Two Days on Reunion Island Without Overspending Two days on Reunion Island means picking one region, not touring the whole island. This plan pairs the free lagoon at Saint-Gilles-les-Bains with a single volcano day at Piton de la Fournaise, on a car-rental budget of about EUR 20-25 a day. Need more time? See the 4-day , 6-day , and 7-day versions of this itinerary, which add the cirques and the wild south.

Four Days on Reunion Island: Coast, Volcano and One Cirque Four days is enough to add a cirque to the coast-and-volcano loop from the 2-day itinerary , without pretending you can also fit Mafate or the whole south. This plan keeps Days 1-2 the same lagoon-and-volcano opening, then spends Days 3-4 in Cirque de Cilaos, a genuine spa town reached by a hairpin mountain road. Rental car and one gite night are the two real costs here; everything else is close to free.

Six Days on Reunion Island: Two Cirques on a Real Budget Six days extends the 4-day itinerary with a second cirque, Salazie, plus a spare day for the one genuine splurge on this island: a helicopter flight over Mafate. Days 1-4 stay the same coast-volcano-Cilaos spine; Days 5-6 add Salazie’s waterfalls and a choice between resting or spending EUR 300-380 on the flight. Rental car, one or two gite nights, and that optional helicopter are the whole budget story here.

Seven Days on Reunion Island: The Full Loop on a Budget Seven days is the shortest realistic full loop of Reunion: coast, volcano, two cirques, and the wild, wet south, all built on the same spine as the 6-day itinerary with one more day tacked on. Days 1-6 stay the same coast-volcano-Cilaos-Salazie route; Day 7 adds the Saint-Philippe lava fields on the drive back to the airport. A single rental car for the whole week, at roughly EUR 20-25 a day in low season, is still the main line item.

Reunion Island’s Best Sights, Ranked by What They Actually Cost Most of what makes Reunion worth visiting is free or close to it: the coral lagoon, the cirque villages, the volcano park entry. The two real costs are a rental car, at roughly EUR 20-25 a day in low season, and one optional splurge, the EUR 300-380 helicopter flight over Mafate. Reunion is a French overseas department in the euro and the EU, not an independent country and not part of Mauritius, which sits as a separate nation roughly 175km away.

Marseille is the cheapest launchpad for six real Provence day trips, but only two or three of them are actually cheap. Cassis and the Calanques cost little more than a train ticket if you hike instead of booking a boat. Aix-en-Provence is a 30 minute regional train and barely adds to that. Arles and Avignon both run about an hour away and each adds one paid monument. The Camargue and the Luberon are the expensive pair, neither has a useful direct train, so budget for a guided tour or a rental car before adding either to a trip.

Two days from Marseille means picking the two cheapest, quickest day trips and skipping the rest: Cassis and the Calanques on day one, Aix-en-Provence on day two. Both are TER rides under 45 minutes, no car and no guided tour needed. The 3-day version adds Arles once a third day is available. Book these before you go Calanques boat tour (optional, the hike is free): book on GetYourGuide A Marseille base near Saint-Charles: compare stays on Booking.

Three days from Marseille adds one more TER day trip to the cheap-and-quick pair: Cassis and the Calanques, then Aix-en-Provence, then Arles for its Roman arena. All three run under EUR 11 one way in train fare, with no car and no guided tour anywhere on this plan. The 2-day version drops Arles; the 5-day version adds Avignon and the Camargue on top of these three. Book these before you go

Five days from Marseille keeps the three cheap TER trips, Cassis and the Calanques, Aix-en-Provence and Arles, then adds two that need a paid tour: Avignon’s Papal Palace and a full-day Camargue outing. Day five is the first day on this plan that costs more than a train ticket and one admission fee. The 3-day version stops after Arles; the 6-day version adds the Luberon on top of these five.

Six days from Marseille is the full set: Cassis and the Calanques, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Avignon, the Camargue, then the Luberon’s hilltop villages as the sixth and priciest day. Only the first three days run on a walk-up TER ticket; the last three each add a paid monument, a guided tour, or both. The 5-day version stops before the Luberon, and our Marseille France guide covers all six trips in more depth if a day needs swapping.

