1. SCENIC PICNIC BY THE SEINE
You might pay upwards of €5 for a coffee in the French capital, but there’s no need to pay more than €4 for a drinkable bottle of Beaujolais from the supermarket (so my Parisian friends inform me). Grab yourself a wheel of Camembert, a baguette, a picnic rug and a couple of plastic cups and join the locals by the mighty Seine. Day or night, you won’t be alone on more central stretches where you’ll likely be accompanied by the strumming of guitars or beating of drums. Since cafes and bars can be expensive, if the weather’s good the 776km-long river is a popular hangout spot.
2. FREE ART
As one of Europe’s most culturally rich destinations, it should come as no surprise that there is plenty of art to enjoy for free. Start with the obvious, and do a free museum and art gallery hop. Some, such as Musée d’Ennery, the museum of Asian art and Musée Carnavale, dedicated to Parisian history, always have free admission, whilst others will need a little more research. It’s worth it though, even the fantastic Centre Pompidou, one of the world’s best modern art museums, offers free entry on the first Sunday of every month.
For street art, head to Belleville. A traditionally working class part of the city, it’s home to a scattering of colourful boutiques and cafes. Street Art Paris run regular 2-hour tours of the area, asking only for an optional donation at the end, and reveal work on shop fronts, walls and shutters by graffiti artists and writers from the pixelated tiles of Space Invader to the powerful stencils of C215.
3. FAKE IT
Head to Place de la Concorde around sunset and not only will you be rewarded with a picture perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, looking wistful in the distance, you’ll also catch sight of something less expected – elaborate mock weddings. Thanks to demand from some thrifty Chinese visitors, intent on capturing their matrimony in one of the most
romantic cities on earth, minus the hefty price tag of the real thing, there’s now a craze for staging fake weddings in this and other picturesque spots in the city.
So either don the full wedding get-up yourself and join in – a photographer is far cheaper than a full-blown wedding, after all – or just admire the spectacle. Unlike at a bona fide wedding, if you get bored you can wonder off, and you’re right by all the designer shops you can handle on Avenue des Champs-Élysées if you fancy window shopping.
4. FALAFELS & FINGER FOOD
The downside of visiting a country where the national cuisine is renowned globally for its excellence is that French restaurants can not only charge vastly inflated prices but in some unfortunate cases, also fail to meet the hype. Luckily though, Paris is a very multicultural place and a great place for trying all sorts of quick bites from other countries. The pretty Marais district, home to the city’s Jewish community, is renowned for its hefty falafels – L’as du Fallafel is a big hit — and salt beef bagels. Both usually cost around €5 each and fill you up for hours. Head to La Chapelle, ‘Little Sri Lanka’, for anything from hearty portions of rice and curry (the South Asian island’s speciality) or fried ‘short eats’ or finger food.
5. NOTRE-DAME AT NIGHT
It’s little wonder that Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of Paris’ most popular attractions – it is spectacular by anyone’s reckoning. By day the bewitching gothic structure – which is said to date back to 1163 when its first stone was laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III — attracts hoards of tourists eager for a glimpse of the medieval architecture and artistic treasures inside.
If you go at night, however, not only will there be less crowds but you’ll find the darkness brings a whole new dimension to the experience. Arrive at 6:15pm on
weekdays/6:30pm at weekends as the haunting church bells chime for evening mass, and be entranced inside by the choir’s song and the aroma of wafts of incense. It’s
totally free and an experience you won’t forget.
Once outside again, not only will you find the silhouette of Notre-Dame bewitching in the moonlight, you’ll find this area of Paris comes alive at night. You’ll find all sorts of mesmerising street entertainers nearby, from master rollerbladers to a one-man-dream-machine.
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Established in 2008, Travelfx are solely an internet business providing an alternative to a Bureau de Change with some of the best exchange rates online. The company has been ranked 34th in the 2012 Sunday Times Fast track 100.
Established in 2008 with one mission, to bring the retail foreign exchange business online identifying an opportunity to redefine how people purchase travel money. The team of three partners has over 30 years experience in the retail foreign exchange market.
Established in 1973 ICE Plc is one of the largest and most respected retail foreign exchange operators in the world with a combined annual group turnover in excess of US.8 billion and with over 300 branches in addition to providing an online service.
Established in 1979. Moneycorp also have retail bureaux de change at Gatwick, Stansted, Southend and Southampton airports, and across Central London. They provide next day delivery and can deliver on Saturdays for an additional fee
Established in 1981, Covent Garden FX is a family-owned and operated Bureau De Change located in the heart of Central London, providing some of the best exchange rates online for branch collection or home delivery.
Established in 1976 the business has grown to become one of the most recognised travel money brands in the UK with over 1,100 branches worldwide. They also provide wholesale services to many banks and supermarkets.
Established in 2007 with three bureau de change branches in London as well as running a postal delivery service in the UK with a focus on reputation, trust, reliability and quality of service.
Established in 2002, FairFX cut out the middle man and use state of the art technology to execute your orders and deliver holiday money to your door while eliminating the cost of running expensive foreign exchange kiosks.
Established in 2011 by Ben Wakeham, a young travel mad entrepreneur who wanted to simplify the purchase of holiday money and use the internet to allow consumers to gain better exchange rates than long established travel money providers.
The post office is one of the most recognised brands for holiday money in the UK. They allow you to order your travel money online and collect it from any Post office branch or have it delivered to your address for free.
As a well known British high street retailer, M&S stock one of the widest ranges of currency on the high street (up to 42 currencies) available online, by phone or in store operating as one of the most competitive providers for those needing to purchase last minute from one of their 120 stores nationwide.
Established in 1965 Thomson provide a holiday money service online and via a local branch in addition to their core business of providing holidays, hotels and flights. They provide both travellers cheques and cash.
Established in 1968 and acquired by RBS in 2000, foreign exchange forms part of the general financial services offered by the bank. You can purchase notes or travellers cheques for collection from your local branch or home delivery.
