Lucky you with internet access, because with time and the inclination, you can do pre-trip research that can net pretty healthy savings on your adventure in the City of Lights. If you're so inclined to surf your way across the Atlantic (er, if you're across the Atlantic, that is), check out where you're retirement fund will go before submitting credit card numbers. France Telecom's Pages Zoom has a nifty English-language city guide that offers an ambitious virtual tour. The anglais, unfortunately, isn't so ambitious, so you'll have to learn a little fran-glais, which is what I spoke last summer when making new English-challenged French friends. It's messy, but it works.
It's a lucky thing for Suite 101 that Pages Zoom is out there. Go ahead and visit the site if you like. We can wait. Because when you get back, we'll be here with some delicious insider info that will help you get acquainted with cheap Paris. It's true: You can spend a week or more there without defaulting on student loans or forking over the down payment on that chateau you've had your eye on. If you love the Paris that loves to relieve you of all your worldly francs, you're probably reading this site from the Web Bar in the third arrondissement. But I'm not. I'm a frugal, where-can-I-have-morning-coffee-without-taking-out-a-loan kind of traveler. That's the Paris that awaits below. Where to go, what to see, and how to survive on fewer francs than your research says you can.
Hotels: Hotel des Fontaines (metro stop Temple) is my choice of just about the greatest place in Paris to stay at 150 francs a night. That's about $25. It's in the third arrondissement, but... before you sign up, keep in mind the following: It's basic. Which means no stars, no elevators, no shower. A shower stashed away on the top floor costs about 20 francs extra. There are more expensive rooms that include showers. They probably cost 210 francs ($35), but I was traveling with my boyfriend and we haggled into a daily shared shower for 30f, bringing the grand total to $15 apiece per night, sans amenities but with a sink, a comfy bed, a metro and a grand Monoprix supermarket just outside. More about Monoprix later.