Two days: the free half of Marseille, nothing more Two days covers half of Marseille’s budget spine: a free Vieux-Port and Notre-Dame de la Garde landing day, then a calanques hike that swaps a boat ticket for a bus fare. It skips Chateau d’If and the MuCEM’s indoor halls entirely, so treat this as the budget-only cut, and add the 3-day itinerary or further days if either paid sight matters to you.

Three days: the free spine, plus one museum if you want it Three days keeps the 2-day itinerary intact, the Vieux-Port landing and the calanques hike, and adds a third day for the MuCEM’s free outdoor areas, Cours Julien, and an optional EUR 11 museum ticket. It still skips Chateau d’If; go to the 4-day itinerary if that fortress matters to you. Book these before you go Check Vieux-Port hotel rates on Booking.

Four days: the free spine, plus the one paid sight worth it Four days keeps the 3-day itinerary intact, the Vieux-Port landing, the calanques hike, and the MuCEM day, and adds a fourth day for Chateau d’If, the single paid sight worth the roughly EUR 17 it costs. Drop back to 3 days or 2 if that fortress does not interest you, or keep going with 5 , 6 , or 7 days .

Five days: the free spine, Chateau d’If, and a coastal day Five days keeps the 4-day itinerary intact, Vieux-Port, the calanques hike, the MuCEM, and Chateau d’If, and adds a fifth day along the Corniche and Vallon des Auffes, both free, plus the Cathedrale de la Major. Drop back to 4 days if that is one day too many, or keep going with 6 or 7 days . Book these before you go Book a Chateau d’If ferry and entry ticket ahead of a summer date; this is the one stop on the whole trip that genuinely sells out.

Six days: the full free spine, Chateau d’If, and a market morning Six days keeps the 5-day itinerary intact, Vieux-Port, the calanques hike, the MuCEM, Chateau d’If, and the Corniche, and adds a sixth day for Noailles market and a free afternoon on the beach or in the Palais Longchamp gardens. Drop back to 5 days if a market morning does not interest you, or go longer with the 7-day itinerary for a proper bouillabaisse dinner at the end.

Seven days: the full free spine, one splurge, and a proper bouillabaisse Seven days keeps the 6-day itinerary intact, Vieux-Port, the calanques hike, the MuCEM, Chateau d’If, the Corniche, and Noailles market, and closes with a seventh day built around a real bouillabaisse dinner before departure. Drop back to 6 days or fewer if a full week is more than your trip needs, or pair this with a Provence day trip from Marseille on a future visit for Cassis and the calanques by boat.

Eleven ways to see Marseille cheap or free Marseille’s best sights do not charge admission. Notre-Dame de la Garde is free, the MuCEM’s rooftop and Fort Saint-Jean grounds are free, and Le Panier costs nothing beyond the walking it takes to see it properly. Add a calanques hike that trades a EUR 25-40 boat ticket for a EUR 1.70 bus fare, and eight of these eleven picks cost nothing beyond a transit fare.

Two days, two day trips, both from a single Lyon base. Day 1 is Vienne, the cheapest and fastest of the bunch at EUR 6 to 9 and 30 minutes each way. Day 2 is a full Beaujolais wine day, EUR 60 to 100 for a half-day tour, since public transport into the actual vineyards barely exists. No hotel math here, just the day trips and what they cost. Prefer more time?

Three days, three day trips, one Lyon base. Day 1 is Vienne (EUR 6 to 9, 30 minutes each way), Day 2 is a full Beaujolais wine day (EUR 60 to 100), and Day 3 adds Perouges, a free medieval village reachable in about 40 minutes. This extends the 2-day plan rather than replacing it; the same Day 1 and Day 2 apply. Need more time? The 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions add Annecy and Grenoble on top of this route.

Five day trips from one Lyon base, running cheapest to priciest. Days 1 to 3 are the same Vienne, Beaujolais and Perouges route : EUR 6 to 9, EUR 60 to 100, and EUR 7 to 9. Day 4 adds Annecy, the one trip that costs a genuine half day of travel (about 2 hours each way by TER). Day 5 adds Grenoble, a single day of the Alps for EUR 15 to 27.

