A trip to Paris can be expensive but once you arrive there are a few little tricks and ways you can save a few euros.
There are countless FREE things that you can do in Paris, especially for art lovers. One of my favorites finds down many of the cobblestone-lined streets are the many churches that are filled with some of the biggest names in French art history.
Eglise Saint Sulpice is an easy choice as it also holds three of the masterpieces of Eugene Delacroix. Delacroix believed that to be remembered long after an artist had passed they should be hanging in public buildings and churches. Saint Sulpice was one of his last commissions but not the first found in a church.
Eglise Saint Sulpice, 2 rue Palatine 6e open 8 am - 8 pm
Eglise Saint Denys du Saint Sacrement is the first chuch that displayed a Delacroix. The Piata in the first chapel on the right is not the normal version of a Piata displayed in most churches.
Eglise Saint Denys du Saint Sacrement, 68 ter rue de Turenne 3e 7:30 am - 7:30 pm
The facade of the Eglise Saint Paul Saint Louis is a work of art on its own. The beautifu red door shines against the tall Baroque church that crowns the Rue Saint Antoine. Inside the side chapels are lit with gorgeous chandeliers and large vases of fresh flowers always sit on the altar. As you enter head to the left side of the church and at the transept look up to see Delacroix’s Christ in the Garden of Olives.
Eglise Saint Paul Saint Louis 99 rue Antoine 3e 8 am - 8 pm
Other churches not to miss are the Eglise Saint Nicolas de Chardonnet is the final resting place of the artist to the king, Charles Le Brun is laid to rest but also where one of his fantastic paintings is just inside the door. The Martyrdom of Saint John the Evangelist at the Latin Gate as well as a painting by Jean Baptiste Corot. Louis XIV trusted Le Brun to decorate Versailles, the Palais du Louvre, and countless palaces across France.
Eglise Saint Nicolas de Chardonnet 23 Rue des Bernardins 5e 7 am - 8 pm
Not far from the Musée du Louvre and the golden monument to Jeanne d’Arc is the Eglise Saint Roch. Sitting on the Rue Saint Honoré and where a church dedicated to the patron saint of pastries, Saint Honoré once stood. The facade has a reminder of the young Napoleon that tried to stop the insurrection and fired on the church. There are still reminders on the left side of the facade.
Inside the church where the other designer of the king, André Le Notre who designed the gardens of Versailles and the Tuileries is buried here and the funeral for Yves Saint Laurent was here. Inside the Baptismal chapel is a painting by Delacroix devotee Theodore Chassériau Saint Philip baptizing the eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia.
Eglise Saint Roch 296 Rue Saint Honoré 1e 8:30 am - 7 pm
Paris is a city of museums and there are well over 175 museums dedicated to just about anything you would want to see. On the first Sunday of each month, many of the museums are free. It is a great option if you are in Paris but for a few, you may need to plan ahead. The Musée d’Orsay recently announced that you must have a free timed ticket for the day to help avoid the crush of people that have been attending. The Louvre does not take part and eventually will return to its free Saturday evenings at some point down the road.
If you are a museum-goer like myself that loves to look at and read everything this may not be the day for you as the museums are normally very busy and it’s hard to really get close to many of the paintings.
However, there are ten museums belonging to the city of Paris that are free every day. Under the umbrella of the Paris Musées is the lovely Petit Palais which holds the art owned by the city of Paris and covers every scope of time. The history of Paris in the Carnavalet should always be on the top of your list to see.
Authors and artists include Victor Hugo, Balzac, Zadkine, and Bourdelle. The collections of the Cognac-Jay and Cernuschi and the Musée d’Art Moderne all fall under their umbrella.
Of the twelve museums in the city, two have a fee. The Catacombs and the Crypte under Notre Dame need a ticket and the Palais Galliera which is the fashion museum of Paris is only open for special exhibits so in a bit of a bait and switch you must pay to enter, but highly worth it.
Once you have your tickets for museums a trick I love to use is to screenshot them on my phone and create a folder in my photos so that I don’t need to scroll through thousands of pictures to find them while standing in line.
Now with all the money that you saved let’s head to lunch where you can enjoy some of the best restaurants in Paris with a little less sticker shock than dinner. Many restaurants offer a prix fixe 2 or 3-course lunch Monday to Friday and that can be under 35€ and a great value.
A few favorites are Le Fumoir next to the Eglise Saint Germain l’Auxerrois and Willi’s Wine Bar above Palais Royal. Check out more of my favorite restaurants here,