After your trip(s) to France (interested in just Paris trips as well as anywhere in France what are things that ended up out of line with what you had budgeted? Interested in any reason - because something was just more expensive then you thought it would be; it was the price you expected, but you bought a lot more of it, or did a lot more of it; it was an expense you just didn%26#39;t expect; and the opposite - you thought you would spend more on something, but ended up saving that money? OR things that you would have spent more on or less on if you went back - that you only learned at the end of your trip... that sort of thing!
TKTF
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What a great question! Hopefully you%26#39;ll hear from lots of people. I%26#39;m going for my first trip in October, and I%26#39;ll definitely report back (if I can find this thread!) :)
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bbchick - even if you don%26#39;t find the post answer back anyway ;-) I love reading everyone%26#39;s trip reports, but I haven%26#39;t found any that talk to much about the money specifics. I%26#39;d love to see a trip report that goes %26quot;Day 1 - Eiffel tower; boat cruise; walked around a park - spent 50E on activities, 20E on snack food, 5E on transportation%26quot;. I know though that might mean spending more time %26quot;documenting%26quot; the vacation then actually taking it! But I love reading long detailed subjective trip reports! So I will read yours even if this post is retired!
TKTF
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i can speak for new york. we were then and to miami with my best friend, she planned a budget of 100 euros/day, i told her she will never respect it, she said yeah yeah but i cant spend more, and she ended spending 400 dollars for shopping the 2nd day lol ;) but i must admit i was not nice, i took her to century 21 and she didnt believe me when i told her she would spent a lot of money there. in general we spend more because we shop too much and its uncontrable, or because of the food (especially in the us where they add tips and taxes etc to the price you see on the menu).
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That%26#39;s a good point, TKTF. I%26#39;ll post a report no matter what.
I%26#39;d like to see more reports about money spent, too. It%26#39;s a bit terrible to have to seriously budget on a trip to Paris, but when the opportunity comes up, what can you say? :D I%26#39;m going, and hoping there%26#39;s enough in my account to see me back home!
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Coffee! We are coffee-aholics and I just couldn%26#39;t resist stopping in a cafe several times a day - I had always dreamed of sipping coffee at a sidewalk table in a Paris cafe (a cliche, I know!) But it only took a few days to discover what all Parisians know - it%26#39;s much cheaper at the %26quot;bar%26quot;. So we took turns sitting and standing :)
Other than that...we spent more on dinners and perfume than I had planned. We did save a bundle by renting an apartment and having breakfast there, and we did the lunch picnic thing a lot.
It all depends on your priorites, I guess!
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Luckily (for budget purposes) I%26#39;m don%26#39;t enjoy %26quot;shopping%26quot; as an activitiy in an of itself, so we are not likely to fall into that budget breaker ;-) though if that is a recurring theme that %26quot;shoppers%26quot; shopped more then they thought they would, I would have to presume that even a %26quot;non-shopper%26quot; like me would shop more then usual!
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And %26quot;budget%26quot; doesn%26#39;t have to mean %26quot;cheap%26quot; spending just managed spending ;-)
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I%26#39;m guessing that you%26#39;re travelling with kids.....what REALLY saved us a ton of money as a family was the Carte de Musee or museum pass. Adults get in free to lots of museums and the kids get in free with you. Just the price to go up the Arc de Triomphe was ridiculous, so we were happy it was %26quot;free%26quot; with our pass. I would have had trouble forking over money again and again for admission to all the places without it.
One thing that added up fast was eating out. Even just lunches in a cafe with kids. What HELPED was eating breakfast in our rented flat. Also, there are asian %26quot;take away%26quot; counters that are inexpensive and 2 nights we got that and took it back to the flat. It was less expensive and a nice break from eating in restaurants all the time, plus it was a welcome change to the kids from French food. Finding smaller family run restaurants in Paris really helped when feeding a clan both in cost and the %26quot;delicious%26quot; factor and for seating a family without getting the evil eye from other diners.
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It seems to me that breakfast and lunch are the biggest budget-busters. Unlike in America, where we can have a $4 breakfast or a $7 lunch, it is much more expensive in Paris. Coffee and a pastry will run around $6, and it%26#39;s nearly impossible to find lunch for under $15 (except take-out sandwiches or street food). Dinners are in line with the prices we pay on a regular basis in the DC area.
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Hmm....that oil painting? (LOL). I also suppose the meals did add up, but so fun to try all the French cuisine (and we did do the picnics too for lunch and breakfast was pretty minimal, as I recall...seemed we got too busy sometimes . Of course, breakfast IS an important meal (I am a mom! );^)) The opera cost, but of course, there are cheaper ways of attending the opera than we used..but it was a wonderful event at the Opera Garnier and frankly..well, all of the above budget blowers I don%26#39;t regret. Oh,dear! Just figure your priorities and allot a bit extra....just in case!
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