Budget Travel: Le Sandwich

Today we have a guest post from Kim Poulin, who blogs about Paris at The Paris Traveler.  Kim became fascinated with Paris as a young girl, and we’re very fortunate that the fascination continues, allowing her to share her passion and knowledge of the city with all of us.  Although Paris is usually thought of as an expensive city, today Kim shares with us an affordable Paris option.

When one speaks of budget travel, immediately backpacks, youth hostels, sleeping on trains or crashing in apartments of friends of friends of friends that just happen to be living or studying in any European city comes to mind.  Yet, even me, who doesn’t participate in any of the aforementioned activities when I travel about Europe, am still very mindful of where my dollars, severely minimized into Euros, go.

Three star hotels and in some instances, two, or better yet and I think way more economical, apartment rentals is what I call home at the end of my day.  Having a small kitchen to prepare at the very least breakfast in, in my mind just makes sense.  Many times, after a day of racing around the city, being in my sweats, all curled up with some deliciously prepared food that I brought home, along with a bottle of wine is the only place I want to be.

Yet meals out on vacation are something to look forward to and generally I do tend to indulge in dinner.  Regrouping for a few hours after sightseeing all day and I am ready to be social once again.  In Paris dinner doesn’t really get cranked up until 9:00pm, so you better be a bit of a late night person.  Those of you heading out for a 7:00pm sitting will certainly be the only ones in the place.  Depending on how you feel about that, it could be a good or bad thing.  Me, I want to be in the middle of all the action so clearly wait for the rest of the Parisian world to head out.

So, what does le sandwich have to do with any of what I have been rambling about?  A lot.

First, an emporter sandwich is truly one of life’s wonderful pleasures.  A gift from the gods.  Simple in its creation but sublime in its gifts .  A crusty baguette filled with brie, jambon, lettuce and tomato is difficult to top.  Other tempting combinations exist to please all palates but here is the kicker.  They are inexpensive ways to eat well during the day.  You grab one on the go along with a beverage of your choice, perhaps a small sweet treat to follow it, stake out a bench or plot of grass in say, the Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg and lunch is served. I think you’ll be surprised to see how many Parisians you will see doing the exact same thing as they dart out of their offices to catch some elusive rays of sun on their lunch hour.

Le sandwich is easy enough to find; most pâtisseries will have them and vendors along the sidewalks will as well.  If budget is really the call of the day, these will most likely be the least expensive options.  Should you want to upgrade a bit I suggest two places that really are not to be missed.  Paul tea salons offers great selections that should make just about everyone in your group happy.  They are a chain and have numerous restaurants and tea rooms throughout the city.  Eric Kayser, (map) is very similar, same wonderful baguettes and sandwich selections, along with the sweet treats for dessert.  They too are located throughout Paris and you will certainly stumble on one or the other during your travels.  Now at least you know to stop in and indulge your senses in a relatively inexpensive way.

Bottom line to all this is it’s just one way to stretch your dollars while you are spending time in Paris.  And the whole picnic en plein air thing makes everything just a bit more romantic.  Hey, this is Paris after all.

Photo credit: mu foo @flickr