Bonjour! We%26#39;re getting ready to leave for our Paris trip on April 16. People have been warning me about outrageous costs, particularly for food, in France. How bad is it? Any suggestions for making it better?
My sister said a friend of hers was surprised about sitting in what she thought would be a reasonably priced restaurant, only to find out that she had to pay taxes for the chair she sat on and the glass she drank from. Any truth to this, or is it just exaggeration?
Regarding taxes -- Is the 20% tacked onto everything, including things like Metro tickets and museum entrance?
Thanks for any help you can give!
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I%26#39;ve never heard about being taxed for the chair and glass....
But there are restaurants and cafes and bistros in every price range. Menus are displayed on the outside of a restaurant so you know ahead of time if you can afford it. Bring a small calculator to figure out the exchange rate if you need to.
Don%26#39;t worry......the ones that are usually telling you all the negative things about a place are the people who have never been there. My Dad couldn%26#39;t figure out why I wanted to go there my first time....%26quot;it%26#39;s so dirty%26quot;....he couldn%26#39;t have been more wrong!
You%26#39;ll love it!!! My rule of travelling: The negative people who try to rain on my parade don%26#39;t get a souvenier!! (that will teach them!)
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%26#39;how bad is it%26#39; is probably impossible for anyone to answer.. what is your idea of %26#39;outrageous%26#39; and what is your budget for dining?
you can dine inexpensively or expensively in paris... its no different than here really.. i can name a gizzillion places to spend $400 on dinner for 2 in the US, does that mean the US is outrageous? No, it means that people have different budgets for different things.
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like the prices of food anywhere, the sky%26#39;s the limit.
However, a few generalizations:
(1) It%26#39;s always multiples more expensive in the high-class tourist-trap areas like Rivoli and along the Champs-Elysees. You might be paying $10 for a cup of coffee with no refills.
(2) cafes. There%26#39;s usually two or three different price tiers. The most expensive one is along the street where you can people watch. When you go to the interior, things get cheaper, especially the drinks.
(3) Food does get more reasonable if you look for it and shop carefully. Tour buses will probably not take you to such places.
Yes. A 20% tax exists on almost everything. It%26#39;s really quite transparent unless you buy some fairly expensive (%26gt;US$100?) non-food item brand new and take it out of the EU back to the US or somewhere else if you can prove non-EU citizenship. You can get a TVA (the 20+% tax cash/check refund) as you leave the EU nation%26#39;s point of departure.
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%26lt;%26lt;(2) cafes. There%26#39;s usually two or three different price tiers. The most expensive one is along the street where you can people watch. When you go to the interior, things get cheaper, especially the drinks.%26gt;%26gt; N%26#39;Importe Quoi!!!!!! Which means hog wash and utter nonsense.
Cafes have two prices which are posted, by law. The first and cheapest price is inside AT THE BAR. Once you sit, you will be paying an extra 15%, which is, in fact, the service charge.
As for the 20% TVA it is already included in the price and nothing will be added to you bill, either in restaurants, or when making purchases. You will be eligible for a refund only on the items that have been purchased in stores that offer a dutfree refund and only if paying more than a certian amount (175Euros, I believe) on one day of purchases.
As for your sister, it sounds like she may have been in Italy, too, where there is a coperto.... which is effectively a seating charge, but in large part, me thinks she doest protest too much!
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As dddane said, the question isn%26#39;t very easy to answer as you%26#39;ve asked it.
Over the weekend we had a great meal for two. 64euro (32 per person) for 3 courses, a bottle of wine and coffee. The week before we had all-you-can-eat Asian food for 10euro per person.
There is no cover charge (like the coperta in Italy) for seats and such. And remember, because every restaurant displays it%26#39;s menu outside, you can work out if it%26#39;s expensive or not !
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Hi Jule - I was in Paris 3 weeks ago. You can buy regular foods at the local supermarkets for what, to me, seemed to be reasonable prices. If your hotel has a fridge, all the better - ours was 2 stars and didn%26#39;t, but it was so cold outside we used the windowsill - which worked like a treat!
The baguettes are to DIE for and make the best breakfast, buy them directly from the local bakery (boulangerie) for about 75 cents, get your own butter - nothing on earth like them - certainly nothing in Melbourne like them - I%26#39;m still looking.
Many restaurants have the fixed price menu - these range from 9 euros to whatever - I had a 9 euro, 3 course meal on the Rue Montparnasse - it was more than enough to eat, very nice and tasty - vegetable soup, a choice of meatballs or pork with vegetables, a choice of apple tart of choc icecream - it was very good food and in a non-smoking part of the restaurant. My daughter and I had dinner, with one glass of wine and one diet coke (which was dearer than the wine) , total 24 euros. And the service was excellent!
Eat luch on the run, crepes are freshly and readily available for a few euros - I found that food was much cheaper in Paris than in London - but then I didn%26#39;t visit any of the really special restaurants - I will save that for when I%26#39;m there with my husband next year ;-)
Metro tickets - 5E80 for a day pass - calculate if you want to make multiple trips, cos you can buy a book of single trips (orange carnet, me thinks) where they are 1.20 each..
Re prices in cafes - you do pay more to sit outside, but they don%26#39;t harass you to leave - you can sit for an hour or two. I%26#39;m really looking forward to taking more time to do this next year - the extra few euros is definitely worth it!
Please post a report on your experience - I hope to be in Paris in April next year....
Enjoy!
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I live in New York City and even with the weak dollar it is MUCH cheaper to eat in Paris than in New York City. Every restaurant must have its prices posted outside the door so you will have a good idea of what you will be paying before you enter.
Some of my favorites for inexpensive meals:
Chartier - their formulae (appetizer, entree and dessert) is usually about 20 euro.
La Pre Verre - a TOP Parisian restaurant at 8 rue Thenard in the Latin Quarter near the Cluny has a 25 euro prix fixe.
When they give you a price in Paris, taxes and tips are already tacked on. Only leave a small tip in a restaurant, say 2-3 euro at most.
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Just got back... there is literally a Brasserie, Bistro, Cafe or restaurant every 20 feet all over the city. The menus are posted outside and the prices listed do include all taxes and service. If you choose the %26quot; menu%26quot; or fixed price meal you can get an appetizer, a main dish and desert ( or in some cases there are two fixed priced options with the least expensive being either an appetizer and main or dessert and main). We stuck to these since we knew exactly how much it was going to be and much less expensive than ordering individual items from the menus. There are lots of sandwhich shops and creperies where you can get a sandwhich drink and dessert for about 7 Euros. In between all of the establishments listed above are all of the pattisserie%26#39;s which sell pastries and bread. If you fill up on these all day you%26#39;ll save lots of money because you won%26#39;t be hungry at dinnertime!
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