Paris has a reputation for emptying wallets — and it can, if you let it. But it can also be done remarkably reasonably. If you’re asking how much spending money do I need for a week in Paris from London, here’s the full breakdown: what things actually cost in 2026, three budget tiers, and the tricks Parisians use that tourists don’t.
The Short Answer (Spending Money Only, Excluding Travel/Hotel)
- Budget: £400-550 per person for the week (£60-80/day)
- Mid-range: £700-1,000 per person (£100-140/day)
- Comfortable/blowout: £1,400+ per person (£200+/day)
(Travel from London: Eurostar £80-200 return booked ahead.)
Food: The Biggest Variable (£30-100+/day)
Budget eating (£30-45/day): this is where Paris rewards the savvy. Boulangerie breakfast (£3-5: croissant + coffee standing at the counter — always cheaper standing), picnic lunch from markets/supermarkets (£8-12: baguette, cheese, charcuterie, fruit — eaten by the Seine, better than most restaurants), and one proper bistro dinner (£20-30: formule menus, the fixed-price lunch/dinner deals). Mid-range (£50-70/day): sit-down lunches plus bistro dinners. Blowout (£100+/day): the sky’s the limit — Michelin stars start at £100+ per person. Key tricks: eat your main meal at lunch (formules are 30-40% cheaper than dinner), drink house wine (pichet, £4-8), avoid restaurants with hawkers and laminated photos, and never — ever — eat on the Champs-Élysées.
Attractions (£10-25/day averaged)
The big tickets: Eiffel Tower summit £25-30 (book ahead — queues are hours otherwise), Louvre £22, Musée d’Orsay £16, Arc de Triomphe £13, Sainte-Chapelle £12. The free wonders: Sacré-Cœur basilica (free, views free), Notre-Dame exterior and parvis, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Marais wandering, Père Lachaise cemetery, all the bridges at sunset. Money-savers: the Paris Museum Pass (£60-90 for 2/4/6 days) pays off at 3+ major sights; first Sundays many museums are free; under-26 EU residents get many national museums free (Brexit didn’t change this for EU-resident Brits, but UK-resident Brits now pay — check each museum). Budget 2-3 paid attractions for the week (£50-70 total) + free everything else.
Transport (£5-12/day)
Metro/bus: t+ tickets £2.10 each, or the Navigo Easy card loaded with carnets; the Paris Visite pass (£25-60 for 1-5 days, zones 1-3 or 1-5) suits heavy users. Bonus: if your week runs Monday to Sunday, the Navigo Découverte weekly pass (about £26, zones 1-5) gives unlimited metro, bus and RER — airport runs included — and beats every other option for heavy users. Bring a small passport-style photo for the card. Walking: Paris rewards walkers enormously — most central sights are 20-30 minutes apart on foot, and the walk is the attraction. Vélib’ bikes: £3-5/day — the best-value transport in Paris. From the airports: RoissyBus + metro (£14) or RER B (£11) beat the £55+ taxi. Budget £50-80 for the week’s transport; walkers spend half that.
Where Londoners Specifically Overpay
A few traps that catch Brits in particular. Currency exchange at Gare du Nord or CDG: station and airport bureaus take 8-12% in spread — order euros online before you go, or withdraw from an ATM with a fee-free card. Hotel breakfasts: £20-25 for a buffet you’ll half-eat, when the boulangerie on the corner does coffee and a fresh croissant for £4. The card-machine question: when it offers “pay in GBP or EUR”, always pick EUR — choosing pounds (dynamic currency conversion) silently adds 5-8%. Coffee pricing: standing at the counter inside a café it’s £1.50-2; the same coffee at a terrace table on a grand boulevard is £5-6. Booking excursions through your hotel: concierge-booked dinner cruises and day trips carry 20-30% markups — book direct online instead.
