Hi all 38 year old couple here going to paris mid jan?

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Rillifane

Paris is often said to be expensive but you'll find good value for money and a lot of sightseeing is free.

Of course January will be cold and damp with an average daily high temperature of 7 degrees Celsius/44 degrees Fahrenheit, and and average low of 2 Celsius/36 Fahrenheit. Further, snow can be expected 4 days out of the month. So your willingness to be outdoors in the cold and wet will affect your itinerary.

Many famous sights are simply observed from outside. The Arc de Triomphe, the old Jewish quarter, Arc du Carousel, Champs Elysee, the Holocaust Memorial, Arena Lutece (an old Roman ruin), Forum des Halles and the Pont Alexandre III (said to be the most beautiful bridge in the world) are in this category. Other sights are working churches including Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur and therefore have no admission fee.

Elliott J

Just returned from Paris last Sept. It wasn't that expensive. Start near St. Lazare and walk past Opera House to the Louvre, you can spend a few days in there alone. Continue to Notre Dame - go inside! Keep going down Rive Gouche to Eiffel Tower, continue up to Arc de Truimph and down Housseman street back to St. Lazare. There is much to do inbetween, but this will cover many great sites just by walking and also on a minimal budget.

rlc_60504

I'd highly suggest visiting the SacrÃ©-Coeur basilica of Paris. It's a church and at the highest point in Paris. The view is phenominal. There are a lot of stairs to climb and you can go up into a tower into the church for an even more spectacular view. It was the highlight of my trip to paris. Click the link below to see a picture from one of the towers.

John Benedict

Hello,

There are things you can do for free in Paris or on low budget. The low budget solution to visit museums and monuments is to get a â€œParis Museum Passâ€ it gives you access to 60 museums and monuments for 30â‚¬ over two days 45â‚¬ over 4days or 60â‚¬ over 6 days. You can buy it online here:

http://en.parisinfo.com/online-boutique/order-form-paris-museum-pass/

There are national museums in Paris who are free to visit all year round here is a list:

Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Maison de Balzac
Musee Bible et Terre Sainte
Maison Bourdelle
Musee Carnavalet â€“ Paris history
Musee Cernuschi
Musee Cognacq-Jay
Musee du Compagnonnage
Musee Curie (Radium institut)
Musee Jean Moulin
Musee du Parfum-Fragonard / ThÃ©Ã¢tre musÃ©e des Capucines-Fragonard
Petit Palais, Musee des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris
Musee de la PrÃ©fecture de Police
Maison de Victor Hugo
Musee de la Vie Romantique
Musee Zadkine

Check out with Tourism office once you are in Paris for more details:
25, rue des Pyramides 1er arrondissement

Bonjour2007

Hi charlesc,

First of all, great choice for a holiday! :-)

Everyone has offered great ideas, so I'd like to add some of my own. I just wrote a new page for my website yesterday, with the free ice skating rinks on it. This would be a great thing to do as the price is right and it'll keep you both warm and laughing. Here are the locations:

http://www.a-night-in-paris.com/paris-in-january.html

How about meeting some French people to spend a couple of hours with? There's a wonderful free program called French Greeters - you contact them at least a few days before your arrival, and you get to meet English speaking locals who can show you their quartier [district] for a few hours:

http://www.parisgreeter.org/home/

There are also Urban Walks which are relatively inexpensive, and a few other ideas on this page:

http://en.parisinfo.com/shows-exhibitions-paris/paris-with-the-parisians/join-the-parisians-for-a-stroll/guide/join-the-parisians-for-a-stroll

I've also created a page of Things To Do In Paris, which might give you some ideas :

http://www.a-night-in-paris.com/what-to-do-in-paris-france.html

You could buy a Paris Pass to save you tons of money on public transport:

http://www.a-night-in-paris.com/tourist-attractions-in-paris.html

I hope this offers some help, and I wish you both a wonderful time in Paris! Bon voyage!

IceTwinkle

Hi there,

Well lots of great stuff to do in Paris on the cheap and I see other people have already pained themselves to write long replies so i'm not going to bother doing the same seeing as i'm suffering from a broken finger right now (lol).

One great cheap place to eat a 'Pho' (vietnamese noodle soup) in Paris is:

Pho14 Restaurant
Avenue Choisy
Paris' 13th arrondisment.

You take the underground line 7 and get off at the stop named 'Tolbiac'.

This lands you in the heart of the Asian quarter of the city and you'll find lots of amazing stuff to see, you really feel like you just landed in Vietnam or China in the 13th arron. This restaurant is more of a 'cantine' - very basic but serves the best vietnamese soup in the city for only 6,80â‚¬.

Happy holidaying in Paris.

Ps. If you go up to the top floor of the 'Printemps' department store (which is located in the 'Grand Magasins' district in the 9th arrondisment. Metro stop 'OpÃ©ra - Auber') they have set up a fabolous ice labyrinth and at the end you can pose in an ice igloo with a hugggee mechanical polar bear they take your photo for free and print it and give it to you for free - great souvenir.

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