France is a dream destination for many. I set out across France, from the lavender fields of Provence to the bustling streets of Paris, to track every euro and find out.
What I discovered was a nuanced reality: France can be traversed on a mid-range budget, but only if you know where costs hide.
Below I share the real expenses you’ll encounter, covering everything from accommodations and dining, to trains, tips, and sneaky surcharges.
Pack your curiosity (and your calculator) as we journey through France’s true price tag.
The Cost of a Good Night’s Sleep
I quickly learned that where you lay your head in France can make or break your budget.
In Paris, I cringed at the rates for even modest hotels. A “standard” hotel room in the capital averages around €189 per night in 2025, and that’s just the average, summer peak prices in Paris can soar to about €295 a night for a double.
Indeed, Paris consistently ranks among Europe’s priciest cities for lodging. My own no-frills 3-star near the city center charged more per night than I’d paid for a suite in Spain.
To add insult to injury, a few euros of “taxe de séjour” (tourist tax) appeared at checkout, a legally mandated fee per person per night that many travelers don’t realize they must pay.
In Paris this tax can range from under €1 at hostels up to around €5 or more per night at a mid-range hotel (with luxury hotels charging even higher fees).
What no one told me was that even a 3-star Paris hotel now adds roughly €5 per person nightly in city tax after recent hikes – an unexpected hit to my wallet on a week-long stay.
Contrast this with smaller cities and rural areas, where your euros stretch further.
In Lyon, for example, I found a charming boutique hotel for about €120 a night, and I later learned the average hotel in Lyon’s busy season is about $172 (€159) per night, roughly half of peak Paris rates.
Marseille and Nice offered similar relief: along Marseille’s Vieux Port, highly-rated hotels go for around $150–$160 (about €140) a night in shoulder season, and even in glitzy Nice a comfortable mid-range room can be found for roughly €117 per night on average.
During my travels, I often opted for family-run B&Bs in the countryside, which not only delivered local charm (think timber beams and homemade jam at breakfast) but also cost far less than big-city hotels.
In a rural Provence village, €80 got me a spacious farmhouse stay with lavender fields outside, albeit with the trade-off of needing a rental car to get around.
Sunshine and sticker shock on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Coastal destinations like Nice offer idyllic views, but travelers find that hotel prices and dining bills rise with the temperature. During peak summer, an average double room in Paris can approach €295, whereas a similar stay in Nice or Lyon often costs significantly less, closer to €100–€150 per night.
To save money, I quickly adopted strategies: traveling in the shoulder season (spring or fall) when hotels run cheaper, and booking well in advance.
French hotels, especially in popular areas, fill up fast for summer, and prices climb accordingly.
As one travel report noted, standard hotel rates in Paris jumped 29% in four years, averaging €189/night in 2025. Summer festivals, holidays, or events (looking at you, Tour de France and Paris 2024 Olympics) spike local rates even more.
Mid-range travelers would be wise to consider apartment rentals or chain hotels (like Ibis or B&B Hotels) in less touristy neighborhoods for better deals.
And if you’re really looking to cut costs without roughing it, France’s extensive network of campgrounds and gîtes (holiday cottages) can be a godsend. I paid as little as €25 to pitch a tent at a clean campground on the Loire River, and many fellow travelers praised gîtes as a homey, affordable alternative.
The bottom line on beds in France: you can find comfort at mid-range prices, but expect Paris (and resort towns) to test the upper limits of your budget, and always ask about taxes and fees upfront so you’re not caught by surprise.
Dining and Drinking
French cuisine may feed your soul, but it will also feast on your budget if you’re not careful.
On my first night in Paris, jet-lagged and famished, I wandered into a cozy bistro near the Louvre.
Two courses and one glass of wine later, my bill was north of €45, and that was without dessert or an appetizer.
I realized that indulging in French dining daily could quickly decimate a mid-range travel budget.
