What's free (or cheap) in Paris, France
I was taking an advanced Yiddish course at the Medem Bibliotheque, which met from 9-1 every weekday, so my tourism needs were unusual:
I didn't want to spend my afternoons in museums after spending all morning in a stuffy classroom;
I needed to walk a lot because I'm not used to sitting, and because the weather was absolutely fabulous;
I wanted to go places where I didn't have to spend a lot of money - because I'm a cheapskate by nature, because three weeks is a long time, and because I have another year of my son's college to pay for!
I like places that are old and unexpected; I get sort of depressed if I travel across the ocean and then see the same chain stores I could see at home. This makes me gravitate towards older, funkier parts of town.
So this lens will be an eccentric view of how one person had a lot of inexpensive fun in Paris.
"the air is free for everybody the same; the sun shines for everyone, rich or poor."
This is a favorite quote of mine from the famous Yiddish song by Molly Picon, "Abi Gezunt" (As long as you're healthy). Although it sometimes seems you can't do anything abroad without paying for it, not so! Paris is a beautiful city and you can see an awful lot from the sidewalk...
A Paris street fair with Caribbean boogeying
We just happened upon this! The beheaded statue was just next to the festival.
You know you're in a tourist trap area when...
... you see the Mona Lisa being sold on watch fobs and ash trays
It's amazing but true that if you are on a street corner mobbed with tourists and sleazy souvenir stands, you can usually walk a few blocks in any direction and find yourself someplace with "ordinary" people going about their ordinary lives.Why is this important? For one thing, you pay a 50% premium sometimes for eating where all the other tourists are. If you eat in the brasserie a few blocks away, you'll get better food at a cheaper price.
Street (and subway) musicians of Paris
They were mostly pretty darn good! Except that guy with the flugelhorn!
My neighborhood cafe: tasty and inexpensive food.
This is what a good, cheap eating place looks like.
When I stayed in the same neighborhood three years ago, the weather was blisteringly hot. Few cafes are airconditioned, everybody sits out on the sidewalk to eat and watch the girls go by, dressed in their cute scanty outfits.We ate at this cafe almost every night, so I was happy to find it again this year. A vegetarian salad, which comes with a little basket of bread, costs 7 euros here (other places it's more like 10 euros). You ask for "un carafe" which means just regular old (free) water, and you can sit as long as you like, writing, watching people go by, thinking. It's so peaceful and entertaining!
Visiting "Les Puces" at metro stop Clignancourt
It's a few blocks. Before you get there you will pass by a lot of guys trying to sell you counterfeit watches and belts. I noticed at customs that it's a crime to buy them as well as to sell them, so don't be tempted!
Next, you'll probably see guys with little three-card-monty stands - and the current version of the shell game (you know, with peas under walnut shells) - flat black rubber pucks with a white spot painted on the underside of one of them. You'll no doubt see a bunch of people standing around looking interested and some of them may even win - those are FRIENDS of the guy with the pucks, don't be fooled! Walk on by! Oh dear, I heard a girl complaining: "But you must have moved it!" Walk on by.
Next, you get to the "renegade" part of the market, outdoor stands with everything from African masks to running clothes. I love this part of the market. Keep your possessions close to you.
Finally, you get to the "marches" which are windy old passage ways filled with vendors who don't care if you buy anything or not. There are hundreds of them. The areas are roughly divided so you can miss the expensive antique furniture and go straight to the retro used clothing if you want. There's a store that has huge stacks of old sheet music and... well just about everything.
There is a cafe just outside the puces where my daughter and her boyfriend bought expressos (hers had cream) and the bill was about $12 for the two drinks.
Shopping for a retro wedding dress at Les Puces at Clignancourt
My daughter tried on several wonderful old dresses at the flea market - each was almost but not quite right! The proprietor, here, was friendly and very helpful and accommodating.
Frugal eating: prioritize your meals
Think flexibly and you'll be able to have some splurges and still keep to your budget.
For instance: the boulangeries open at 7 am and you can trundle down to the corner and buy a baguette for less than a dollar. Buy yourself a chunk of cheese (even supermarket cheese is darn good, try "Comte") and there's breakfast or lunch.
In July you can buy wonderful, ripe little canteloupes for less than two euros.
Salads are not so expensive at the cafes.
The many ethnic restaurants - Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Turkish, Lebanese - are quite a bit less expensive than other places, and you can get some great meals there. If I felt a little protein-deficient I'd stop into a Lebanese or Chinese place and get a shishkebob of marinated, grilled chicken - for just two euros.
