How To Explore Paris On a Budget
No such thing as a free lunch? Perhaps there is. This article looks at some of the places in Paris that you can visit for free; and that you will actually want to visit. You still can’t quite leave your wallet at home when you visit Paris (the metro isn’t free!); but at least you won’t need to take out a second mortgage.
Paris is the number one tourist destination in the world. That might seem surprising, considering what an expensive place it can be. But there are so many jewels just lying around this great city to dazzle even the most jaded tourist, that it is no wonder that people come back again and again.
Here is a list of seven categories of free destinations in the city. If you dedicate one day to each category, you will have a full week of first-class sightseeing in this unique city almost free of charge. So buy your “carnet” of tickets at the local metro station (11.10 euros for ten tickets), or better yet, get a weekly pass for the public transport, (you’ll need a small ID photo and some ability to negotiate in French) and take in Paris for a week, for free!
Here Is How You Can Visit Paris For Free
Visit The Churches in Paris
I picked this category for day number one because I always recommend that people arrive on a Sunday, to avoid the bustle of other days. Notre Dame has ten million visitors per year. It’s no wonder: the cathedral has been the symbol of Paris for many centuries, and it is an architectural monument of astounding intricacy and beauty. And the entrance is free. If you go on a Sunday morning, you can stay for the mass; you can quietly stand on the sides, while the ceremonies are performed and listen to the choir.
However, there’s a good chance that you find the ten million fellow tourists a turn-off. No matter, there are hundreds of beautiful churches throughout the city, all open many hours of the day. Try Saint-Eustache, the parish church of Les Halles, to hear its famous organ. The church is in a state of disrepair, but it is redolent with the spirit of working-class Paris.
And everyone knows Sacre-Coeur, the kitschy but beautifully decorated early Twentieth Century sandcastle which dominates the northern Paris skyline, and the ancient Saint-Germain-des-Pres. But there are also others that are less well known and quite interesting as well: stroll to Saint-Paul in the Marais with its Delacroix painting, or get way off the beaten track and visit St-Denis de la Chapelle on rue de la Chapelle in the north of the city, where Joan of Arc heard mass in 1429 just before re-entering the city.
>>Cathedrals In Paris and France Worth Visiting
Visit The Parks
Save this for one of the sunny days of the week: you should have two or three. The Tuileries and the Jardin du Luxembourg are on everyone’s must-see list, and rightly so, but there are many others, like the scenic Parc des Buttes Chaumont and the Parc Montsouris, or the modern park at La Villette. However, these parks are very large, and maybe you didn’t come all this way to spend the day so far from urban delights.
So take in some of the smaller squares, gardens, and green plazas that are so seamlessly integrated into the neighborhoods, like the Square du Temple, next to the town hall of the third arrondissement. A possible itinerary: start out somewhere along the unusual little park called the Promenade Plantee. It is constructed on an old elevated right of way that used to hold a railway line that ended at a terminus where the Bastille Opera now stands. It is a long and narrow garden that feels like a conveyor belt of tranquility passing by the facades of middle-class apartments and over neighborhood streets.
At the end of the park, you will be close to Place de la Bastille, where you can have lunch at an outdoor table at a brasserie, then continue on to the beautiful Place des Vosges, a small square park surrounded by royal apartments dating from the seventeenth century.
Cemeteries
Yes, cemeteries. It’s not so ghoulish as one might think, and in fact, the Pere Lachaise cemetery has been quite a mecca for Jim Morrison fans for decades already, but don’t miss Edith Piaf, she’s there too.
Other musicians and artists can be found at Montmartre: the iconic pop singer Dalida, and the dancer Nijinsky, or at Montparnasse: Serge Gainsborough. After saying hello to Serge, you can stroll along and find the grave of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. If your musical taste is more classical, check out the de Passy cemetery near Trocadero, for Faure and Debussy.
The cemeteries of Paris are brimming with the graves of famous people, and a directory at the entrance of each one will give you an idea where to find each; bring a notebook to make a map for yourself, as you may get disoriented by the many lanes.