In fact, French restaurant owners themselves estimate the average diner spends between €15 and €35 per meal (most expecting around €15–€20 per person for a modest outing).
And that figure already includes the built-in service charge. If you sit down for a three-course dinner with wine at a well-known brasserie, don’t be surprised when the check edges toward the upper end of that range or beyond.
During my travels, a simple plat du jour (daily special) lunch in Lyon cost me about €18, whereas a dinner in touristy Nice, just a main dish and shared starter by the beach set two of us back nearly €70. Ouch.
Yet, eating well can be affordable in France if you do as savvy locals and budget travelers do.
Lunch is the best-value feast: many restaurants offer a fixed-price lunch menu that’s a steal. I scored a fantastic three-course lunch in Bordeaux for €19, the same menu would have been nearly double at dinnertime.
Markets and boulangeries became my best friends. Grabbing a crispy baguette sandwich for €5 and a pastry for €3 at a bakery became a habitual cheap lunch for me, far cheaper than a cafe meal.
In nearly every city or town, morning markets overflow with fresh produce, cheese, and ready-made goodies.
A picnic of local cheese, charcuterie, and a baguette in the park not only saved money but felt quintessentially French (bonus: wine from the supermarket can be excellent and costs a fraction of restaurant prices).
One evening in Lyon, famed for its gastronomy, I ventured into a neighborhood bouchon (traditional eatery) expecting high prices.
To my surprise, the hearty fixed menu was about €28 – good value for multiple courses – and came with unlimited bread and a carafe of tap water (more on water in a moment).
In smaller towns, I often found that restaurants are fewer and sometimes only prix-fixe menus are offered, but prices were generally reasonable and portions generous.
Regional specialties can be budget-friendly too: a socca (chickpea pancake) on the street in Nice for a couple of euros, or a bowl of steaming bouillabaisse in Marseille that, while not dirt cheap, was a meal in itself.
The key was balancing splurges with savings: for every fancy dinner in Paris, I’d counteract with two nights of casual crêpes or supermarket dinners in my Airbnb.
By trip’s end, my food spending averaged out closer to expectations, roughly €70 per day on meals for a mid-range traveler according to some data, but only because I actively sought out affordable eats to offset the occasional indulgence.
Tipping Etiquette
Coming from a country of 20% tips, I braced myself to budget extra for gratuities in France.
What no one tells you at first is that tipping in France is not like in the U.S., it’s largely optional because a 15% service charge is automatically included by law in restaurant and café bills.
The check will usually note “service compris,” confirming that servers are already compensated with a living wage.
This was a revelation: I could enjoy my €3 espresso or €15 plat du jour without the mental math of adding a big tip.
Locals typically just round up to the nearest euro or leave a euro or two for good service, and I adopted the same practice.
For instance, if my dinner bill came to €48, I’d leave €50. If I grabbed a coffee at the bar, I might toss a 20-cent coin next to the saucer, but only if the service was pleasant.
At one café in Paris, I accidentally over-tipped out of habit, the waiter actually seemed a bit surprised (though happy to accept).
I quickly learned that excessive tipping is not expected and can even be confusing to French staff, since they know their wages don’t depend on it.
That said, tipping isn’t nonexistent. It’s seen as a polite extra for exceptional service or small gestures.
I once had a waiter in Marseille go above and beyond explaining the local wines; I left a €5 note on a €100 meal (about 5%) as thanks.
He was delighted. In hotels, I followed local custom by tipping the bellhop €1–2 per bag and leaving a few euros for housekeeping if they did a great job.
I also learned to keep coins handy for taxi drivers, as French riders will usually round up or tip about 5% at most.
My taxi from the Nice airport had heavy luggage involved, so I gave the driver an extra €3 on a €57 fare – a small 5% token which he accepted with a smile. In short, tipping in France won’t break the bank the way it can in tip-centric countries.
By understanding that service is essentially “pre-paid,” I saved a lot compared to what I might have budgeted.
