Budget: What's Reasonable for Paris?

I have airfare and my domicile covered; after that's paid for, I'll have around $5,000 (roughly 3,600 euros) for the rest of my trip. Out of that, I thought I would set aside 500 euros for entertainment and whatnot; i.e., entrance fees, drinks, etc. I'll probably do most of my cooking at my apartment -- got to keep those culinary skills sharp -- but I would like to eat out a few times during my visit.

Is this a decent amount of money to set aside? What does the average Parisian spend during a month on evening's out and entertainment?

Note. That 500 would be exclusively for Paris. I haven't set much of a budget for anywhere else yet.

Paris caters for all budgets. There are lots of free stuff to do, cheap ones, more expensive ones and high end entertainement. It is thus quite difficult to tell you how much you shall set aside. Are you going out every night? what kind of entertainment are you looking for?When you say 3,600 euros, is it your budget for one month?

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>domicile covered<hr></blockquote>

Hotel? Flat? Independent accommodation budget?

She said apartment, so it looks like a self-catering unit or apartment hotel...

I'm very cheap, but 500 euros can go very quickly when you are a tourist - and want to indulge in things people living there might not. How long a stay is this for?

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Are you going out every night? what kind of entertainment are you looking for?<hr></blockquote>

I have chosen to see Paris in (quite possibly) the most expensive way -- as a flaneur. I don't have any specific plans aside from the usual places (Le Louvre, Tour Eiffel, L'Cinemateque, etc.), a couple of clubs (Le Baron, La Fleche d'Or, Sunside/Sunset), and maybe a well respected restaurant. That last idea though, is still being researched. We'll see.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Hotel? Flat? Independent accommodation budget?<hr></blockquote>

L'Hotel for the first week (as previously mentioned), and after that, a flat for the next month. I haven't settled on anything just yet, but I have about 1,000 euros independantly set aside for a flat rental; the hotel stay is being given to me as a birthday present.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>When you say 3,600 euros, is it your budget for one month?<hr></blockquote>

It could be. However, that budget is supposed to be all-inclusive -- it needs to last me until either the end of April or May (there's no difference in cost of the return ticket home). I am still trying to get a feel for my (realistic) budgetary constraints; i.e., my time is entirely dependent on how far I can stretch my funds.

My original plan was to take the money I have saved (about $10k) and divide it in half -- half to travel, and the rest to re-establish myself when I do come home. But as I do more research on costs and time and things I want to see, I am inclined to put $7k into this trip and keep $3k back for purposes of re-integrating myself into society (in San Francisco).

It's not a lot of money for Europe these days, but the bulk of this trip will be spent in Africa. West & North Africa, to be exact. And I'm still debating on which route to take there. As of now though, I want to see (in Europe)

- Britain (maybe Ireland)
- France (Paris, Toulouse, etc.)
- Brussells
- Antwerp
- Amsterdam
- Rotterdam
- The Hague
- Venice

I am also toying with the idea of taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Beijing and spending a week or so there, before coming back. But, that's still just an idea.

The Trans-Siberian would take you to Vladivostok, not Beijing. You might try the Trans-Mongol.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>The Trans-Siberian would take you to Vladivostok, not Beijing. You might try the Trans-Mongol<hr></blockquote>

True. I never remember to change the name. However, I was considering the Trans-Siberian to Vladivostok and then over to Japan. But that's just mindless speculation at this point in time.

i find your explanation at #4 quite vague but here's an attempt:

of course living in Paris can cost as much as you want.

Once your self catering apartment is covered, you could theoretically live on 10 EUR a day, if you do all your shopping at supermarkets and cook at home, and buy a 5 L box of wine and stretch it for two weeks or so. You could walk everywhere, take the occasional metro//bus (1.20 per trip) and take advantage of some of the many free attractions (parks, walks, concerts, museums on sundays, etc). Of course, it is highly unlikely you will be able to stick to this regime for long.

for 50 EUR a day you can live well, assuming you have dinner at home at least every other night, visit the occasional museum (5-10 EUR per visit), have a drink at an outdoor cafe (5 EUR), take advantage of cheap lunch menus, and go out for a decent dinner a few times a week (30 EUR upwards), and buy some decent wine (10 EUR) and food to eat at home.

does that help?