Is Paris an expensive city?
Yes, well, just like all the major capitals, but it can be lived to the fullest even without spending a lot of money. Full of free museums or charming places to visit, in an exciting and economically fair way. Discovering the city for free will make it all better, and maybe a bit of snobby air will pleasantly be relieved from one of the fanciest cities of the world.
What can you do for free in the French capital?
- Free pass museums on the first Sunday of the month. If you have to plan your trip, you’ll have to consider the first weekend of the month, possibly from October to March, so that you can also include a visit to the Louvre Museum in the offer (normally it costs 15 € per person). Other museums that take part in this initiative are: the Centre Pompidou, the National Eugene Delacroix museum, the Musée D’Orsay, the Musée de L’Orangerie and the Picasso Museum, and a lot of smaller museum as well. In addition, people under the age of 26 can always get in free by showing their ID.
- Parks and cemeteries. Obviously, all the public parks are free of charge and definitely wonderful (don’t miss Parc Monceau and the Jardins du Luxembourg are two beloved gems of the city, especially by Parisians), but why not to take a tour around the most famous graves? Here, cemeteries have a high historical value and they often are actual pilgrimage destinations. Indubitably, one of the most famous ones is Père Lachaise, in which names such as Jim Morrison (you won’t have trouble finding his grave, it is the only fenced one), Charles Baudelaire, Frédéric Chopin and Oscar Wilde remain some of the most famous. Make a stop at the Cemetery of MontMartre too.
- Paris from above. No doubt, one of the unmissable things to put at the top of your list is to view the city from a strategic position: it’s truly breathtaking. Which are the best spots?
Of course, the hill of Montmartre (a suggestive neighborhood and a massive church dominate the Ville Lumière), the neighborhood of Belleville, is one of them. Here you can enjoy a view of the Tour Eiffel and certainly the upper floors of the Printemps’ department store.
- Discovering Paris by bicycle. Velib is the method of bike sharing that will take you around the city for a low price (approximately 8 € per day) or for free! Signing up for a service is a bit difficult – you have to sign up online and complete the process – but it is free for the first 30 minutes. Therefore, you can hand the bike back within 30 minutes and simply get another one. However, as it’s so cheap, most people avoid the hassle.
- How to join a free tour of Paris. There are tours of all kind: at night, around the historical neighborhoods, those dedicated to street art or those to film sets and they are completely free. Just look for “free tour Paris” online, and a whole world will open up for you. Discovering the city with an expert is the most curious and in-depth way to fall even deeper in love with the thousand lights city.
