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Posted: 11/6/2009 10:33 AM

#295464

	Anchorage Girl

	Member

Total Posts:44
Last Post:11/18/2009
Member Since:12/29/2008

Subject: Eating in Paris on a budget (and Amsterdam)

At the end of the month my husband & I will be in Paris for 4 days before proceeding to Tunisia. (We leave the Sunday after Thanksgiving.) We each were there as very young adults decades ago so we look forward to seeing this beautiful city again together.

I'd appreciate any advice you have about eating in Paris "on a budget". By "budget" I mean: if we spend $80 on dinner, that's a lot for us. We'd probably be prepared to spend that for one meal during our stay--maybe up to $100. I know that means we'll miss many wonderful opportunities. Still, I'm sure there are delicious opportunites for breakfast, lunch, as well as dinner/supper that are less costly.

If you don't have specific suggestions regarding a bistro/restaurant, please give us any tips you have.

On our return home we'll spend one night in Amsterdam (we're on Air France, go figure) so if you have any suggestions about a yummy place for dinner/supper there, we'd love to hear them.

Thank you in advance, Mary Jo

Posted: 11/6/2009 11:15 AM

#295471

	auntcy1

	Member

Total Posts:2272
Last Post:11/20/2009
Member Since:4/10/2003

Mary Jo,
I don't have specific restaurant/bistro suggestions but would recommend that you read thru both Chocolate and Zucchini and David Lebovitz's blogs. The former is a french-borm blogger who has now published a cookbook as well as a book on "her Paris" and the latter, an American chef now living in Paris. Their sites have mountains of very useful info.

It would also be helpful if you shared which arrondissemont (sp?) you're staying in. I'm sure you'll want to keep in mind the cost of transportation when considering the cost of your meals.

And also don't forget, you can't go wrong with street food in Paris. Enjoy your stay!

Nancy

Those who forget the pasta are condemned to reheat it.

Posted: 11/7/2009 9:51 AM

#295521

	Anchorage Girl

	Member

Total Posts:44
Last Post:11/18/2009
Member Since:12/29/2008

Oh! Thanks for the information! I've already bookmarked the websites you recommend.

We are staying over by the Ecole Militaire. Thanks again.

Posted: 11/9/2009 5:27 AM

#295613

	flowerpetals

	Member

Total Posts:205
Last Post:11/13/2009
Member Since:7/12/2006

We stayed on Rue Cler, and had great meals. We aren't huge breakfast people, so we likely saved the most money on that meal. For breakfast, we bought a jar of jelly at a grocery store and some plastic knives at the beginning of our trip, and my husband would venture out each morning to the local bakery for croissants and coffee. We'd buy bananas whenever we passed a street market and have those for breakfast too. Easy. Lunch was almost always a panini, pizza, quiche, sandwich- something quick and simple as we were usually dashing from one museum to another.

Dinner is when we would sit down and relax. We were in France for 3 weeks, so whenever we wanted to have the UBER nice expensive meal, we would. But we didn't eat the 5 course meal every night. Our low key evening meals ranged from 30-50 euros, which was between $40-70 US dollars. After three weeks, we learned a few things, like buying our Magnum ice cream bars (a favorite in the summer heat!) in the grocery stores and not on the streets, where they mark up 400%. EVERYTHING is expensive in France... haven't been to Amsterdam, but the dollar vs. the euro isn't pretty. We didn't want to put a damper on our trip by calculating our expenses each week, so we budgeted a ballpark figure on food ($65/day/person) from the outset, and ended up coming in under that- probably due to our *picnic* breakfast.

Please eat at Tribecca on Rue Cler. It was recommended in Rick Steves' travel guide on Paris, and I had the pasta with truffles- changed my life! At the end of our three weeks, we were back in Paris again to fly home and we had to go back there for our last meal. My favorite meal of the trip- easily. But really, get Rick Steves book for Paris and Amsterdam from the library and write down his food suggestions. He breaks down restaurants by price, but he is very focused on quality- so you can get a nice meal for a fair price.

Also, you might be returning there at a nice time. When we were in Paris this summer, they told us that the UAT tax was going away on restaurants, so that will save you a ton of money right there. It hadn't ended by the time we left, so we still paid the hefty tax on all of our meals... argh!

Enjoy- we had such a nice trip there this summer (for our 10th anniversary). We're already planning on where to go next.

Posted: 11/9/2009 5:54 PM

#295648

	paddy99

	Member

Total Posts:390
Last Post:11/16/2009
Member Since:11/30/2007

Try the Paris forum on [www.tripadvisor.com]

Posted: 11/10/2009 8:57 AM

#295675

	Anchorage Girl

	Member

Total Posts:44
Last Post:11/18/2009
Member Since:12/29/2008

Thank you so much for the tip! I'm familiar with that website but hadn't thought of checking it for eating in Paris.

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