Paris has a reputation for expensive dining that’s genuinely deserved in the tourist-dense areas around major landmarks, but the city’s actual local food culture, markets, boulangeries, and neighbourhood bistros, delivers excellent value once you know where to look beyond the Champs-Élysées.
Quick answer: £20/day in Paris covers a proper boulangerie breakfast, a market or local bistro lunch, and a genuine neighbourhood dinner, provided meals are chosen away from the immediate vicinity of major tourist sites. Prices within 200 metres of the Eiffel Tower or Louvre routinely run 40-60% higher than identical items two streets further out.
A Full Day’s Paris Eating Under £20
| Meal | What It Buys | Cost (EUR) | Cost (GBP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Croissant + pain au chocolat + coffee at a local boulangerie | €4.50-€6 | £3.85-£5.10 |
| Lunch | Market sandwich or a plat du jour at a local bistro | €10-€14 | £8.55-£12 |
| Dinner | Neighbourhood bistro main course | €12-€16 | £10.25-£13.70 |
| Total | €26.50-€36 | £22.65-£30.80 |
Hitting genuinely under £20 requires leaning slightly more toward market and boulangerie eating than a full sit-down dinner every night, but remains entirely achievable with the right neighbourhood choices.
Boulangeries: Beyond the Basic Croissant
Every Paris neighbourhood has multiple boulangeries, and the quality difference between an average one and a genuinely excellent one is significant enough to be worth seeking out specifically.
- Look for the “Meilleur Boulanger” or “Artisan Boulanger” signage, indicating a genuine baker rather than a reheated-from-frozen chain outlet
- A proper baguette tradition: €1.30-€1.60 (£1.10-£1.35), noticeably different in texture and flavour from a standard baguette, and the base for an excellent, cheap lunch sandwich
- Quiche or savoury tart slices: €3-€5 (£2.55-£4.30), a genuinely filling and good-value lunch option available at most boulangeries
- Avoid boulangeries directly outside major metro exits near tourist sites, where prices routinely run 20-30% above equivalent quality just a few streets further into a residential area
Fromageries and Épiceries: Assembling a Genuine Picnic
Beyond boulangeries, Paris’s cheese shops (fromageries) and small grocers (épiceries) offer everything needed for a genuinely excellent picnic lunch at a fraction of restaurant cost. A wedge of Comté or Brie (€3-€5/£2.55-£4.30), a handful of cured meat slices from a charcuterie counter, and a fresh baguette assembles into a lunch that rivals anything served in a tourist-area café, best enjoyed in one of Paris’s many parks (Buttes-Chaumont and Parc Monceau both offer a genuinely local atmosphere compared to the more crowded Luxembourg Gardens).
Markets: Where Locals Actually Shop
Paris’s covered and open-air markets offer some of the best value and freshest food in the city, genuinely used by residents rather than positioned as a tourist attraction.
- Marché des Enfants Rouges (Marais): Paris’s oldest covered market, with prepared food stalls offering genuinely excellent lunch options from €8-€12 (£6.85-£10.25)
- Marché Bastille (Thursdays and Sundays): one of the largest open-air markets, strong for fresh produce and prepared foods at prices noticeably below tourist-area restaurants
- Rue Mouffetard market street (5th arrondissement): a permanent market street with cheese, charcuterie, and produce shops offering excellent picnic assembly for a Luxembourg Gardens or Seine-side lunch
Neighbourhood Bistros: The Plat du Jour Strategy
Ordering the plat du jour (dish of the day) rather than à la carte is the single most effective way to eat well at a proper Paris bistro without the full-menu price. Most neighbourhood bistros, particularly outside the most tourist-dense arrondissements, offer this at genuinely reasonable prices.
- Look for bistros in the 10th, 11th, 18th, and 20th arrondissements, all genuinely residential areas with strong local dining scenes and noticeably lower prices than the 1st, 7th, or 8th
- A plat du jour typically runs €12-€18 (£10.25-£15.40), often including a starter or dessert as part of a fixed lunch menu (formule)
- Lunch formules offer better value than dinner at most bistros, since the fixed-price lunch deal is a genuine local institution rather than a tourist-facing gimmick
What This Actually Saves Compared to Tourist-Area Dining
| Category | Local Eating (per day) | Tourist-Area Dining (per day) |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | £3.85-£5.10 | £8-£12 |
| Lunch | £8.55-£12 | £18-£28 |
| Dinner | £10.25-£13.70 | £30-£50 |
| Total | £22.65-£30.80 | £56-£90 |
Eating in genuinely local neighbourhoods rather than immediately around major landmarks cuts daily food costs by roughly 55-65%, without any real sacrifice in food quality, often the opposite.
Step-by-Step: Eating Like a Local
- Base accommodation in a residential arrondissement (10th, 11th, 18th, 20th) rather than directly beside a major landmark, since this naturally puts genuinely good, reasonably priced food within easy walking distance.
- Buy breakfast from a boulangerie at least two streets away from any metro exit serving a major tourist site, where prices are consistently lower for identical quality.
- Check market days for your specific arrondissement, since most Paris markets operate on a fixed weekly schedule rather than running daily.
- Order the plat du jour or formule at lunch specifically, since Paris bistros generally offer their best value at midday rather than dinner.
- Avoid restaurants with English-only menus or photos of the food outside, a reliable, if imperfect, signal of tourist-oriented rather than local pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to eat well in Paris without visiting any restaurants at all?
Yes, genuinely. A combination of boulangerie breakfast, market lunch, and a simple assembled dinner from a fromagerie and charcuterie can deliver an excellent day of eating without a single sit-down restaurant visit.
How much should you tip at a Paris bistro?
Service is included by law in French restaurant pricing, so tipping isn’t required, though rounding up or leaving a small additional amount (a few euros) for good service is common and appreciated.
Is the 1st arrondissement always overpriced for food?
Generally yes for anything within immediate sight of the Louvre or major landmarks, though pockets of genuinely good, reasonably priced food exist even there if seeking out smaller side streets away from the main tourist flow.
What is the best day to visit a Paris market for the freshest produce?
Saturday mornings tend to offer the widest selection and freshest stock across most Paris markets, though Sunday markets like Marché Bastille also draw strong local crowds and quality.
Is it rude to ask for a doggy bag in a Paris restaurant?
Less common than in the UK or US but increasingly accepted, particularly since a 2021 French law requiring restaurants above a certain size to provide reusable containers on request. It’s a genuinely reasonable ask at most neighbourhood bistros, if perhaps still unusual at the most traditional, formal establishments.
Is Sunday a difficult day to eat locally in Paris, given many shops close?
Somewhat, since many boulangeries and smaller shops do close on Sundays or Mondays, though this varies by individual business. Markets typically still operate on Sunday mornings (Marché Bastille among them), making Sunday brunch at a market a genuinely good alternative to a closed boulangerie.
The Bottom Line
Paris’s reputation for expensive dining largely reflects tourist-area pricing rather than the city’s actual food culture, which, in genuinely local neighbourhoods, delivers excellent value through boulangeries, markets, and neighbourhood bistros. The honest strategy is simple: walk a few streets away from any major landmark, and Paris eating becomes dramatically more affordable without any real compromise in quality.