Just remember: leave a little extra only when you feel it’s earned, and don’t feel guilty when you don’t tip big – the French certainly won’t judge you for it.
Transportation
Getting around France was perhaps my biggest budget wildcard. As a mid-range traveler, I wasn’t about to hire private drivers or fly first-class, but I did want efficient travel between cities.
I started with the iconic TGV trains, which are fast and comfortable – and sometimes costly.
For example, a one-way TGV ticket from Paris to Nice stunned me at €150 booked last-minute (nearly as much as a flight). I learned the hard way that booking trains in advance can halve or quarter the price.
On another leg, I paid just €35 from Paris to Lyon by buying a month ahead. Still, overall France’s trains aren’t as cheap as, say, buses in Spain. In fact, due to rising energy costs, SNCF (the national rail) raised ticket prices ~5% in 2023, so expect to pay a bit more than you might have a few years ago.
There are slower intercity trains and buses (like FlixBus or Blablabus) which I took occasionally – these can be great bargains (Paris to Bordeaux by bus for €25), though with much longer travel times.
For within cities, I was pleasantly surprised: public transportation in France’s cities is generally affordable and excellent.
A Paris Métro ticket is about €1.90 (even less per ride if you buy a carnet or Navigo pass), and in cities like Marseille, Nice, and Lyon, single fares for trams or buses hover around €1.50–€2.
I often bought day passes (around €5 in Lyon for unlimited rides) and felt like a local hopping on trams and metros – a huge saving versus taxis.
In fact, I almost entirely avoided taxis or Ubers in cities; not only is public transit cheaper, it also helped me burn off all those croissants!
It was when I ventured into the countryside that hidden transportation costs pounced. Renting a car granted me freedom to roam Provence’s hill towns and the Loire châteaux, but I hadn’t fully accounted for France’s expensive fuel and highway tolls.
Fuel hovered around €1.85–€1.90 per liter for gasoline (roughly $7+ per gallon), meaning even a modest road trip put a dent in my budget.
And the tolls – mon Dieu! On the autoroute from Lyon down to the Riviera, I watched toll booth after toll booth spit out receipts: €8, €12, €22… by the time I rolled into Nice, I had paid nearly €80 in tolls.
In fact, a fast highway drive from Paris to Nice can cost about €89 in tolls one-way, a fact I wish I’d known before opting to drive.
There are often slower, toll-free routes, but they add hours; for me, time was money, so I paid up for speed. If you plan to rent a car, budget for these extras: fuel, tolls (which increased about 4.75% last year), and also parking fees in cities.
I spent €25 just to park overnight in a Nice garage. Those costs add up quickly.
The hidden cost of convenience hit me too when I took a budget flight from Marseille to Paris – the flight itself was cheap (€50), but getting to/from the airports and paying for a checked bag added another €40.
Despite these surprises, I found ways to keep transport affordable. For long distances, I embraced the train-bus combo: high-speed rail to a region, then local buses or regional trains to smaller towns.
France’s regional TER trains are slower but reasonably priced (and scenic). I also discovered ride-sharing via BlaBlaCar – pitching in €15–€20 for gas to join locals on a drive was cost-effective and came with interesting conversation.
In the end, my transportation spending evened out to a “mid-range” level, but not without vigilance.
Lesson learned: plan ahead for trains, factor in all those little car costs if you self-drive, and don’t assume getting around France is as cheap as wandering within a single city.
It’s worth it (the TGV views of the French countryside are glorious), but movement is money – budget accordingly.
Tourist Attractions
France’s cultural riches are a huge draw, I mean, who can resist the Louvre or a climb up the Eiffel Tower? But I found that enjoying these sights often comes with a price tag that surprises travelers.
For instance, I was taken aback to find the Louvre Museum hiked its entry fee from €17 to €22 in early 2024. What was once a fairly reasonable ticket suddenly cost nearly 30% more.
