Paris for 3 nights

[shizgigz]

My DD. Wants to go to Paris in November for her 18th but money is quite tight.
I’ve found a hotel for £700 for 3 nights which looks lovely and Eurostar is coming in at about £200 for us both.

Does that seem reasonable? My fear is that we could easily spend same again on food and sight seeing.

You could possibly shave off a little off the hotel price to have money to spend out and about. But it depends what you are looking for. Ibis hotels are clean and simple with tiny rooms. Cittadines apart hotels can offer good deals. And it’s all about location, location, location. Where exactly is the hotel you are looking at? It goes without saying that there ate some areas to be avoided. That said, it is a beautiful city.

l used to live in Paris, feel free to drop me a PM.

How important is a lovely hotel? I’m sure you could get that £700 down a bit, especially in November. I’m sure others will have good suggestions for somewhere more characterful but in meantime if you look at the Accor website (and sign up for free membership to get 5% off) they are generally reliable and consistent quality. Eg (not stayed there myself but have stayed in other Ibis Styles and they’ve been nice enough, maybe slightly spartan) this one in Le Marais is under £400 for a weekend in mid-November.

all.accor.com/ssr/app/accor/rates/0751/index.en.shtml?destination=paris-france&compositions=2&dateIn=2025-11-13&dateOut=2025-11-16&nights=3&hideWDR=false&accessibleRoom=false

Ah thank you. We are hoping to join friends who have suggested this hotel

https://www.booking.com/Share-2gZUoN

https://www.staycity.com/paris/la-defense

We're going in a couple.of weeks and staying here. It's much cheaper and you get a kitchen. Two of us are gluten free so.well buy food for breakfast which also has the added benefit of saving money. You can pay for breakfast on specific days only so we're paying for th first morning in case we haven't bought anything on the day we arrive.

ETA: Cross posted. Unfortunately if you want to stay in that specific hotel that's what it'll cost!

I’ve booked 3 nights in August for 2 for about £300. It’s not in a perfect area but it’s fine and but we won’t be there much, we’ll be out sightseeing.

I would say that’s rather normal, I went a few weeks ago for 2 nights and spent 250 on travel and 185 on hotel. We did spend money whilst there, I think we both spent about 300 so 600 all together but we are spenders and also spent our evenings in bars, you could definitely do it for less, we actually found the tours and trips to be rather decent price compared to some places. It was the food I found expensive.

That looks lovely and so much cheaper!

The issue is DD wants to stay somewhere ‘bougie’ but there has to be somewhere acceptable for less than £700!

OP, looks good, but are you sure you can do this within your budget?

We stayed at a gorgeous bijou hotel in March. Near Notredam, the Hotel vendome saint german. Look it up on booking .com. really near 2 metro stops so easy access to centre. 2 nights for 2 of us was about £300 if i recall

I think the key thing to weigh up is how much time you are going to spend in the pool/spa? Every minute you spend in there is a minute lost seeing and breathing Paris.

Sounds like a fab trip, OP! I used to live in Paris. That hotel looks nice but if you want to get the price down there are definitely other options - bougie included!

For a trip like this I'd I normally go onto booking.com or the like, filter to a budget of £X and a rating of (say) 8+, then look at the map to see what you can get where. You'll often get cheaper prices near the main train stations but the areas can be a bit rougher. If you see somewhere you like the look of, Google the area to see what it's like. The postcode can be a useful starting point and that's often at the top of the listing. 75 means Paris and the ending refers to the district ("arrondissement") - e.g. 75016 means it's in the 16th which is a bit further out but has some museums/park areas. Lots of information on the different districts online. Have fun!

Sawday’s recommendations have served me well in the past and they have a few suggestions for Paris:

https://www.sawdays.co.uk/france/region-parisienne/paris/?guests%5Badults%5D=2&term=Paris&guests%5Badults%5D=2&guests%5Bchildren%5D=0&guests%5Bbabies%5D=0&guests%5Bpets%5D=0&t=1754379647351

OP can you look at a b and b ?

The issue is DD wants to stay somewhere ‘bougie’

Maybe I'm a big meanie but if I was paying I'd give her the budget and if she can find somewhere bougie enough for her great, otherwise I'd be picking somewhere affordable
I know it's for her 18th but dont break the bank, get into debt or leave yourselves without adequate spending money just for a poncey hotel you'll hardly spend any time.in anyway

Look at the MIJE youth hostel. It is dead cheap and super central and the building is pretty bougie though the facilities are pretty basic.

Now we have gone from a spa hotel to a youth hostel. I think it’s fair to assume that the OP is looking for something more.

l’m not a hostel snob. I stayed in many in my younger years.

I’m going in November and have paid 300€ for a double room for two nights. Make sure you’re not looking at the public holidays, that will put the price up.

Personally I’d prefer somewhere like Montmartre or thé Marais with an 18 year old. Once you’ve found something on Booking, check the hotel website, I saved 30€.

Eating out doesn’t have to be expensive, try the Bouillon restaurants.

That is more than we're paying in August! The hotel you mention is in the 16th arrondissement which is an expensive area. I would avoid the 8th or 16th for that reason personally. Eating out in those areas would not be cheap. Avoid the Latin quarter as too touristy and Montmartre as parts can be grotty. Have a look at Bastille (11th), the 14th near Denfert-Rochereau (amazing food market on rue Daguerre) or 15th which is very civilised. 14th and 15th are real Paris to me but I lived in one of them so would say that! Agee with above poster who suggested looking at everything with a rating of 8+ in your budget on booking.com. Paris is beautiful, don't waste time in a hotel spa! If she wants bougie and likes chocolate, check out Angelina (cafe that does most amazing hot chocolate, might need to book, definitely Instagrammable if that's her thing)

I mean, if you are going to Paris then you shouldn't be spending too much time in the hotel, surely you are going to be out and about from dawn to dusk, so (apart from the obvious of not staying somewhere horrible or dodgy), the hotel cost should be the very thing to pare back. Ibis, Campanile both good options, stay a few stops out on the metro.

I agree about Bastille. But August is probably the cheapest time to visit Paris. Locals head for the beaches and many small businesses close completely. You can expect to pay less in August.

Does it have to be Paris? Both Madrid and Florence or Rome were much cheaper.

I took my daughter to Paris for her 18th. We stayed in a basic hotel, but it was clean and we had everything we needed including breakfast. We were up and out first thing and didn’t get back until late every night, so it literally was just for sleeping.
I paid just under £600 including flights (Air France so cabin bags included!) for 3 nights.
We were about a 20 metro ride out from Paris centre but it was so easy to hop on/off. Paris itself is very expensive though. For as little as the trip itself cost, I easily spent twice that on museum tickets, boat cruise, eating out, coffees etc. It all adds up!
We had a fab time though, it’s definitely worth it!

Why ask this when the OP has asked about Paris. Paris is not Florence or Madrid or Rome, none of which are one stop assessable by train. And if you play your cards right are not chesper.

My thinking was it's an amazing deal, beautiful building, right in the centre (metro st paul) and they will presumably be out all day anyway. OP can splash some of the savings on a spa session. You are probably right, not bougee enough on this case but other MNers might find i useful.