How to plan your weekend in Paris on a budget

Are you thinking of traveling to Paris and you don't know where to start planning your trip? Then this is the right place for you! Below, you'll find some useful and practical information to better plan your stay in the French capital, regardless of how long you want to stay.

Hotel

Apartments WS Marais - Rèpublique 330 €

Super nice even if small apartment (in perfect Parisian style), with modern, warm and welcoming furnishings, there was everything we could need! Clean bathroom, with spacious shower (obviously no bidet), towels and toiletries included, a small well-equipped kitchenette, two mini tables and a small wardrobe for clothes. Free Wifi. The location is very convenient, in the center of Marais, a youthful, LGBTQ + neighborhood where you will find many restaurants and bars for every taste. Also very close to various metro stops and just a 10 minute walk from Notre Dame. Access is via codes, without any kind of key or contact with the staff: we received clear instructions via email a couple of days before arriving, and we had no problems whatsoever! Very convenient in case of a late arrival in the city, like us who arrived at 10.30pm. Around the city you'll find various Apartments WS located throughout the center, so consider also other options, all very valid, available on booking.com with free cancellation! To find out more about the Marais district and what to do or see in the surrounding area, I refer you to the article with our Paris itinerary.

Flight

For the flight we relied on Ryanair once again, taking advantage of the Black Friday offers (there was the 2x1) for which we spent very little: € 39 for two return trips. BLQ 19:00 - BVS 20:50 BVS 13:40 - BLQ 15:15 Flying with Ryanair to Paris, you land in Beauvais - Tillé, which is perhaps the most distant airport in Paris, but also the cheapest. Now let's also see how to manage transfers and transports when in Paris!

Parking at Bologna airport

Actually never told you before but we always leave the car in the King car park, 5 minutes from Marconi airport. We always had a great time: the guys take you and pick you up with the shuttle included in the price, at whatever time your flight is. From Friday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon we only spent € 13. There is also an option for washing.

How to move around Paris

Transfer from Beauvais airport to Paris City Centre

By bus it's € 29 return each: book tickets online, you'll save in comparison to the € 32 they will make you pay at Bologna airport before boarding and the € 34 you would spend at the airport stop in Beauvais. The stop is just outside the airport gates and departures are every 15-20 minutes; you'll reach Paris in about 1 hour and a quarter, traffic permitting. The bus station in Paris is at Porte Maillot, from which you can reach every corner of Paris by M1 Metro Line. It's also possible to reach Paris via the train connection in TER - regional express train in about 1 hour and 20 minutes: the train leaves from Beauvais - gare de Beauvais-Gare-SNCF station and arrives at Gare de Paris-Nord station with departures every About 30 minutes, at € 13.50 each way. Honestly, I do not recommend it, because you have to reach Beauvais station by bus, so the matter becomes more complicated: too many changes and trips and the price becomes the same if not higher.

Paris Metro

Paris Metro is well served, functional and well connected! A single ride is € 1.90 while 1 block of 10 full fare tickets € 14.40. The Paris Visite is the Paris metro pass and allows you free movement, for 1, 2, 3 or 5 consecutive days on all subways, buses, RER trains, trams, Funiculaire de Montmartre and Noctabus in Paris. Prices: zone 1/3 - 3 days - adults € 31.40 zone 1/3 - 2 days - adults € 23.30 We didn't do it because we used one ride a day and it wouldn't have been convenient: we always bought single rides on the spot.

Moving around Paris

Even in Paris you will find electric scooters in every corner of the city: if you don't want to walk too much, this is an excellent solution that we tested in Lisbon. Connect to the app via the QRcode on the scooter and you will pay a few cents per minute. You can take them wherever you find them and leave them where they happen. For the first time in Paris, in the same way, we also saw vespas.

Transfer to Disneyland Paris

To get to Disneyland you have to take the RER A which is € 15.2 per person and in about forty minutes it takes you directly to the park entrance. Departures are at the Gare de Lyon or at Nation. If you are planning one or more days at Disneyland Paris click here for all the useful information you might need to make the most of your visit.

City Pass

If you are interested in a city pass including many attractions in the city, in Paris there is the one called Paris Pass but it does not include tickets for the metro. The Paris Pass includes the Museum Pass, a separate pass that you will receive for a duration of 2, 4 or 6 days along with the Paris Pass. The Paris Museum Pass is used to access 50 museums and monuments in and around Paris, including the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe. The 2-day Paris Pass includes a 2-day Paris Museum Pass for € 109 Pick-up point: Big Bus Information Center: 11 Avenue de l'Opéra - 75009 Paris every day from 10:00 to 17:00. The convenience depends on what you intend to do during your stay: we had budgeted the Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum and the Eiffel Tower, so it made no sense.

Covid docs

At the moment, to go to Paris you don't need too much bureaucracy: if you are vaccinated, you just need to show your Green Pass at the airport, fill in the PLF both outward and return, finally, only for the outward journey to France, this form. Currently in France there is the obligation to wear a mask only indoors and to show a Green Pass valid for access to museums, Disneyland and restaurants.

Now that everything is ready and planned, you just have to start thinking about what to do and see once in Paris.. if you need some ideas to plan your itinerary, here is the link for you: Itinerary of 2 or 3 days in Paris.

If you want to read more about eating in Paris click here for some useful tips about what and there to eat on a budget.

For all useful information on how to best organize your visit to Disneyland Paris click here.