If you’re a museum buff, those fees add up: Orsay Museum in Paris is about €16, the Château de Versailles costs around €19 for the basic passport, and even smaller museums often charge €8–€12. Many national museums (like the Louvre, Orsay, etc.) are free on the first Sunday of each month, which I took advantage of when I could – but note, the crowds on free days are enormous.
I learned to budget for at least one paid attraction per day in big cities. Climbing monuments or special exhibits usually cost extra too (I paid €10 to ascend the towers of Notre-Dame before the fire, and other cathedrals like Strasbourg’s charge a few euros for their towers).
The Eiffel Tower, of course, was a must-do for me – but not exactly cheap. An elevator ride to the top (summit) currently costs about €28–€30 for an adult.
I opted for the stairs+lift combo to the second floor for a bit less (€21), which doubled as a workout.
Still, the memory of Paris spread out at my feet was priceless (almost). At Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, the abbey entry was €11 – reasonable – but I hadn’t counted on the €14 parking fee and pricey shuttle unless you’re up for a long walk.
This became a pattern: big-name attractions often had “side costs.” A boat ride to see the Calanques near Marseille? €25.
Taking the scenic train up to the Mer de Glace in Chamonix? €34. Even simple pleasures like visiting a famous vineyard in Burgundy came with tasting fees or tour costs around €15–€20.
Individually these aren’t bank-breakers, but if you plan to “see it all,” your attraction budget needs some padding.
On the bright side, France offers countless free or low-cost experiences, especially if you balance your itinerary.
Many of my favorite memories were free: wandering the medieval streets of Annecy, hiking in the Alpilles hills, people-watching in Parisian parks.
Churches and cathedrals (aside from special areas) are usually free to enter – I lit candles in Lyon’s Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière and marveled at Reims Cathedral’s stained glass without spending a cent.
Public gardens like the Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg are free and gorgeous.
In many cities, I found free walking tours (tip the guide if you can) that gave rich context without a ticket price. Additionally, city tourism offices often sell city passes (e.g. Paris Museum Pass, Lyon City Card) that bundle attractions for a flat rate.
I got a 2-day Paris Museum Pass for €52 and made it worthwhile by hitting 6 museums/monuments (including the Louvre, Orsay, Arc de Triomphe) that would have cost much more separately.
If you’re selective and savvy, you can soak in loads of French culture on a mid-range budget. But beware the cultural FOMO: wanting to do every chateau, museum, and tour can quietly drain hundreds of euros.
My approach became picking one “big ticket” experience I really cared about in each destination, and complementing it with free activities around it.
That way, I never felt I missed out, and my wallet didn’t weep (too much) at the end of each day.
Hidden and Miscellaneous Costs
Even a careful planner (which I fancied myself to be) can be caught off guard in France by the miscellaneous extras – those little costs that aren’t in the guidebooks but definitely creep into your expenses.
One of my first surprises was the cost of staying connected. I needed a local SIM card for data; €40 later (for a month of service) I was online – not outrageous, but more than I expected, since I hadn’t researched phone plan prices beforehand.
Next came the realization that public toilets can be a paid privilege. While many newer self-cleaning street toilets are free in Paris, elsewhere I often had to pay €0.50 to €1 to use a restroom at train stations or in shopping centers.
After a long day of sightseeing (and multiple cafés crèmes), those coins disappeared fast.
I even encountered a department store in Paris charging €2 for fancy toilets with an attendant! Eventually, I got strategic: make restroom stops at museums (with paid entry) or at cafés while having a drink, to avoid separate fees.
Then there’s water, yes, water. Restaurants in France will always give you free tap water if you ask (“une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît”), but if you just say “water, please” without specifying, you might get an expensive bottled Evian on your bill.
I made that mistake once, paying €5 for a liter of water I didn’t really need. By law, tap water and bread are free with a meal, so use that to your advantage. Similarly, sitting at a café terrace can carry a hidden surcharge.
