How we managed a long weekend in Paris for under £300 per person including lift access to the top of the the Eiffel Tower and a full day at both Disneyland Paris parks.
Let’s take a look at the full cost break down and see how we could have saved even more!
Airport Parking & Overnight Hotel
In order to get the most out of our first day, we knew we wanted to get an early flight, and living several hours away from London, we just had to stay overnight. Lucky for us, I know Holiday Extras have some great deals if you purchase overnight hotel and airport parking as a package. How great? £69.89 for a Friday night hotel stay and parking at the Premier Inn Dunstable and 3 days parking at Luton Airport (Airparks Drop & Go). I always shop around, but they have a price guarantee on most of their products, so they almost always come out on top. Check your favourite cash back sites for added savings too!
Flights
We only paid £245.60 total for our return flights (£40.94 per person, each way) which included choose your seat (£5.99 per person, each way) and preferential flight times. For under £41 return, it was both quicker and cheaper than the Eurostar on this occasion with preferable timings. If we had booked the cheapest flights with no ‘choose your seat’ option, it would have been as little as £27 per person, each way, so we could have saved around an additional £80 total, but I think it was worth the additional expense for another 8-10 hours in Paris.
We departed at 07:00 with easyJet from London Luton arriving in Paris Charles de Gaulle at 09:20. As we had hand luggage only, there was no need to wait for the baggage carousel, we just hopped off the plane and headed straight for the exit!
Coming back we had a 16:20 flight, arriving back in to Luton at 16:35 GMT, so we aimed to be at the airport by around 14:00. This still gave us the whole morning and plenty of time for a leisurely lunch before we needed to head back.
Transport in Paris
As we only had 2 backpacks and a whole day ahead of us, we decided to get the RER train in to the centre of Paris to see the sights. Having been to the city several times pre-parenthood, we knew of an achievable walking route from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower which would take a couple of hours with a few refreshment stops on the way. The best thing about this is the fact that walking to see the sights is completely free! From The Eiffel Tower, we got the metro & RER to Marne-La-Vallee Chessy (where Disneyland Paris is), had dinner, then hopped back 1 stop on the RER to our hotel. The RER/metro system is vast and covers every nook and cranny of Paris, however the ticketing system has recently changed and proved to be frustrating at times. You now have to buy a Navigo pass (like the old Oyster card system in London) which is a pre-paid contactless card just for transportation in Paris. The most frustrating thing about it is that you don’t top it up with monetary value, you have to buy individual journey tickets, and many of the machines are temperamental at best. You have to have a card for each person, and each card has to be topped up individually, so we found ourselves spending ages at each machine repeating transactions over and over again. We also found that we couldn’t top up our first Navigo card (airport to central Paris journeys) with zones 1-5 metro tickets, and vice versa, so we ended up with lots of identical cards! And did I mention that there are no staff at any stations except the airport? All that being said, once you get the hang of it, it can be a very cost effective and efficient mode of transport. Including return transport to the airports & several short journeys in zones 1-5, we spent a total of £83.66 over the 3 days. Children travel at a reduced rate and the discount can be easily applied on the self-serve ticket machines.
Eiffel Tower Tickets
This one was hard to swallow, but there really aren’t any bargains to be had when it comes to booking tickets, particularly if you want to take the lift all the way up to the summit (stairs were not an option with a 5 year old who had been up since 04:30am). Tickets were £70.89 total, and when I went back to check the price per person 2 weeks before departure, they were actually sold out completely, so book in advance to avoid disappointment.
Hotel
One of the biggest expenses when visiting any of the world’s capital cities is the price of accommodation. Whenever we have visited Paris in the past, we have always opted to stay on the outskirts and get public transport in to the centre. As well as getting you good value for money, it can also encourage you to visit parts of the city that you may not have considered before. This time, we knew we would be spending our only full day at Disneyland Paris, so it was important to be close to the magic. As opposed to staying in Marne-La-Vallee (the home of Disneyland Paris), we opted to stay in neighbouring Val d’Europe. Only 1 RER stop away from Disneyland Paris, or 35 minutes walk if you’re feeling energetic, Val d’Europe is home to a fantastic modern shopping centre, offering you many food & drink options which are cheaper (and in many cases better) than theme park food.
When selecting accommodation, I consider many things, but ultimately reviews, amenities, location and price. The hotel which won for me this time was the Ibis Budget Val d’Europe. Not to be confused with the regular Ibis next door, the Ibis Budget offered crazy cheap rooms which, although are very basic, have everything you need for a few nights stay. We knew we wouldn’t be in the room much and would be eating out all of the time, so it was perfect for us. Right next to Val d’Europe RER station, the location was perfect, and at only £139.15 total, it was an absolute steal! That works out at £23.20 per person, per night, even on a weekend! Yes, it is VERY basic, but it was clean, had an ensuite toilet, sink & shower, and the location was perfect.
