French holiday: A dream trip, but a costly splurge

France is stunning, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Paris and the French Riviera, in particular, have an uncanny ability to drain your wallet before you even realize it. By the end of your trip, you’ll likely be left staring at your credit card statement, realizing that the airfare from India was the least of your expenses.

But every euro spent in this stunning country—home to castles, vineyards, and the Eiffel Tower—is worth it. At least, it was for me during my 10-day September holiday. And that’s not just because it was my first European trip.

The chance came up when my husband, Akshay Pant, had a four-day business trip to Paris, and I seized the opportunity to finally step into Europe. Instead of cramming multiple countries into one itinerary, as many travellers do, we decided to stick to France and explore it thoroughly. Paris, the Loire Valley, and the South of France were our destinations of choice.

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Here's a personal account of how we navigated through the expenses during our trip, what worked, what didn’t, and how you can avoid costly mistakes.

Paris: A blend of charm and costly attractions

We spent three nights in Paris—two at the start of the trip and the final night before flying back. Our choice of hotels was purely practical; they were centrally located and within walking distance of the main train stations, from where we took trains to the South of France, Mont Saint-Michel, and the airport.

Akshay was eager to book a hotel with an Eiffel Tower view, but the excitement quickly faded when we saw the rates—€250 or more per night. Still, we decided to splurge for our last night, because why not?

For the first two days, we opted for a modest 2-star hotel, rated over 7.5 on booking platforms, at around €140 per night. That price got us a cramped 8x8 ft room with no breakfast included. It felt similar to paying rent in Mumbai after having lived in Delhi-NCR—a pinch to the wallet.

Our stay in Paris followed the typical tourist itinerary, visiting a mix of hit-or-miss attractions. The Catacombs were fascinating, but the Basilica-Cathedral of Saint-Denis felt overpriced at €22 for entry. The Louvre, which consumed half our day, left me underwhelmed. Most of the artifacts and paintings lacked historical context, leaving me wondering what I was looking at. Akshay, however, enjoyed it. And yes, even the Mona Lisa felt anti-climactic.

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With most tourist attractions in Paris averaging €22 per person, the costs added up quickly. It was a lesson in being more selective about paid attractions for the rest of the trip.

For me, the true highlight was none other than the Eiffel Tower. Its sheer size was awe-inspiring, and we returned at night to see it sparkle—it was spectacular.

Our evenings in Paris were spent exploring restaurants with diverse cuisines, jazz clubs, and indulging in the famous French patisseries. Sticking to tradition, some of our breakfasts were simple—just croissants, pastries, and coffee. However, eating out in Paris was one of our biggest expenses, with each sit-down meal costing us €30-45.

What I appreciated most about Paris was its walking infrastructure. It not only allowed us to explore the city thoroughly but also solved the last-mile connectivity with buses and trains. As a result, we averaged 15 km of walking each day and never felt the need for an Uber.

The Loire Valley and South of France: Castles, wine, and some expensive mistakes

The second leg of our trip took us to the tidal island of Mont St-Michel, the stunning Loire Valley—famous for its castles and vineyards—and finally, the South of France with its picturesque beaches.

The Loire Valley boasts around 50 castles, and the best way to explore them is by car. While trains do run through the region, they are time-consuming, and we would have needed cabs for castle-hopping or vineyard visits. We decided to rent a car from Paris for three days at a cost of about €580, with an additional €40 in tolls. We opted for an automatic SUV, paying a bit more, as it was Akshay’s first time driving in a right-hand drive country, and he wanted ease and comfort.

Despite the higher cost, the rental was worth every penny. The drive along the Loire River, passing through charming French towns, was one of the most beautiful experiences we’ve ever had.

We limited ourselves to touring three castles, as entry fees ranged between €16-25 each. Having learned from our visit to Mont St-Michel, we skipped the audio guides, which cost an additional €5-10, and opted for free leaflets that offered similar content—without the time-consuming narrative.

One of the highlights of this leg was a vineyard we stumbled upon, offering a free tour and wine tasting. Though it wasn’t Akshay’s first vineyard experience, he admitted it was the best by far, even better than the paid tours he’d taken before. As a token of appreciation, we bought a few bottles of wine to bring home.

For our stays in the Loire Valley, Mont St-Michel, and the South of France, we booked Airbnbs. Surprisingly, Airbnbs in Paris were more expensive than hotels.

Staying in Airbnbs not only saved us 10-20% compared to hotels, but also allowed us to cook breakfast. A quick calculation showed that we saved about €140 by preparing our own breakfasts over five days—essentially earning ourselves that splurge-worthy Eiffel Tower view hotel on the final night!

For inter-city travel to Nice and Mont St-Michel, we booked trains through Omio. In the South of France, we bought a three-day Eurail pass, which granted us unlimited train travel. It was especially useful as all the towns along the French Riviera—Cannes, Nice, Eze, Monaco, and others—are connected by train. We stayed in Nice and took day trips to most of these towns. The pass cost us €470, covering our round-trip from Paris to Nice and the local trains between towns, saving us about €130 compared to buying individual tickets.

Meal costs in most of the cities we visited were comparable to Paris, though with fewer dining options.

Costly lessons and avoidable fines

We started planning the trip just a month before Akshay’s travel dates, making it a last-minute endeavour. This meant we paid higher rates for hotels and refundable flights, as we were uncertain about visa approval. With our visa still unprocessed until a week before departure, we also missed out on lower train fares, further adding to the cost.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only costly mistake we made.

The biggest one was the €180 fine for two speeding tickets in the Loire Valley. We weren’t aware of the fine amount, and the rental agency didn’t inform us either. To make matters worse, the actual fine was just €90—the remaining €90 was an administrative fee charged by the agency for providing our personal details to the authorities. This fee was passed on to us without any prior notice.

We also faced a €100 fine in Paris for using an invalid metro ticket. A public transport ticket in Paris costs €2.15 and is valid for 90 minutes on both the bus and metro. Due to a misunderstanding of how the 90-minute window works, we ended up defaulting on one metro journey and had to pay a €50 fine each.

Lastly, we faced extra charges for using debit cards in places that didn’t accept Diner or American Express credit cards. Since we carried limited cash and intended to rely on credit cards, we ended up paying 3-6% extra in forex spreads at several locations.

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France is undeniably expensive, but you can cut costs by staying in hostels or suburban areas connected by metro, dining at fast food chains, opting for free walking tours instead of paying entry fees at tourist spots, and focusing on cities that are easy to explore by train or bus, eliminating the need for taxis or private vehicles.