A bike for the day for €1? Making the most of the city's rental scheme is just one way to make your money go farther in the French capital, writes EITHNE SHORTALL
JET-SETTING CAN be difficult to justify during a recession, especially when an inhabitant of the next destination on your list once offered “let them eat cake” as a solution to hard times. But with lots of cheap or free attractions, bargain bikes to rent and fabulous, affordable places to eat, Paris is a surprisingly easy city to be frugal in.
Spring is always a great time for a low-cost visit to the city of romance, as the weather should make strolling around an educational treat and the peak season, with its crowds and high prices, has yet to kick in.
But this year is particularly good if you’re young, as from April 4th all of France’s national museums, including the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Pompidou Centre, will be free for under-25s.
If they sound a little busy, you could try Musée Rodin, a collection of work by the French sculptor housed partly in the Parisian hotel where he once lived and partly in the grounds surrounding it.
Even if you’re over 25 you can spend an enjoyable afternoon in the grounds, admiring works such as The Thinker and The Gates of Hell, for just €1. (Entry to the museum adds €6 to the price.) The three-hectare garden is a perfect spot to enjoy world-class art without stepping foot in a crowded gallery.
Access to national galleries is free to all on the first Sunday of each month. Queues are longer than usual, but you should be able to beat them by arriving before 11am.
Once you’ve seen a gallery you can hop on a Vélib’ rental bike. You begin by paying a subscription: €1 for 24 hours or €5 for a week. Then you have the right to use thousands of bikes from hundreds of rental stations, which are situated just 300m apart, accept Irish credit cards and have machines that can take you through the quick rental process in English. Your first half-hour is free; the second costs €1, the third €2 and any others €4 each. Thrifty Parisian cyclists change bikes each half-hour, so avoiding any charge other than their €29 annual subscription. Cycling in the city is relatively safe, and the bikes come with lights.
Another way to tour Paris without boarding a sightseeing coach is to take a bus. Number 27 travels through the heart of Paris, passing the Louvre, Grand Palais, Luxembourg Garden and Opéra theatre. The bus runs from Saint Lazare train station, in the northwest, to Porte d’Ivry, in the southeast, and accepts the same tickets as the metro.
Paris’s pleasant weather also makes tourist attractions of the canals, the Tuileries Garden and the Luxembourg Garden.
For something equally free and a little more offbeat, you could try a tour of the dead. At Montparnasse cemetery you can visit, among others, the gift-laden tomb of Serge Gainsbourg, where fans express their gratitude for France's most famous pop song, Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus, and the remarkably bare grave of Samuel Beckett.
Travel north to Montmartre cemetery and you’ll find many of the countrys greatest composers and philosophers. Then finish by paying your respects to Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison at the consistently scenic Père-Lachaise graveyard.
If you feel compelled to spend money, there is more to shopping than Louis Vuitton handbags and the Champs Élysées. The city has a hefty selection of vintage-clothes shops, for example, including in the hip Marais district. This makes it an excellent place to spend a weekend afternoon, because, as well offering eclectic people watching, its shops open on Sundays, unlike many others in Paris, so you might be able to pick up a one-off dress for €10 or a jacket for €20.
Belleville, in the northeast of the city, is a lesser-known quarter that is also a hit with fashion-conscious but cash-strapped Parisians. It should be the perfect place to find shoes à la mode for as little as €10.
Those with slightly larger budgets who want to find something they won’t get at home should check out Galeries Lafayette, a chain of upmarket department stores that can hold good sales.
You’ll have to spend money on food and drink in Paris, but one way to look at it is that when you eat out in the city you’ll often get more than your money’s worth, in terms of quality and atmosphere, so long as you stay away from tourist traps.
Rue Mouffetard, in the Latin Quarter, might be difficult to match. Its wide choice of restaurants offer three-course set menus for as little as €14 – not bad when they include a chance to try such quintessential French dishes as snails and onion soup.
Some good nightclubs are free to get into and charge reasonable prices for drinks. Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, in the 11th arrondissement, has an eclectic range of indie, electro, rock and jazz bars. La Flèche D’Or, in the 20th, is the city’s indie hotspot, attracting revellers in their droves.
Finally, if you’re looking for cheesy souvenirs, buying an Eiffel Tower keyring from any attraction other than the tower itself can be very good value – and the smaller the attraction the smaller the price, with some offering the keyrings for €1.
With a bit of thinking outside the box, you can see Paris at its best, survive the crise financière and still afford a pastry or two. And when you consider that a Danish pastry is often cheaper than a loaf, perhaps Marie- Antoinette’s advice was sounder than her subsequent beheading might have suggested.
Where to stay
Hôtel Bellevue et du Chariot d’Or. 39 Rue de Turbigo (third arrondissement), 00-33-1- 48874560, www.hotelbellevue 75.com. Superbly located near the Pompidou Centre, this 59-room hotel has comfortable doubles from €70 a night.
Hôtel Esméralda. 4 Rue St Julien le Pauvre(fifth arrondissement), 00-33-1-43541920. A basic hotel with friendly staff and a lively location in the heart of the Latin Quarter. A double room costs about €85.
Friends’ Hostel. 122 Boulevard de la Chapelle (18th arrondissement), 0-33-1-42237209. Far from luxury accommodation but hard to beat on price, this hostel is in the north of the city. Dorm beds from €16 a night.
Hôtel Beaubourg. 11 Rue Simon Lefranc (fourth arrondissement), 00-33-1- 42743424, www.beaubourg- paris-hotel.com. This midrange three-star hotel prides itself on being a serene space despite its central location. A basic breakfast of cereals, bread and eggs is included in the €150-a-night price tag.
Le Grand Hôtel Intercontinental. 2 Rue Scribe (ninth arrondissement), 00-33-1-40073232, www.ichotelsgroup.com. If you decide to splurge, this is a perfect place to stay on a no-expense-spared trip. Each room is decorated with music-themed paintings, to complement the hotel’s location, next to Opéra Garnier, and you could end up staying in a suite previously occupied by Winston Churchill. From €300 a night.
Where to eat
L’As du Fallafel. 34 Rue des Rosiers (fourth arrondissement), 00-33-1-48876360. Any of the falafel restaurants on Rue des Rosiers, in the Marais, are worth a lunchtime stop. This one, where falafel with all the trimmings costs €5, is the firm favourite with Parisians, which the staff pride themselves on. Expect a queue on Sundays.
Restaurant Chartier. 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre (ninth arrondissement), 00-33-1-47708629, www.restaurant-chartier.com. This traditional but colourful French restaurant has been feeding Parisians since 1896. The busy waiters write your order on the tablecloth. Starters from €1.80; three courses for €30.
Dans le Noir. 51 Rue Quincampoix (fourth arrondissement), 00-33-1- 42779804, www.danslenoir. com. For dining with a difference, why not try this “blind restaurant”? You sit in a pitch-black dining room and are waited on by blind staff. You will only have a vague idea what you are eating until everyone has finished. Two courses €38. Booking essential.
Les Deux Magots. 6 Place Saint Germain des Prés (sixth arrondissement), 00-33-1- 45485525, www.lesdeux magots.fr. Choose carefully and you can eat at this prestigious cafe, which serves dinner from 7pm, without pawning your suitcases. From €16 for pasta to €155 for caviar.
Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus. com) flies to Paris Charles de Gaulles from Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Air France (www.airfrance.ie) flies to Paris Charles de Gaulle from Dublin and Shannon. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Paris Beauvais from Dublin Shannon. All three have recently offered return fares of less than €100, including taxes.