Do and Don’t in Paris

Do.....

• Book your hotel in advance so you have time to get a good rate. You can find a two-star hotel or a one-star hotel double room for under 80 €uros a night, and hostel accommodation even cheaper... though difficult at peak periods.
• Use public transportation - buy a "carnet" of T- tickets usable in Zones 1-3 (Paris city) with no time limit. You can share a carnet of 10 T-tickets between up to ten people, as they are not nominal. A carnet of 10 tickets costs 14.90 € in Jan 2019.  Single T tickets cost 1.90 €.
• Visit the great freeattractions of Paris - Notre Dame Cathedral, Montmartre with the Sacré Coeur, the banks of the Seine, or wander along the Champs Elysées. There are also free museums, including Musee du Perfum (9-6pm, closed Sundays), Musee de la vie Romantice (10-6pm, closed Mondays) and more. Many major museums are free on the first Sunday of each month. 
• Visit parks and have picnics at Luxembourg Gardens, Tuileries Garden, Jardin du Palais Royal, Jardin des Champs-Élysées, Trocadéro Gardens, Jardin des Plantes…
• View Paris from on high by touring round the "metro aérien", the elevated metro (particularly lines 2 and 6) which circles round inner Paris, above the boulevards, at second story level. A normal ticket is all that is needed. 
• Eat your main meal at midday, when many restaurants offer a full meal for less than 15 €uros. Take something simpler in the evening.
• Drink at the bar/ standing. Many Parisian cafés charge less for customers who stand at the bar than for those who get served at a table.
• Pay by credit card or in cash that you get from an ATM (check your own bank's charges for foreign transactions)
• Use the Velibbike hire system - but take care. Learn how to use it. It will just cost 1€ a day.

Don't....

• Don't take breakfast in your hotel, unless they are charging less than €9. Go to the nearest café.
• Don't eat in fancy boulevard restaurants in the evening.
• Don't use taxis for short trips.
• Don't try to exchange foreign cash or travellers cheques - not even in banks. But if you have to, avoid changing small sums, as the commission is often a flat rate.
• Don't have to go the top of the Eiffel tower, because the views are already pretty spectacular from the second level (see Eiffel towerticket prices)