I remember paying €4 for an espresso in a prime people-watching spot in Nice – later I learned that many cafés charge extra (a “terrace fee”) for sitting outside, sometimes a euro or two more than the price at the counter.
It’s a small premium for the atmosphere, but it’s good to know: if you’re truly pinching cents, take your coffee at the bar or stand – you’ll pay less.
Another hidden expense: credit card and ATM fees. While France widely accepts credit cards, my bank dinged me with foreign transaction fees until I switched to a travel-friendly card.
Likewise, withdrawing cash from ATMs cost me a few euros each time in fees. In hindsight, a bit of planning (getting a no-fee card and using partner bank ATMs) would have saved me enough for another nice meal or two.
And speaking of cash, carrying coins was also useful for small tips, public transport tickets from machines, lockers at train stations (often €5 to store luggage for a few hours), and those ubiquitous carousel rides for kids in town squares (okay, that last one didn’t affect my adult budget, but it was fun to watch).
Let’s not forget the “souvenirs and splurges” category. France will tempt you with items you didn’t plan to buy: that artisanal Provençal soap, a bottle of Champagne from Epernay, or a chic scarf from a Paris boutique.
I tried to limit souvenir spending, but I’ll admit a good chunk of my miscellaneous budget went to edible souvenirs (cheese and wine, mostly!).
And while not exactly a hidden cost, tax refunds for tourist shoppers over a certain amount is something to be aware of – if you do go on a shopping spree of €100+ in one store, you can often get the VAT (around 20%) refunded at the airport when leaving the EU.
I filed for a refund on a pricy handmade handbag I bought in Paris, which returned about €40 to me weeks later – every bit helps.
In summary, these little expenses – water, toilets, fees, snacks, tips, and treats – can quietly snowball.
Individually a few euros here or there seems trivial, but over several weeks I likely spent over €100 on things I hadn’t originally budgeted for.
My advice: pad your budget for miscellaneous costs by at least 10–15% to account for the unexpected.
That way, when you inevitably have to pay €0.50 to use the loo or cave in to that €8 artisanal goat cheese at the market, you can do so guilt-free, knowing you planned for some wiggle room.
Regional Differences
One of the most eye-opening aspects of traveling through France was how much costs vary by region. Many people (my past self included) assume that as long as you avoid Paris, everything will be cheap. Not exactly!
The reality is more nuanced. Paris, of course, is the priciest overall – it’s a world capital and prices reflect that. But I also found that parts of the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) can give Paris a run for its money, especially in peak season.
Meanwhile, certain regions and cities turned out far gentler on the wallet than I anticipated.
Let’s start with Paris. From my experience and research, Paris consistently ranks among Europe’s more expensive cities for travelers, and indeed France as a whole is in the top 25% of European countries for travel costs.
High demand, major attractions, and a dense city mean you’ll pay more for just about everything – lodging, dining, activities – in Paris.
For example, a simple latte that might be €2.50 in a small town could be €5 in a chic Paris café. I budgeted accordingly and wasn’t shocked when the city devoured a large chunk of my funds.
However, I did notice some Paris bargains: street food (crepes for €5), ethnic eateries in the outer arrondissements (10€ lunches), and the fact that so many of its marvels (Notre-Dame’s exterior, Sacré-Cœur views, parks) are free to enjoy.
Paris also has plentiful hostels and budget hotels if needed, though “budget” is relative – a highly-rated budget hotel averages about $80 (~€75) per night, which is more than mid-range hotels in some other French cities.
Heading to Lyon, I immediately felt a difference in pricing. Lyon is a large city with world-famous cuisine, yet it was markedly cheaper than Paris in many ways.
My lovely central Lyon hotel was around €100/night (would be €180+ in Paris). Dinners in Lyon’s bouchons were not only hearty but often under €25 for a full menu.
Data backs this up: overall daily expenses for a mid-range traveler in Lyon can be around €155 per day, significantly less than what many spend in Paris.