Six days built around the same 5-day day-trip route : Vienne, Beaujolais, Perouges, Annecy and Grenoble, in that order, plus one flex day at the end. That extra day costs nothing to build in and covers a rain day, a missed connection, or a rest day back in the Presqu’ile before you fly out. Only need five days, or want a full week? See the 5-day and 7-day versions. Book these before you go:

A full week built on the same 6-day route : Vienne, Beaujolais, Perouges, Annecy, Grenoble and a flex day, plus one more day back in the Beaujolais region, this time by rental car instead of a tour. Seven days is also where a shared rental car starts to genuinely undercut individual tour prices if there are three or four of you. Prefer a shorter trip? Step back to the 5-day or 6-day version.

Lyon’s real edge over Paris or Nice as a French base is what sits within two hours of it by train. Vienne’s Roman ruins cost under EUR 10 round trip and 30 minutes each way. Perouges costs nothing to walk into. The Beaujolais vineyards need a tour or a car, since public transport thins out fast past the last TER stop, and Annecy is the one trip worth the full four hours round trip, not the quick add-on some guides promise.

Two days in Lyon covers the free spine that matters most: Vieux Lyon, the traboules, and the free Fourviere basilica, plus one proper bouchon dinner. Skip Croix-Rousse and the Confluence for now; see the 3-day version if you can add a day. Book these before you go Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon availability on Booking.com A traboules walking tour: browse times on GetYourGuide A bouchon food tour: reserve through Viator Day Focus Est.

Three days in Lyon adds the free Croix-Rousse murals and traboules to the Vieux Lyon and Fourviere basics from the 2-day version , still mostly free sightseeing. Longer trip? Step up to the 4-day or 7-day itinerary instead. Book these before you go Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon availability on Booking.com A traboules walking tour: browse times on GetYourGuide A bouchon food tour: reserve through Viator Day Focus Est. cost (EUR) Day 1 Vieux Lyon, the traboules, Fourviere basilica 30 to 40 Day 2 Presqu’ile murals, Croix-Rousse, La Guillotiere dinner 25 to 35 Day 3 Parc de la Tete d’Or, Musee des Confluences 35 to 45 Day 1: Vieux Lyon and Fourviere, the free start

Four days in Lyon adds the paid Lugdunum Museum and a second Croix-Rousse pass to the free 3-day spine, still built around free sights and one museum ticket. Tighter on time? Drop to 3 days ; have longer, add 5 or 7 . Book these before you go Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon availability on Booking.com A traboules walking tour: browse times on GetYourGuide A bouchon food tour: reserve through Viator Day Focus Est.

Five days in Lyon adds a slow riverside day and a second bouchon lunch formule to the 4-day free-and-cheap spine. Shorter on time? Drop to 4 days . Have a full week? See the 7-day itinerary instead. Book these before you go Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon availability on Booking.com A traboules walking tour: browse times on GetYourGuide A bouchon food tour: reserve through Viator Day Focus Est. cost (EUR) Day 1 Vieux Lyon, the traboules, Fourviere basilica 30 to 40 Day 2 Presqu’ile murals, Croix-Rousse, La Guillotiere dinner 25 to 35 Day 3 Parc de la Tete d’Or, Musee des Confluences 35 to 45 Day 4 Croix-Rousse market, Lugdunum Museum 30 to 40 Day 5 River quays, second bouchon lunch 30 to 40 Day 1: Vieux Lyon and Fourviere, the free start

Six days in Lyon adds a flex day and the Lyon City Card math to the 5-day free-and-cheap spine, useful once you’ve already covered the essentials once through. Tighter on time? Drop to 5 days or the 4-day version . Book these before you go Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon availability on Booking.com A traboules walking tour: browse times on GetYourGuide A bouchon food tour: reserve through Viator Day Focus Est.

Seven days in Lyon is the full free-and-cheap spine plus a market-and-airport wrap-up day, built for travelers who want every free sight at least twice. Shorter trip? See our 3-day or 5-day itinerary instead. Book these before you go Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon availability on Booking.com A traboules walking tour: browse times on GetYourGuide A bouchon food tour: reserve through Viator Day Focus Est. cost (EUR) Day 1 Vieux Lyon, the traboules, Fourviere basilica 30 to 40 Day 2 Presqu’ile murals, Croix-Rousse, La Guillotiere dinner 25 to 35 Day 3 Parc de la Tete d’Or, Musee des Confluences 35 to 45 Day 4 Croix-Rousse market, Lugdunum Museum 30 to 40 Day 5 River quays, second bouchon lunch 30 to 40 Day 6 Flex day, Lyon City Card math 25 to 30 Day 7 Market breakfast, Rhonexpress to LYS 15 to 20 Day 1: Vieux Lyon and Fourviere, the free start

Nine of Lyon’s best sights cost nothing at all, and the practical budget math is simple: spend on one bouchon meal, one museum, and a TCL transport ticket, skip everything else that tries to charge you. Vieux Lyon, the traboules, the Fourviere basilica, the outdoor Roman theatres, two giant murals, and a full city park with a free zoo add up to a genuine multi-day trip before you’ve spent a euro on admission.

