Cheap and Chic in Gay Paris

With a weak dollar and Paris already being one of the most expensive cities in the world, it’s almost impossible to find a place to stay that is both cheap and chic. For the backpacking gay with a sense of adventure, a hostel is traditionally the cheapest option. Even the least expensive hotel in Paris will set you back around 150$ a night.

Travel Tip: Craigslist Paris. Apparently there is more to Craigslist than M2M Personals and Erotic Services. Check out the Housing: Vacation Rentals section. There are dozens of Parisian apartments being rented out by the night or week for less than a night at a hotel. I recently spent a week in Paris in a beautiful Parisian apartment in walking distance to the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre – think Amélie. Since there were two of us we were able to split the cost by two, something you cannot do at a hostel. A chic studio apartment with Wi-Fi, kitchen, washing machine, dishwasher and shower big enough for two turned out to be only 20 Euros (28$) a night per person while the cheapest hostel was 30 Euros (42$) per person. With our own apartment we were able to get the experience of living in a quiet Parisian neighborhood and not have to feel like tourists. We were able to buy groceries in the morning and prepare our own petit dejeuner. Avoiding drunken Australians barging into your hostel at 4 am is also a plus. Note: Use your best judgment when dealing with Craigslist’s posts if the renter doesn’t speak english well enough, try to find a friend who speaks french.