France on a budget: our tips to spend less

In short: to travel in France without blowing your budget, avoid French school holidays, book trains early (or take the bus and carpool), stay in hostels or B&Bs, eat the lunch set menu, picnic with market produce and enjoy free museums and walks. A carafe of water is free in restaurants.

Choose the right time

This is the most effective tip: outside French school holidays and summer, trains, accommodation and car rentals are often much cheaper, and sites less crowded. See our guide When to visit France.

Getting around for less

• Book trains early: fares rise as departure approaches. Low-cost TGVs (OUIGO) and SNCF discount cards can bring the price down; compare them for your route.
• Take long-distance buses: slower than the train, but often much cheaper between big cities.
• Consider carpooling, very common in France, for trips between cities or out to the countryside.
• In cities, use public transport: day or weekly passes are often better value than single tickets.
• Only rent a car for the countryside, and just for a few days (see Renting a car in France).

Full details in our guide Trains and buses in France.

Sleeping for less

• Hostels, plentiful in big cities, also offer private rooms.
• B&Bs (chambres d’hôtes), often with breakfast, are a lovely way to discover the regions.
• Apartments with a kitchen, handy for families or several nights.
• Change neighbourhood: in Paris as elsewhere, a slightly outlying but well-connected place is often cheaper (see Where to stay in Paris).
• Compare dates: weekend and weekday prices differ from city to city.

Eating for less

• The lunch set menu (formule: starter and main, or main and dessert) is much cheaper than the evening menu in most restaurants.
• A carafe of water is free in restaurants, and tap water is safe everywhere.
• Picnics with produce from the market, the bakery and the cheese shop: a truly French pleasure.
• Bakeries for breakfast and a quick lunch.
• Markets and covered food halls, where you often eat well for little.

Sightseeing for less

• National museums are often free for under-26s resident in the European Union; some museums also offer free days or evenings.
• Museum passes and city passes can be worthwhile if you plan lots of paid visits: compare with what you actually intend to see.
• Free pleasures: parks and gardens, historic districts, churches, markets, the banks of the Seine, beaches and hikes.
• Pay-what-you-wish walking tours are available in several big cities.

Small savings that add up

• Pay by card with no foreign fees if your bank allows it, and decline conversion into your home currency offered by some terminals.
• Get a travel eSIM rather than paying roaming charges if your plan doesn’t cover Europe (see Internet in France).
• Carry a water bottle: public fountains are common in cities.

Going further

To plan the rest of your trip, see our guide Travel in France and our France itinerary.