The Daily Budget in Practice
Budget day (£70): boulangerie breakfast £4, picnic lunch £10, one museum £15 (averaged), metro £7, bistro dinner £25, crêpe/sorbet £5, misc £4. Mid-range day (£120): café breakfast £10, bistro lunch £20, two attractions £25, transport £10, nice dinner £45, drinks £10. These are per person; couples share some costs (hotel, picnics) but food/attractions scale linearly.
Money Mechanics: Cards, Cash, Roaming
- Spending: use a fee-free card (Chase, Starling, Monzo — see travel credit cards with no foreign fees). UK debit cards’ exchange rates and fees quietly add 3-5%.
- Cash: £100-150 in euros for markets, small cafés, tips. Get euros before travelling (better rates).
- Roaming: sort before you go — see avoiding roaming charges.
- Tipping: service is included (service compris) — rounding up or leaving small change is appreciated, not obligatory. Budget 5% max.
Where People Overspend (Avoid These)
- Tourist-trap restaurants near major sights (2x the price, half the quality — walk 10 minutes in any direction).
- Bottled water in restaurants (£5+) — ask for “une carafe d’eau” (free tap water, your right).
- Souvenir shops on the big boulevards — markets and side streets for the same things at half price.
- Taxis — the metro goes everywhere; taxis are for 2am or heavy luggage.
- Over-ticketing attractions — you don’t need to go up everything. The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro is free and arguably the best view of it.
For the broader trip planning — getting there, where to stay — see cheapest European city breaks and Interrail passes (Paris features in most itineraries).
Sample 7-Day Itineraries by Budget
Budget week (~£500): Montmartre + Sacré-Cœur (free, day 1), Louvre (£22, day 2), Le Marais + Père Lachaise (free, day 3), Musée d’Orsay (£16) and the Seine at sunset (day 4), Giverny or Saint-Germain day trip (£20-30, day 5), Luxembourg Gardens + bistro dinner (day 6), Eiffel summit (£28) then depart (day 7) — picnics for most lunches. Mid-range (~£850): same skeleton plus a Seine dinner cruise (£60), Versailles (£25 + transport), two proper restaurant dinners (£50 each) and a cabaret night (£100+).
MoneySavingExpert’s overseas spending guides cover the cheapest ways to pay abroad — essential reading before any euro trip.
Sample 7-Day Spending Plan: What Each Day Actually Costs
Here’s what the tiers look like day by day, per person:
| Day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Arrival, Montmartre (free) | £55 — picnic dinner | £110 — bistro dinner | £190 — restaurant dinner |
| 2 — Louvre day | £80 — £22 entry, picnic lunch | £130 — café lunch, good dinner | £220 — guided tour, fine dining |
| 3 — Le Marais & Père Lachaise (free) | £50 — boulangerie + picnic | £100 — falafel lunch, bistro dinner | £180 — shopping, dinner |
| 4 — Musée d’Orsay, Seine sunset | £75 — £16 entry | £130 — Seine cruise £15 | £210 — dinner cruise £60 |
| 5 — Versailles/Giverny day trip | £95 — entry + picnic | £160 — entry + lunch | £260 — private tour, long lunch |
| 6 — Luxembourg Gardens (free) | £65 — bistro dinner | £125 — shopping, good dinner | £200 — cabaret evening |
| 7 — Eiffel Tower, depart | £80 — £28 summit, picnic | £130 — summit + lunch | £220 — champagne finale |
| Week total | £500 | £885 | £1,480 |
The free days (3 and 6) pull the budget-tier average down — front-load the paid sights, then let the gardens, the Marais and the bridges at sunset do the heavy lifting.
How Much Spending Money Do I Need for a Week in Paris? The Final Word
For a week in Paris from London, budget £400-550 spending money per person (budget), £700-1,000 (mid-range), or £1,400+ (comfortable) — plus Eurostar and hotel. Eat lunch as your main meal, picnic by the Seine, walk everywhere, use fee-free cards, and ask for tap water. Paris isn’t expensive; tourist Paris is. Do it the local way and it’s one of Europe’s best-value great cities.