Do NOT buy a soda without looking at the price first! At many perfectly ordinary cafes they will charge you 4.5 euros for a coke!!!
The Promenade Plantee (The Planted Promenade): Free and beautiful!
Underneath it, the "Viaduct of the Arts."
I read about this in a guidebook and walked down to the Bastille to find it. I walked up the stairs by the opera house, and there it was: a long pathway, lined with trees and flowers, leading through the building tops and with lookouts down over the streets.Quite a few people were reading books, having solitary sandwiches, there were couples on benches with their heads in each others' laps... children were running and laughing and people were looking out over the beautiful buildings with a breeze ruffling their hair... free, all free.
In 1859 a railroad track viaduct was built connecting Place de la Bastille to Saint-Maur. A hundred years later it was abandoned and deteriorating. In the early 1990s, the City of Paris turned 1.5 km of the weedy track into the Promenade Plantee and Viaduct des Arts.
The 70 brick arches were given closed in with windows. Quite a few of the arches are vacant, but some contain arts and crafts workshops, galleries, furniture showrooms, etc.
The Promenade Plantee runs almost the entire length of the 12th arrondissement. The elevated portion runs from the Opéra Bastille to Jardin de Reuilly. You climb stairs to access it.
I really wish I'd known about this the last time I was in Paris, when the weather was so hot and still. I bet there'd have been some breeze up there among the treetops!
Warning: peeing in Paris is not for the faint-hearted
"Pee where you eat" is a rigid rule.
If you look online, you will find people saying that true Parisians do not even try to pee when they're out on the town. They just don't drink very much and they wait till they're home. I find this a dreadful solution.The ONLY free toilets in Paris look like the one in the picture. You push the button, the door opens, you go in and do your business, and when you come out the door closes and some magic genie washes down the whole interior. Unless they're broken, they're quite clean - BUT there are certainly not enough of them!
For instance, at one of the hugest flea markets, where hundreds of people are constantly going up and down the blocks and blocks of wares, there is ONE free toilet.
You can pee at museums - but you pay for your admission (except Carnavalet, it's free). You can pee at a cafe - but only if you buy something. I found this out when a bartender came running up the stairs after me and BURST IN THE DOOR of the women's bathroom and SLAMMED OPEN the stall and yelled at me while my pants were half down! That I hadn't bought anything! He told me I was very rude! He pulled on me to get me out of the bathroom but I didn't go. He stuck his foot in the door to keep me from closing it. Finally he gave up and left - turning off all the lights as he went, so I was in complete darkness.
For research's sake, I tried one of the many MacDonalds restaurants and did manage to use the toilet for free - there was one stall, serving men and women alike, for a two-floor restaurant with more than 150 people in it.
My other Paris travel lenses
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During my daily excursions in Paris this summer, I came across this Ukrainian band from Lvov. They were wonderful! They sing in full-throated harmony and sound like a real orchestra. I watched them with complete satisfaction for half an hour until t...
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The "other" Paris flea markets...
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Everybody knows about "Les Puces" at Clignancourt, but there are other open-air markets with bargain used - retro - or just plain cheap wares for sale. This picture is from the flea market at Montreuil. I don't really go to flea markets to buy stuff...
Do you have some good free/cheap Paris pleasures to suggest? Any other comments?
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Reply
- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Aug 3, 2009 @ 8:06 am
- Oh I wish I could go back to Paris again. This brings back many memories. Love the photos and the way you tell the story.
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Other resources for free or cheap activities and fun in Paris
- Cheap Nightlife in Paris - Have Fun on a Budget
- Kilometer Zero [is where] the crowds come out to spend the night, but not their Euros.During the warm weather months all sorts of young entertainers will congregate around the church and the river after nightfall. No need for expensive entertainment here...
- Le Blagueur à Paris: Cheap Paris: these buttes are made for walking
- When I asked some of my favorite local bloggers about cheap fun in the City of Light, "walking" was their #1 response.... here are a few general areas that I find to be great for walking...
- Bonjour Paris - Paris on the Cheap
- If you're under 26, a student, or retired always ask for a discount. Even if the answer is no, it's worth a shot because many places do have reduced price tickets...
- Free Things to Do in Paris - No-Cost Attractions and Sights
- Paris is one of the world's most expensive cities. That doesn't mean a vacation there has to break the bank. There are numerous attractions, sights and things to do in Paris that don't cost a single dime. In fact, there are so many you could spend your whole trip devoted to free attractions...
by ChapelHillFiddler
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