Traveller's alternative tips for Paris

Paris means something different to everyone, and Denise McNabb's feature on the city last week drew some tips for visiting the city on a budget from another New Zealand traveller.

Heather Worth, of Auckland, says that as a relatively frequent, yet far from rich, visitor to Paris, she can find a "decent" hotel in the Marais or the Left Bank for much less than $300 - for example, the Hotel Place des Vosges, the Hotel Nice or the Hotel Leveque are all just under $200 for a double room, and all charming and central.

Rather than getting a bus or taxi from Charles de Gaulle airport, Worth suggests taking the shuttle bus to the station and then taking the RER train. "It takes half the time to get to the middle of Paris."

Worth disputes McNabb's suggestion that it's hard to get rooms in Paris in July and August, when the French take their holidays, because "like Kiwis, the French go to the beach".

Alternative dining suggestions include local bistros rather than chain restaurants ("You can find a really great little place for far less than $38 a person for lunch," says Worth).

Suggesting that the dinner cruise on the Seine is an American tourist trap, Worth says she would dine at one of the most romantic and well-priced of Paris' belle epoque brasseries, Bofinger. "And if you desire a view from the Seine, don't bother with the bateaux mouches - the Batobus is a much cheaper alternative."

For coffee, Worth would avoid the Champs Elysees and cross the river to Boulevard St Germain and the neighbouring Cafe Flore or Aux Deux Magots, or "for the best, richest, Parisienne-spotting hot chocolate in town", try Angelina's on the Rue Rivoli.