Sightseeing in Paris: Budget Travel Guide

If you’ll be in the Louvre any time soon, don’t be confused by rather anachronistic installation pieces scattered throughout the museum. In the Puget and Marly sculpture galleries, contemporary artists have put up resin statues and fake trees next to the marble figures of greek gods. It’s all part of the Counterpoint program, which runs » Read more

A trip to Paris without at least one walk through the Luxembourg gardens is like eating a French meal without accompanying it with a glass of wine. While the gardens lie directly on Paris’s beaten path they still, somehow, reveal an authentic view of Parisian life. Despite the number of tourists here, parents still bring » Read more

The 11th arrondissement is an unpretentious yet trendy Parisian district. Its heart is rue Oberkampf. Drinks and food along this street run about half what they do in more touristy areas like Saint Michel and the Latin Quarter. Happy Hour in most bars runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with cocktails going for around » Read more

La Grande Mosquée de Paris, built in 1926, is a Paris must-see. Constructed in traditional North African design, the mosque is a stunning piece of foreign architecture planted among rows of typical French buildings. It serves as a reminder of both the French colonial past and France’s substantial Muslim community. Contained within the enormous structure » Read more

Apparently the French Ministry of Culture caught on that €8 is a lot to pay just to get lost trying to find the Mona Lisa. For younger visitors, there’s a better way. The Louvre is absolutely free for everyone under 26 years old, every Friday evening. The free hours are from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 » Read more

photograph by Melanie Clatanoff Museums in Paris are free on the first Sunday of the month. So now that you have absolutely no excuse not to soak in a little culture, where to go? We suggest avoiding the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, where there will be a herd of about 6,000 fellow Cheapos standing in » Read more