I’d call Lyon affordable-chic – you still get a cosmopolitan experience, but at two-thirds the price of Paris. Marseille was similar: as a port city with fewer international tourists, prices for things like seafood dinners, local transport, and mid-range hotels were quite reasonable.
I remember paying €12 for a huge portion of bouillabaisse (fish stew) in Marseille’s Le Panier district – a dish that might cost €25 in a tourist zone elsewhere.
Marseille’s 4-star hotels were going for around $148 (€135) a night when I visited, which felt like a bargain after Paris.
Then there’s Nice and the Riviera – a mixed bag. During the off-season, I found Nice surprisingly affordable; I snagged a seaside Airbnb for under €80 a night in October. But come summer, Nice and neighboring beach towns ramp up the rates big time.
A friend who visited in July struggled to find any hotel under €150. Statistics show that tourists have started favoring Brittany and Normandy in the north, where prices are 30–50% cheaper than on the Mediterranean coast.
I experienced this firsthand when I left sunny Nice for breezy Brittany: my costs for food and lodging dropped dramatically. A seaview crepe in a Breton village cost me €4, versus €8 for a lesser one on the Riviera.
Accommodation in Brittany – I stayed in a cute guesthouse in Dinan for €70 – was a fraction of Côte d’Azur pricing. It seems the south coast, with its glamour and warm weather, commands a premium, whereas France’s Atlantic coast or northern areas offer better value.
And what about the rural countryside? In small towns and villages far from the tourist trail, costs were generally lowest of all. Rural hotel or B&B rates were often €60–€90 a night for great quality (sometimes including breakfast).
I recall a countryside auberge in the Dordogne that served a three-course dinner for €20 – wine included! Markets in rural areas also had fabulous deals on local produce and wine.
The trade-off is that public transport in remote areas is sparse, so you might need a car (and that adds fuel/toll costs as mentioned).
But even fuel goes further where distances are shorter and you’re idling in fewer traffic jams than in cities.
One thing I must note is the seasonality: not just where, but when you go in each region matters hugely. I traveled during both high summer and shoulder season.
In August, even normally affordable towns saw price bumps (and many French businesses themselves go on holiday, sometimes limiting options).
In May and October, I often benefited from lower rates and special deals in both cities and countryside.
To sum up the regional picture: Paris and the Riviera = most expensive; big cities like Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux = moderate; rural and less-touristed regions = most affordable.
Tourists often overlook how much prices drop once you’re outside the hotspots. I certainly felt financial relief every time I left a heavily touristed area for a quieter one.
By diversifying my itinerary – a bit of pricey Paris and Provence balanced with budget-friendly Brittany and Burgundy – I managed to keep my overall spending in check while still experiencing France’s variety.
This balance is key for mid-range travelers: mix in some off-the-beaten-path destinations where your money goes further, and the expensive icons of France become much more attainable.
Conclusion
So, after weeks on the road and meticulous number-crunching, is France genuinely affordable for the mid-range traveler?
The answer: Yes – but only with open eyes and smart choices. France is not a dirt-cheap destination by any stretch; in fact, it’s quite easy to blow past a mid-range budget if you follow the typical tourist trail blindly.
Many visitors (myself included, at first) underestimate the hidden costs – the city taxes, the tolls, the high-season markups, the little daily fees that creep in.
Perceptions can be deceiving: you hear of folks backpacking France on €50 a day, but as I discovered, those trips involve sacrifices (hostel dorms, baguettes for every meal, skipping pricey sights).
Crucially, don’t believe the myth that outside Paris everything is “cheap.” Tourists who assume that might be caught off guard by a €5 gelato in Nice or a €150 hotel in Saint-Tropez.
Likewise, don’t assume that “France is too expensive to visit comfortably” – it isn’t, as long as you travel smart.
In the end, France can be affordable, but tourists do overlook many costs until they’re there.
As the French might say, bon voyage and bon appétit… just keep an eye on l’addition (the bill) and you’ll do just fine. Safe travels and happy budgeting!