As a budget and solo traveler who loves to enjoy a good meal, I’m going to share with you what I ate and where on a weekend in Paris, France (and how much it cost me).
When I solo travel, I usually have a very loose itinerary. I have 1 or 2 activities that I want to do on a certain day, but everything else is pretty much up to wherever the wind blows me.
I also am not an early riser so my breakfast usually becomes brunch, or even a snack along the way. When I first got to Paris I went straight to the internet and searched “Cute cafes Paris”. And Odette was a café that showed up in multiple articles. So, Odette was the first place I went.
Day 1: What I Ate in Paris
Odette Paris, known for their creampuffs that are made fresh, daily in-house. While I preferred to enjoy my pastries sitting at a table outside to enjoy the weather, the first and third floors are tea rooms with amazing views of the nearby Notre-Dame.
I enjoyed their iconic French cream puffs in pistachio and chocolate. And I paired them with a delicious hot chocolate paying €8.70 for this meal.
After devouring my cream puffs, I took a short walk over to the Notre-Dame and watched the street performers before my appointment down in the Catacombs. After the catacombs I decided to check out the Eiffel Tower. Once I got there, I wanted a little snack so I went for a pretzel. Unsurprisingly, items at the Eiffel tower restaurant were a bit pricey. I spent €6.50 on my pretzel and a bottle of water.
Then went over to the Sacre-Coeur, I needed to go to the panoramic dome to see Paris from up above. After climbing all those stairs (nearly 300 steps up) dinner was calling my name. I met up with a friend and enjoyed my dinner at a popular nearby restaurant, a Maison Rose. An appropriately named pink building serving delicious French cuisine. I ordered the Brandade de Morue. This dish is comprised of fish and potato baked together in a dish. My authentic French dinner cost me €17.50. I went to bed with a full belly and a smile on my face.
Day 2: What I Ate in Paris
The next day I met up with another friend at a French bakery and café nearby to the Arc de Triomph and Champs Elysee. At Boulangerie Eva, I had my first croque monsieur and a hot chocolate. At this point you must note that I’m not a big coffee drinker, I’m more so a matcha kind of person. So, hot chocolate and water have been my drinks of choice in France. After finishing my food, of course I couldn’t pass up the delicious pastries the Boulangerie had to offer. I spent €14.00 (but at this price, I also paid for my friend’s croissants and drink as well).
For dinner I made sure to put this meal on my itinerary. I saw a TikTok by creator Kiana Tiese a woman from Brooklyn living in Paris. She was talking about enjoying a meal at Relaise de l’Entrecote, a restaurant known for their menu with entre on it, steak frites (steak and fries).
Your starters will be a salad and some bread, but the star of the show is the iconic steak and fries that are served in a secret house recipe mustard sauce.
The best part of this meal is that it comes with a free second serving of the steak frites. The entire menu is €27. And I actually split one order of steak frites with a friend so I ended up paying €13.50 for the delicious last dinner I ate in Paris.
Since my friend and I didn’t want to end the evening just yet, we walked along the Champs Elysees and went for desert at Haagen Dazs for a little something sweet after dinner. I got two scoops of ice cream and I paid €6.30.
For my travels I went cheaper on my meals during the day and splurged more on my dinner meals.
Even if you don’t follow my food itinerary of what I ate on your next trip to Paris, I still highly recommend La Maison Rose and Relaise de l’Entrecote.
In total I spent around €70 on food on a weekend in Paris. Its very possible to eat for way cheaper than this, but around €35 per day is not to bad for Paris.
Also note that many restaurants may require a reservation beforehand . And you can get the other foods I ate at pretty much any café, boulangerie or patisserie around the city.
But no matter how you end up eating your way around Paris, just be sure to bon appetit!
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