninth arrondissement—a neighborhood that feels extra native the deeper you go.
Take Rue des Martyrs uphill. It’s not a vacationer avenue, nevertheless it’s filled with native life. Boulangeries, cheese outlets, florists, wine bars, and cafés with regulars studying the paper.
Quickly you’ll hit Montmartre and Rue des Martyrs leads you proper to Abbesses. The metro station right here is among the final with the unique Artwork Nouveau entrance—inexperienced ironwork, curved lettering and orange lamps.

Montmartre is greatest explored and not using a plan. Skip the map, and simply zigzag your means by way of the slopes.
The allure is within the wandering—staircases, quiet corners, ivy-covered façades. Take your time and make your means slowly uphill.
On the prime, you’ll discover:
- Sacré-Cœur – white stone, panoramic views, at all times open and at all times free
- Place du Tertre – painters with easels, some touristy, some genuinely gifted
- Maison Rose – Instagrammed to dying, however nonetheless value a fast photograph
- The tiny Montmartre winery – sure, it’s actual, and sure, they nonetheless make wine
Montmartre isn’t about seeing one massive factor. The allure is within the backstreets, the staircases, the corners the place you immediately end up alone. So don’t rush. Let your self get a little bit misplaced.

Dinner Bouillon Pigalle (below 15€)
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Finish your day with a correct French dinner at Bouillon Pigalle. Bouillons have been created within the late Nineteenth century as reasonably priced eating places for staff—serving conventional French meals shortly and cheaply.
Right now, they’ve made a comeback with out shedding that concept: easy dishes, low costs, massive parts.
At Bouillon Pigalle, mains begin at 9€. Add a glass of wine for 4€, and also you’ve acquired a full meal below 15€. Bread and water? At all times free.
There may be at all times an extended queue, so I like to recommend reserving your desk prematurely.

That’s Paris—Even on 25€
So sure, Paris might be costly. However it doesn’t must be.
With 25€, you’ve had an actual day right here. A contemporary croissant, espresso on the counter, world class artwork in a palace, iconic sights, hidden passages, and a full French dinner with wine.
You’ve walked the Axe Historique, wandered Montmartre, and sat in gardens that after hosted queens.


Parisienne since 2006 🩷
Professional in: Parisian Life &
French Tradition, Journey
Planning, Crochet & Meals and Drinks
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NEW: The Salut from Paris Journey Information:
Should-Haves for Paris:
- eSim card to remain on-line whereas in Paris. I used GigSky for my travels.
- You doubtless want a journey adapter to plug your units.
- Journey Insurance coverage – if you happen to don’t have one, VisitorsCoverage is an efficient possibility.
- In case your flight is delayed and even canceled, use AirHelp to get compensation.
Excursions & Sights:
- I guide excursions & actions by way of Get Your Information or Viator.
- Museum & Landmark tickets might be cheaper on the official web page, however they’re typically offered out.
- I really like the GoCity Journey Passes for straightforward planning
- I take advantage of Tiqets for Seine Cruises as a result of with my code SALUT5 we get 5% off
Flights & Transportation:
Accomodation:
- Motels in Europe I largely guide by way of Reserving.com (verify evaluations fastidiously)
- Trip Leases by way of Airbnb or VRBO