How to visit Paris on a budget: Moulin Rouge and Montmartre!

Evening everyone

As I mentioned the other day, in January I visited Paris with my mum, as it was a Christmas present for her. It was absolutely freezing, but really nice to have a break for 5 days away from everything. For any of my fellow bloggers wanting to visit, I thought I’d share with you a few posts on some of the nice and not-so-nice places to see during your stay! I also thought I’d include some tips on how to save your money if, like me, you are on a bit of a budget! Here goes:

• Day 1 tips

DO: Consider travelling to airports further away

DON’T: Fly to airports more than 60 miles out of the centre of Paris

Before I decided to book a hotel, I had a thorough search on skyscanner for the cheapest flights I could find. This site always has such a wide range of low prices to choose from, so I knew I wanted to select a booking with them. You can also usually find the lowest price by shopping around. Keep altering the airport you want to fly from, the airport you wish to fly to and the dates of travel. This way you can save a considerable amount of money before you’ve even set off.

I decided that to cut the cost, it would be easiest to fly to Beauvais airport, which is usually the cheaper to fly to. It was then only an hour’s drive on a coach into the centre of Paris, followed by a 5 minute ride on the tube. A small portion of day 1 was therefore taken up by travelling, however, it was definitely worth it considering the money saved.

DO: Shop around for a budget hotel and consider booking directly

DON’T: Compromise on location or space

Spending some time searching for a cheap hotel will also help reduce costs considerably. Luckily after exploring my options, I found a local hotel called Hotel des Arts, situated in the beautiful surroundings of Montmartre. The hotel was also very close to a tube station, lots of lovely bakeries, and the staff were amazing, so I really enjoyed my stay there – definitely somewhere I would recommend if you’re on a budget.

 

 

Quite often, price comparison websites have a few offers on, which can be very useful. However, do not let this fool you, these websites normally get paid commission, so it is best to visit the hotels website too. Whichever option you choose, it is first important to make sure you are happy with the location and facilities, before you go jumping into anything else!

Moulin Rouge and Montmartre

The rest of this post is just me mentioning our ventures around Montmartre on day 1. After we settled into the hotel, we had a look around the local area and the Moulin Rouge. I should clearly point out that this is one of the most expensive attractions to visit in Paris and was therefore not on our list of things to do. Elaborate shows start from 80 euros when booked in advance, to around 420 euros for a V.I.P. area with a three course meal, gifts, macaroons, bottles of champagne… you get the picture. It looked fantastic from the brochure, but we decided to leave it and grab some food instead.

Rouge Bis

From the restaurants I visited in Paris, this was my favourite. It is right next to the Blanche tube station, tucked away from tourists in the centre.The staff were incredibly friendly and the food was delicious too. Anyone that knows me will say I am obsessed with creme brulee and they had a pretty tasty one on the menu made with orange zest and biscuits! 🙂

 

That’s all for now folks! I’ll mention more about some of the attractions we visited tomorrow! Stay tuned 🙂

~Rose~