Disneyland Paris on a budget: the date tier is the whole game The single biggest lever on what this trip costs is the calendar, not the park. A 1-Park 1-Day ticket runs EUR56-62 on the cheapest Eco or Low date tiers and climbs past EUR130 on Peak dates for the exact same rides. Pick an off-peak weekday in January or early November, book the RER A separately from the park ticket, and stay off-site, and a day here costs a fraction of the on-site-hotel, peak-season version of the same visit.

The nave is free. The towers are the only thing you’ll pay for Notre-Dame reopened on 7 December 2024 after the five-year restoration following the 2019 fire, and entry to the nave has been free the entire time since, no ticket, no charge. The one paid part is the bell towers, reopened separately during Heritage Days weekend in September 2025 and now open year-round through spring 2026, along with the Treasury.

The cheapest way out of Paris is rarely the coach tour Every one of these day trips has a self-organized version that costs less than a bundled tour: a regional train ticket instead of a coach seat, a walk-up chateau ticket instead of a guide’s markup. Chartres is the standout, a completely free cathedral about an hour from Montparnasse by regional train, and Fontainebleau at EUR17 undercuts Versailles’s EUR21 palace ticket while asking for no mandatory timed slot at all.

Two days, the two sights everyone actually books for Two days is the Eiffel Tower and free Seine walk on day one, then the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle on day two, both mandatory timed entry. It’s a sprint through the paid sights with a genuinely free evening walk built in, and it nests into the 3-day , 4-day , 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions of this same route if you have more time.

Three days adds a free day between two paid ones Three days keeps the Eiffel Tower and free Notre-Dame nave on day one and the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle on day two, then adds a third day that costs almost nothing: Montmartre, Sacre-Coeur’s free basilica, and Le Marais. It nests inside the 4-day , 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions, or drops back to the 2-day plan if you need to cut a day.

Three days out of Paris, and the fares stay small Three days here means one day to settle into Paris cheaply, then two real day trips you book and ride yourself: Versailles on the RER C, then Chartres on a regional train for a cathedral that costs nothing to enter. No coach-tour markup either day. It nests inside the 4-day , 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions of this same spine.

Four days adds a second museum and the avenue everyone photographs Four days keeps the same first three days, Eiffel Tower and free Notre-Dame nave, the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle, then free Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur, and adds a fourth day pairing Musee d’Orsay with the Arc de Triomphe. It nests inside the 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions, or drops back to the 3-day or 2-day plan if you need to cut time.

Four days adds the cheap alternative to Versailles Four days keeps the same first three days, settle into Paris, then Versailles, then Chartres, and adds a fourth day trip to Fontainebleau, the cheaper, quieter alternative to Versailles. It nests inside the 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions, or drops back to the 3-day plan if you need to cut a day. Book these before you go Versailles Palace timed entry slot, mandatory even with free admission, at chateauversailles.

Five days adds the Catacombs and a genuinely free afternoon Five days keeps the first four days, Eiffel Tower and free Notre-Dame nave, the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle, free Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur, Musee d’Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe, and adds a fifth day built around the Catacombs and an entirely free afternoon along Canal Saint-Martin. It nests inside the 6-day and 7-day versions, or drops back to the 4-day , 3-day or 2-day plan if you need to cut time.

Five days adds a full park day, on the cheapest date you can find Five days adds a full day at Disneyland Paris to the same settle-in, Versailles, Chartres and Fontainebleau spine, RER A both ways, and a dated ticket booked on the cheapest date tier you can manage. It nests inside the 6-day and 7-day versions, or drops back to the 4-day or 3-day plan. Book these before you go Versailles Palace timed entry slot, mandatory even with free admission, at chateauversailles.

