What Paris costs
What Paris really costs per day in 2026 — from €46–72 with a hostel and a bakery to about €302 with a four-star hotel — and why the same coffee has no single price.
- Budget
- €46–72 a day
- Mid-range
- About €186 a day
- Comfortable
- About €302 a day
Paris is not an expensive city, it is a city where everything is priced out loud. The same coffee costs one thing at the counter, another at a table and a third on the terrace, and the price list has to show the counter and table prices whenever they differ. Your budget depends less on what you have than on where you stop.
The figures below are per person per day, worked out for two sharing a room. Your flight and any train day trip out of Paris stay outside the figures; the Paris city tax is inside them, since it is charged every night. Admission is at the higher, non-EEA rate, which is what visitors from outside the European Economic Area have paid since January 2026. Rooms and meals are yearly averages, not the cheapest deal going — in June a room costs more than the average, in August and February less.
Budget — €46–72 a day
A hostel bed in the 10th, 11th or 18th, a croissant from a bakery, one meal in a cheap restaurant or from the same bakery, dinner from a supermarket, and museums that don't charge. In Paris that is less of a sacrifice than it would be elsewhere: the city museums' permanent collections are free, the churches are free, and walking along the river has no cash desk. The range in the table comes from the bed — it depends on the hostel, the day of the week and the size of the dorm; the supermarket dinner goes on top.
Mid-range — about €186 a day
A three-star double in Le Marais, the Latin Quarter or the 11th, lunch in a cheaper restaurant or through a 'formule midi', a three-course dinner, the four big tickets spread over three days, and a day travel pass. This is the profile of most people who come for three or four days and want everything on the list without counting every euro. The tickets in the table are the Louvre, the Sainte-Chapelle, Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe divided over three days — the Eiffel Tower and Versailles go on top.
Comfortable — about €302 a day
A four-star hotel in the 6th, 7th or 1st, both meals at a table, the same four big tickets and a day pass, because even in this profile the metro crosses the centre faster than a taxi. Taxis are not in the table: in town they run on the meter, and from the airports there is a fixed fare per car, listed further down. Above this begin the 'palaces' — the category above five stars, where a budget stops being a topic.
Where the money actually goes
- The terrace. The same coffee has a different price at the counter ('comptoir'), at a table inside ('salle') and on the terrace, and the price list must show the counter and table prices whenever they differ — read it before you sit down. If sitting outside doesn't matter to you, drink standing, like half the city.
- Bottled water. A restaurant is legally obliged to bring you 'une carafe d'eau', a jug of tap water, free, and since 2022 the menu has to say so. Bottled water on the table is charged and should be ordered only if you actually want it.
- The carte instead of the formule. Lunch in a cheaper restaurant or through a two-course 'formule midi' comes to about €16; the same kitchen in the evening, from the menu, heads towards €35 for three courses. Eat your main meal at lunch and something lighter at night — which is what Parisians do.
- The higher, non-EEA rate. Since January 2026 the Louvre is €32 instead of €22, the Sainte-Chapelle €22 instead of €16, Versailles in season €35 instead of €32. On one ticket the gap is small, but it adds up — and it is exactly why a Paris Museum Pass pays off for a non-EEA visitor from the fourth big house, and for an EEA resident almost never.
- A 'flat rate' instead of the fixed airport fare. The ride from Charles de Gaulle is a fixed €56–65 per car, depending on which bank you are heading to; from Orly €36–45. If a driver quotes another figure, walk away. RER B and the €14 airport ticket do the same job.
- Bureaux de change. Around the Opéra, the Champs-Élysées and Gare du Nord you'll find windows advertising '0% commission' at a rate worse than your bank's. Nobody changes money in Paris — you pay by card everywhere, and you always choose to be charged in euros rather than your home currency.
What is free
- The permanent collections of the city museums. The Petit Palais, the Musée Carnavalet, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, the Maison de Victor Hugo, the Musée Bourdelle — free, always, no booking. The Petit Palais is open Tue–Sun 10–18 and has a garden café.
- The Louvre on the first Friday of the month after 18:00 (except July and August) and on 14 July. The museum runs to 21:00 on Fridays anyway, so that is three hours without a ticket — you still book a slot.
- Churches. Notre-Dame (a slot can be booked on the official site two or three days ahead, which shortens the queue in season), Sacré-Cœur, Saint-Sulpice with its Delacroix murals, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont and Saint-Eustache — entry is free to all of them.
- Viewpoints. The Galeries Lafayette terrace, the roof of the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Parc de Belleville and the terrace in front of Sacré-Cœur charge nothing; addresses and hours are on the hidden-gems page.
- Parks and cemeteries. The Luxembourg Gardens, the Tuileries, the Jardin des Plantes, Père-Lachaise, the Buttes-Chaumont; and the quays of the Canal Saint-Martin are closed to cars on Sundays and public holidays from 10 to 18, until 20 in summer.
- Water. Around a hundred and sixty green Wallace fountains across the city and seventeen sparkling-water fountains in the parks. You fill the bottle, you don't buy it.
Taxes, tips, cards
The city tax is per person per night, usually settled at checkout: €2.60 in a hostel or one-star hotel, €5.53 in a three-star, €8.45 in a four-star, €15.93 in a palace. An unclassified flat booked through a platform is charged five per cent of the night per person plus regional surcharges, up to the same cap. Under-18s don't pay. Tipping is not obligatory: 'service compris' is built into the posted price, so you round up or leave a few euros if it was good. Cards work everywhere, in bakeries and on buses, and contactless is the norm; when the terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, always choose euros. You need cash only for markets and the odd kiosk.
The same comparison for 143 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How much do you need a day in Paris?
About €46–72 per person on a budget (hostel, bakeries, free museums), about €186 mid-range (a three-star room for two, two restaurant meals, the four big tickets) and about €302 comfortable (a four-star hotel, both meals at a table). The city tax is included, the flight is not.
Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it?
More often than it used to be, because since 2026 non-EEA visitors pay the higher rate: Louvre €32, Sainte-Chapelle €22, Versailles in season €35. The €85 two-day pass only pays for itself at the fourth big house within 48 hours — the Louvre, the Sainte-Chapelle, Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe together cost more than it does; for an EEA resident not even then. The Eiffel Tower is not included.
What does a coffee cost in Paris?
It depends where you stop: cheapest at the counter, more at a table inside, most on the terrace; a cappuccino averages €4.35. The price list must show the counter and table prices whenever they differ, so read it before you sit down.
Ready for Paris?
Where to next
Paris past the postcards: the Arc on Wednesdays, free views
→Ten things Paris doesn't put on postcards — the Arc de Triomphe for €16 on Wednesdays, three free viewpoints…
Étretat · 182 km
→The chalk arches Monet kept coming back to for years
How well does Paris suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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