Daily France budget calculator

Paris looks like a hotel. Reality: a mid-tier day in central Paris is €180–€250 per person for hotel + meals + transport + museums. This calculator breaks down by neighbourhood, season, travel style, and includes the hidden costs (taxe de séjour, museum queues, cafés you will actually stop at).

City

Neighbourhood tier

Travel style

Trip length (days)

People

Season

What's included

Accommodation All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, café) Local transport 1 museum entry per day Daily tip budget (5–10%) 1 cultural event per stay (concert / show)

What this tool actually solves

Budget websites for Paris usually quote "from €60/day" but exclude the hotel (the largest cost) or the museum tickets (the second-largest surprise). The hidden costs the article-level guides miss:

Taxe de séjour: every Paris hotel adds €1–€15/night per person as a tourist tax, collected separately, often in cash at check-in.
Café breakfast: a continental breakfast in a Parisian café is €7–€15 — same price as a brasserie lunch. Many travellers quietly spend €50/day on caffeine and viennoiseries.
Museum surcharges: the Louvre is €22 but timed-entry slots add €2; the Orangerie is €12 but the audio guide is €5; the Sainte-Chapelle is €14 but the tower access is €3.
Brasserie dinner: a brasserie dinner for two with a bottle of wine is €55–€80, not the €20 the menu shows.

How to read the result

The breakdown shows what each item costs in € per person per day. The total is what you'll realistically spend. The hidden-costs line is the sum of items most budget guides miss.

Limitations

2025–2026 prices. Paris hotel rates can swing ±50% by season and special events (fashion week, Roland Garros, Euro football). The brasserie prices are median for a central-arrondissement restaurant; the Marais and Saint-Germain tourist zones can be 30% above the median.

FAQ

Is Paris more expensive than London?

In 2024–2026 price benchmarks, Paris and London are within 5–10% of each other for most mid-tier travel. Hotels are 10–15% cheaper in Paris on average; restaurant meals are 5–10% cheaper; museum tickets are 30% cheaper in Paris. Net: Paris is slightly cheaper for the same experience, but London has more free museums.

What's the cheapest decent area to stay in Paris?

For first-time visitors, the 9th, 10th and 11th offer the best balance: 5–10 minutes by Métro from major sites, €120–€180/night for a 3-star hotel, lots of bistros under €25 menu. The 19th and 20th are cheaper but 25–35 minutes from the centre; the 1st–4th are central but €220–€350/night.

About

1 of 38 tools in France Trip Toolkit. Independent. Pricing data from Atout France 2024–2026 tourism barometer, HotelStarsEU ratings, and INSEE restaurant price index.

Privacy

No tracking.

Disclaimer

Estimate only. Hotel rates and restaurant prices vary widely by season.