Paris is one of the food capitals of the world,
but you don't have to spend a lot of money to create delicious memories.
In this video, I'm first going to share ideas
of where and how to grab quick and budget-friendly food in Paris.
Which one looks good to you, babe?
Crème Caramel...
or this...
Nestle.
Nestle?
Food that you can either eat on the go
or take back with you wherever you're staying.
In the second part of this video,
I'll share a list of seven of my top spots to enjoy a picnic in Paris.
Even if you're not on a budget, shopping at a grocery store and then cooking food myself
is something I personally always try to do, if possible.
It's a fun way to imagine you're a local
and, for Marc and I who travel a lot, it's a nice normal ritual to engage in.
Plus, I really love cooking and going to food stores in general.
We also work while we're travelling
which means we don't always have time to go and find food out
and having food we can eat in becomes essential on a deadline.
I'm sure some of you are thinking like, 'You're in Paris!
Why don't you go for a fresh croissant at a bakery!?'
and I totally hear you, but there literally isn't time for that sometimes
and too much eating out can be hard on the budget and your health after a lot of travel.
Plus it's really nice to roll out of bed and get straight to work
without having to go out and search for something.
The grocery store is great, of course, to find things you can actually cook with
or just to stock up on little items you don't need a kitchen for
like bread, cheese, meat, and yogurt.
You can just enjoy a little picnic at home with these kinds of items.
Should I grab another regular or are we good?
Sure.
We'll use it.
If you do have access to a stove or oven,
then Paris is home to a chain store called Picard
that is stocked with amazing frozen food.
The writer David Sedaris, who I love, swears that every French person goes to Picard.
You can get pretty much anything here:
meat, fish, vegetables, gluten free stuff, snacks, desserts, pastry -
basically if you can imagine it and freeze it, it's probably at Picard.
And the prices are very reasonable too.
We tried a lot of things here
from fish and vegetables to croissants and pain au chocolat
to quiche and lots more.
They also have some non-frozen snacks and foods.
It smells amazing.
Another quick and easy food to grab in Paris is, of course, a crepe.
It's hard to go wrong with a crepe in Paris
but we found this tiny little place near our Airbnb in Montmartre
that was amongst the best I've ever had with a budget-friendly price tag.
Classic crepes to try are butter and sugar, sugar and lemon, plain nutella
or nutella and banana, and ham and cheese.
Standing in Paris on a beautiful day and taking the first bite of a crepe
has got to be one of the best feelings you can have.
So happy!
Isn't that good?
That is a good crepe.
That's better than most I've had.
Me too.
Seriously.
Another French place to get fast food is, appropriately named, Quick.
This is another spot I wanted to try thanks to David Sedaris.
There are over 300 Quick locations in France
so no need to feel guilty for your burger and fries craving while you're in Paris.
I think it's interesting to visit places where people actually eat
and you can see how it might differ from your fast food back home.
And it fits the bill of being quick, cheap, and portable so it's picnic friendly.
If you're nervous to order in French you can use the touch screens to order in English instead.
You order and pay ahead and then just wait for your number to be called to pick up.
I got the Supreme Classic burger and Marc got the Supreme Bacon.
Overall the ingredients tasted fresher
and of higher quality than the average fast food burger,
from the meat to the bun to the toppings.
Mmm.
Wow, that's a lot.
Dog Appreciation Intermission
Ok so now that you're hopefully salivating
and thinking of all the wonderful budget-friendly fun foods you can get to take away in Paris,
I want to share some ideas for where to have a beautiful scenic picnic.
Here are my top seven spots.
First is along the banks of the River Seine.
There are many, many places
where you can take stairs down to the river level
and sit right beside the water.
You can watch the river traffic going by
and possibly be greeted by some swans or ducks.
One of my favourite spots to sit is across from the Musee d'Orsay
where you've got a great view of the stunning former railway station turned gallery.
Next is to grab one of the many seats in the Luxembourg Garden.
We've made a whole video about the Luxembourg Garden
so I'll link that below
as well as a video about shopping
where I talk about getting food at the famous Bon Marche
to take over to eat in the park.
This is a super popular place to bring food
and enjoy the greenery and excellent people watching.
We brought pain au chocolat to enjoy.
What you got there?
Pain au chocolat.
Do I look happy about it?
Yes.
A day cannot be bad when you're having a pain au chocolat.
It just can't.
I've been testing this theory every single day in Paris.
It's solid.
It's bulletproof.
Caught getting crumbs all over yourself.
All over me.
I hoped you hadn't seen that.
It's flaky though.
You know it's good pastry when you have to brush yourself off afterwards.
Yeah.
Another wonderful place to bring a picnic is Sacré-Cœur,
the white-domed basilica located at the summit of Montmartre.
It's the highest point in Paris,
which means you get an unbeatable view from the steps and lawn of the church.
Join lots of others gathered with food and drinks
taking in the view of the city.
We've also made a video about Montmartre
and all the things to do there so I'll link that as well.
Back down by the Louvre is the Tuileries Garden.
This is a large public park occupying the space between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde
where you'll find a giant Egyptian obelisk.
The Tuileries Garden was created by Catherine de Medici in 1564.
It became a public garden after the French Revolution.
Now it's a lovely spot to sit within view of some of the best known landmarks in Paris,
including a view of the Eiffel Tower.
If you want to get closer to the Eiffel Tower, that's another great spot to picnic.
There's a large lawn where you can sit right at the base of the tower.
I'll link our video with more on this below too.
Nice!
Cheers!
One of my favourite lesser-known spots to stroll or bring a picnic is the Promenade Plantée,
an old railway track that's been converted into an elevated park
where you can walk for miles.
There are benches and little places to stop and sit all along the way
and it's a wonderful place to bring your food and watch people going by.
I'll link our video on this site if you want more information on it.
Last but definitely not least I recommend taking your picnic to Canal Saint-Martin
and finding a spot where you can sit right on the canal.
If you don't feel like bringing your own food, by the way,
there's a pizza place here where you can order a pizza and drinks ahead of time,
then they give you a pink balloon to carry with you...
This is so cool.
So...this is not an advertisement for the movie It.
...find any place you want along the canal...
It's like you're waiting to hail a bus.
They're delighted they're on a boat
and I'm delighted that I'm holding a pink balloon that's getting me a pizza.
Everyone's delighted.
It's Saturday night.
We're all delighted.
...and they deliver your food by bicycle and find you with your pink balloon.
We made a video all about our experience with this which I'll link.
We thought it was a really fun and unique way to have a pizza picnic in Paris.
Is it good?
It's so good!
Oh!
I know!
Oh that's good.
I hope you've enjoyed this video
and it's given you some ideas of where and how you can eat cheaply in Paris,
plus some of the best places to enjoy a picnic.
I'll link all our Paris videos in the description box below if you're interested in seeing more,
including food-related videos like restaurants and specific foods to try in Paris,
plus ideas on lots of activities you can do.
I'd love to hear your ideas on eating cheaply
and where you've had a really great picnic on your travels
so leave me a comment and let me know.
If you enjoyed the video give it a thumbs up
and remember to subscribe for lots more travel adventures with Marc and I.
Thanks for watching!