The prices of Paris are perhaps the most talked-about topic of European travel. Let’s put the matter in a little perspective. Been to New York lately? At their very worst, Parisian prices are no higher than those of New York, even for the most luxurious of purchases. A meal at New York’s “21,” Pavillon or Cotillion Room costs just as much as the world-renowned repasts to be had at Paris’ Maxim’s, Fouquet’s, or Tour d’Argent.
Let’s move a step further. In the middle-class area, Parisian prices are much lower than their New York counterparts. The prices paid by the average Parisian for his basic, low-cost needs, are so much lower than those of New York that they would set eyes to blinking. The level of those prices permits even a low-salaried Frenchman to live in a most enjoyable French manner. He eats and imbibes regally, because he avoids the glitter of the Champs Elysees, just as you’d avoid Park Avenue. Scattered throughout Paris are incredible values for the tourist on a budget.
Don’t, therefore, be fazed by the legend-illogical as well as untrue-that the east of visiting Paris is simply beyond human means, and that Paris has lost all its charm, as a result. This is still the haven for the adventurous, the resourceful, and the young in heart-the capital of Europe-a city of breathtaking beauty, pervaded throughout with an exciting intellectual atmosphere. It can’t be missed, and it needn’t be. Can you live in Paris on some dollars a day? With care, with a proper approach, and with a sort of pinpoint accuracy in choosing your hotel and restaurants, you can. Here’s how:
HOTELS:Paris is cut in half by the River Seine, and that’s the most important fact from which you begin. On the Left Bank of the Seine (“la rive gauche”) are generally located the inexpensive areas of the city-the students’ and artists’ quarters, the markets, the small hotels and cafes. On the Right Bank (“la rive droite”), you’ll find the broad avenues, the establishments of Messrs. Fath and Dior, and the screaming prices.
This isn’t always so: Montmartre and Pigalle are on the Right Bank, the swank Quai D’Orsay area is on the Left. But in general, go to the Left Bank for inexpensive meals and accommodations. Go there also for a real taste of Paris; it’s the Champs Elysees which has become commercial and hard; the Latin Quarter, on the Left Bank, retains its honesty.
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