Accessible Paris on a Budget
Second only to accessibility for us is affordability. The world isn’t accessible to us if we can’t afford to get out and see it in the first place.
Our yearly vacation budget is just over $1,000. I feel like we get big reactions to that on both ends – either that we’re spending too much, or that it’s amazing we can do so much with our family of five for so little.
Full disclosure, we went over budget for our trip to Europe. We spent just over $600 in airfare and $660 for our rental car. Add in all of our meals, transportation, and attractions and we’re getting closer to double our budget. That said, five people in Europe for a month for less than $2,000 is still pretty impressive! We spent a similar amount for a week in Disney a few years ago.
A lot of these apply to other places, as well, but here’s how we managed to do so much with so little!
Airfare
I’m just going to hit these in order of cost – and this is the biggest obstacle in families getting to Europe. Flights from Baltimore to Paris range from $300 to over $1,000 per person, round trip, depending on time of year. Obviously, one way to save is being flexible with your dates and traveling in that lower range. We have three kids in school, so that’s not an option for us.
We covered all of our flights but one on airline miles. I know that sounds like one of those things where you need to fly a lot in order to be able to fly a lot, but it’s not. We use airline credit cards with sign on bonuses. We partnered with United’s Quest Card last fall, and the sign on bonus for the new credit card got us one way. The other leg of the journey was covered with our Chase Sapphire points.
I know this isn’t for everyone. The key is signing up for a new credit card with a sign on bonus, not spending more than you normally would, and paying your bill in time. I’m happy to answer any questions on this… or defer you to an expert!
Our flight total for five people was about $630.
Accommodations
You’ve heard me rave about HomeExchange before, and I’ll do it again. We payed a $40 dollar cleaning fee for our time in Paris. That’s it. No taxes or hidden fees.
Our year long membership cost $175. If Paris had been our only trip using HomeExchange, that would’ve averaged $29.17 per night. This was actually one of ten stays in the calendar year, so it was $3.88 per night. Yep. We’re paying less than $4 a night at this point.
We had a lovely apartment just outside of the city. We were in walking distance to shops, cafes, restaurants, and bakeries – and we had a full kitchen to cook out own meals. We also had free laundry – another way to save!
In Country Transportation
Our rental car was the most expensive part of our trip… but we didn’t actually use it in Paris. That said, if you can swing it, do. Trying to find accessible transportation took up a lot of our vacation time.
If you go for public transportation, which we did, here are some tips:
Buy your tickets in bulk at a bigger station. They’re discounted in books of ten or 20.
Download CityMapper. You can map routes by accessibility, and it tells you how much each leg of the journey will cost. This is nice because there’s no set fee across different types of trains, and we were caught off guard by some steep ticket prices!
For long distances, busses are cheaper than trains. Obviously, they’re also slower.
If you need a car, Bolt was typically cheapest. Next was Uber. Both have XL vehicles to fit a wheelchair, but at peak times there was a wait.
Don’t forget to walk. If you can handle the distance, there are so many sites to see along the way!
Meals
Look for boulangeries and patisseries or bakeries instead of a traditional restaurant for lunch. You can grab a crepe, or a sandwich on a freshly made croissant or baguette for 5€, instead of the more typical 22€ for a lunch. They’re everywhere, and they’re delicious! This was a big money saver for us! Spending 40€ vs 130€ per meal is huge! (Don’t question my math – that was after taxes and tip!)
Eat in. Of course you don’t want to do this for all meals – there are too many foods to explore! There are, however, a lot of local treats that can be explored from the grocer on your own table. We actually found many groceries here to be cheaper than at home. I bought a decent bottle of French wine for four Euro.
Attractions
There are endless things to see and do in Paris! There are some things, like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, that you don’t want to miss – but don’t think you need to see it all! If it’s something that would be a similar experience somewhere else, like a children’s museum or aquarium, consider saving it for later.
If you’re paying admission to more than two places, it’s worth looking into a package deal. We used the All Inclusive Pass from Go City to cover our Big Bus Tour (a hop on, hop off guided tour), a cruise down the Seine River, an Eiffel Tower tour, a Parisian breakfast, and our admission to the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. If you’re hitting up Disneyland during your trip, the Explorer Pass may be a better option for a steep discount!
If you’re only doing museums, the Paris Museum Pass is a must.
Make sure you’re aware of your discounts. Children are often free, and many places offer a disability discount. Check before you go!
Check out all the free things. You may be surprised at how much you can do without paying a dime! Even walking around the Eiffel Tower park, or taking in its sparkly light show (dusk to 1AM, on the hour every hour, for five minutes each time), is absolutely free.
One of my favorite activities was just strolling the city. The city is old, and every street is packed with beautiful surprises. Some of my favorite photos are of places we didn’t plan to see.