Disneyland Paris Tickets
All I can say is “shop around”! Often with theme park tickets, booking direct is cheapest, particularly if they have fluid or crowd-sensitive pricing. We wanted to buy a dated 2-park ticket to visit Disneyland Paris on a moderately quiet day, but surprisingly it was still cheaper to buy a dated ticket through a third party vendor (in this case Attraction World – see your favourite travel agent to make a booking). We paid £277.36 total for 2 adults and 1 child, so we only saved £6.88 (Disneyland Paris direct wanted £284.24 like-for-like), but that’s another Disney snack I can now afford, right?!
Travel Insurance
As an experienced travel agent, I know how important it is to purchase travel insurance, even for a mini break like this. I’ve seen what can happen when a trip goes wrong, and quite frankly, I can’t afford to travel without it! My best advice is to shop around, use comparison sights and check for cash back too. I typically check Money Supermarket, Go Compare and Quidco Compare, and once I find a policy and price I am happy with, I will finally check the provider’s own website directly just to make sure! Stay tuned to the blog for more tips and advice on how to get the right insurance coverage for your holiday coming soon. Be sure to hit ‘subscribe’ at the end of the article so you don’t miss it! On this trip, the best value policy which suited our family’s needs was a whopping £4.30. This covered up to £1,000 for cancellation, curtailment or lost baggage, plus £20,000,000 in emergency medical assistance and repatriation.
The Final Bill
Overnight Hotel & Parking: £69.89
Flights: £245.60
Transport: £83.66
Eiffel Tower: £70.89
Hotel: £139.15
Disneyland Paris: £277.36
Travel Insurance: £4.30
£890.85 (£296.95 per person)
For context, we were a party of 2 adults and 1 child (aged 5 at time of travel). We flew out on a Saturday morning (8th March 2025) and came back on a Monday afternoon (10th March 2025) during term time. We visited Disneyland Paris on a Sunday which was considered a moderate/value day on the crowd calendar. Going during the week would have been even cheaper, but we didn’t want to miss too much school as it was not our only holiday this academic year.
You’ll notice that there is one expense not mentioned here, and that’s food! Don’t ask how much we spent – that was an area which we knew we would be splurging on!
Top Tips for saving money in Paris
- Have croissants and coffee for breakfast. Skipping a traditional sit-down breakfast in a hotel, restaurant or bistro could save your family €30-50 per day! Also, when in Paris, do as the Parisienne’s do!
- Buy snacks and drinks in a supermarket. Whilst cafe culture is part of the appeal of Paris, it is also very expensive, so stock up on travel-size provisions when you see them.
- Buy souvenirs in a supermarket too! Edible souvenirs such as chocolates and biscuits are often overpriced in tourist hot spots, so if you want authentic French treats, purchasing them at the supermarket could save you a fortune. Not having the Eiffel Tower on the box does not make them less French, in fact, it probably means they are even more delicious!
- Use free toilets when you see them. For example, if you’re buying a coffee, use the cafe loo. This may seem daft, but toilets in central Paris are typically €1-2 per person, and they aren’t even kept in great condition!
- Take your own Disney merch! Disneyland Paris merchandise is expensive. Fact. Make your own t-shirts and take your own Mickey ears to help your kids resist pricey temptation! We did, and my son never asked to buy any!
What are your money saving tips when visiting a Disney park? Share your experience in the comments and help more families see the world for less!
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Our Whimsical World 
Love the croissants and coffee tip. It is always something we do when visiting Paris, or sub for relevant alternatives when travelling elsewhere. Keeping it simple leaves room for more delicious lunches and dinners too which is always a bonus! 🙂
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This is such a great post, and at a great time too, as I have two friends currently trying to convince me to use our van to get to Europe and take our boys to Disney! It’s still early decisions as to whether we will, but this really helps us with the finances side (ie what costs to expect). Glad you had such a lovely time, it looks wonderful 🙂
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Thank you! I’m so happy that you found it helpful. It would be a long drive, but if you visit other places on the journey, I’m sure it would be a road trip to remember. Happy planning!
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thank you! Yes it would be a very long drive, but as you say, an opportunity to see other things and places along the way. That said, like your lad, mine have never been on a plane before either and they’d probably prefer that 😅 (I also feel like my purse would prefer that if it can find flights at the price you paid 😜
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