>>Read: Cemeteries in Paris Worth Visiting, Famous People Buried In Paris
Museums
Unless you have the good fortune of being in Paris on the first Sunday of the month, when the state museums are free, you may find that the museums in this city can be quite pricey. However, one absolutely wonderful museum, Le Petit Palais, has a free, permanent collection (one pays to see the seasonal exhibits). This beautiful Beaux-Arts building, built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900, is a marvel in itself, and the artwork it houses in its permanent collection, particularly rich in late nineteenth-century art, is nothing to sneeze at.
The permanent collection at the Museum Carnavalet is also free. This collection is dedicated to the history of Paris. Also, don’t forget the attraction of museum bookstores, they are worth a visit all by themselves. I like the Louvre store, Les Invalides, and the gift shop at Centre Pompidou.
Exhibits
Many exhibits charge entrance, especially if they are housed at a museum. However, there are some bright exceptions. The City Hall puts on free exhibits all year round, often two of them concurrently. These are always of very high quality and well worth the visit. Several public areas of this beautiful building are also open, free of charge, to group visits.
Check listings for free exhibits at other public buildings, where the architecture can be just as beautiful as the art.
Some ideas: the National Archives, the old National Library. Or put on your best upper-class airs and prance into any of the art galleries that line the posh boulevards.
For a weekend day of antiquing and collectibles, there is nothing like the enormous flea market and antiques quarter at Saint-Ouen, but if jostling through the crowds is not your style, then go for the covered arcades that stretch from rue Faubourg Montmartre and twist down across boulevard Montmartre into the second arrondissement. They are full of small shops of collectibles that will fit far better in your luggage that a faux Louis XV armoire.
Views
There are great memorable views of Paris. Who can forget a glimpse over the rooftops while riding up the escalator at Pompidou, or from the Eiffel Tower, the Montparnasse Tower, or the Arc de Triumph? But there are free vantage points that are just as thrilling.
Crowds gather in awe on the steps of Sacre-Coeur not only to look up at the whipped cream architecture but also to look back at the city laying like a carpet before it. Start there and walk back downhill through Montmartre to the department store district for another view that is truly spectacular: the one from the 9th floor of Printemps department store.
There are several Printemps buildings, so be sure to enter the Beauty store and take the elevator up to the cafe-restaurant. One can sit at a table, but it is also possible to simply stroll around on the terrace without buying anything and take in the view from this great spot right in the heart of the city. See how many landmarks you can identify among the rooftops that stretch like a jungle canopy around you.
Then find your way back down to the streets, without stopping to shop in the great store. Impossible? Be sure to have your passport with you if you come from outside the EU, you may get the sales tax refunded, which is like a ten percent discount on your purchases.
New Districts
The image that we all have of Paris may be the Champs-Élysées or the other great Haussmannian era boulevards, and the romantic bridges, like the Pont Alexandre III, but Paris also includes several newer districts where modern development has been concentrated, so as to preserve the urban fabric of the city.
Take the metro out to La Defense to see an extensive modern planned city. There is an exhibit of the history and development of the district right there on the Place de la Defense. Then go clear across town to the 13th arrondissement; the National Library is only one of the many new structures.
Cross the river on the elegant new pedestrian bridge, the Passarelle Simone De Beauvoir, to the Bercy district where fine modern structures like the Ministry of Finance line the waterfront. Walk over to the Cinematheque Francaise, housed in the former American Cultural Center, a modern structure designed by Frank Gehry.
How To Explore Paris For Free – Summary
Now that you have saved all that money on sightseeing, you can afford to dine in a good French restaurant. The sky is the limit on prices here, but there are still bargains to be had. The better brasseries offer moderately priced meals that are often excellent.
So ignore the fast-food golden arches that tempt you with their convenience and complete your day with a real steak. Do not allow them to bring it to you rare; there is only a fine line between rare and raw in France! Also, get a bottle of fine wine; almost anything that is served from a bottle with a cork is fine wine in France.