Six days adds a second nearly-free day Six days keeps the first five days, Eiffel Tower and free Notre-Dame nave, the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle, free Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur, Musee d’Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe, the Catacombs and a free Canal Saint-Martin afternoon, and adds a sixth day around free Pere Lachaise Cemetery, a real covered market, and the Jardin du Luxembourg. It nests inside the 7-day version, or drops back to the 5-day , 4-day , 3-day or 2-day plan if you need to cut time.

Six days adds a seasonal garden, and a hard pass on Reims Six days adds a seasonal Giverny day, Monet’s garden, only open late March through early November, to the same five-day spine, plus a plain answer on why Reims and its champagne houses don’t make this budget cut. It nests inside the 7-day version, or drops back to the 5-day , 4-day or 3-day plan. Book these before you go Versailles Palace timed entry slot, mandatory even with free admission, at chateauversailles.

Seven days ends on the cheapest day of the trip Seven days keeps the first six days, Eiffel Tower and free Notre-Dame nave, the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle, free Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur, Musee d’Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe, the Catacombs and a free Canal Saint-Martin afternoon, free Pere Lachaise and a market day, and closes with a seventh day that costs almost nothing: a free rooftop view and whatever’s left on your list.

Seven days, and the seventh should not be a day trip at all Seven days keeps the same six-day spine, settle in, Versailles, Chartres, Fontainebleau, Disneyland Paris, seasonal Giverny, and adds a seventh day built around one honest warning: Mont-Saint-Michel is not a day trip from Paris, budget an overnight instead, or take the closer Bayeux and D-Day beaches as a single long day. This is the full 3-day , 4-day , 5-day and 6-day spine, extended.

Paris is expensive at the sights and cheap everywhere else That split decides whether a week here runs EUR400 or EUR1,200. The free wins are real: Notre-Dame’s nave, Sacre-Coeur’s basilica, most parks, and the whole Marais on a Sunday cost nothing at all. The paid wins worth their price are narrower than the postcards suggest, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower earn their tickets, plenty of the rest doesn’t. Nine specific moves below keep the spending honest, starting with the ones that cost exactly EUR0, then the paid sights that are worth booking anyway.

Notre-Dame and Sacre-Coeur are free. That’s the whole budget story Two of Paris’s biggest sights cost nothing to enter, and a third, the whole Marais neighborhood on a Sunday, costs nothing to wander. The paid sights are where a Paris trip gets expensive, and not all of them earn their price the same way. Below is what actually costs money, what doesn’t, and which free days are worth timing your trip around.

The basilica is free. The only real cost is the dome, and a scam to dodge Sacre-Coeur charges nothing to enter, no ticket, no timed slot, no reservation. The only paid part is the 280-step dome climb, EUR8 for adults, EUR5 for under-16s, sold on-site only at the base of the stairs. The other genuine cost on this hill isn’t a ticket at all, it’s the bracelet scam worked by crews on the steps up from Anvers Metro, and avoiding it is worth more than any admission fee.

Six Days in Nice: The Full Circuit, and Where the Rail Pass Definitely Pays Off Six days is enough to ride the coastal TER in both directions: Villefranche and Eze one day, Monaco on its own, Antibes and Cannes together, and Menton out toward the Italian border, without repeating a single train ride. It’s also the point where the Pass Sud Azur Explore stops being a maybe and becomes the obvious buy.

Five Days in Nice: Three Trips Out, and When the Rail Pass Starts to Pay Off Five days is where a multi-day rail pass starts to make sense. Add up the day-trip fares this itinerary uses (Villefranche, Eze-sur-Mer, Monaco, Antibes, Cannes, several of them stacked into the same day) and you’re closing in on the EUR 35 cost of a 3-day Pass Sud Azur Explore before you’ve left Nice at all.

Four Days in Nice: Stacking Two Coastal Stops Instead of One At three days you get one trip out on the train (see the 3-day version for the fork between Villefranche, Eze, and Monaco). At four, you get two, and the smarter move isn’t repeating the same short hop twice, it’s combining two towns on the same line into a single day, then giving the third, more involved stop its own full day.

Three Days in Nice: The First Day the Train Math Works Two days in Nice doesn’t leave room for a day trip; the 2-day version explains why the arithmetic doesn’t work at that length. A third day changes it: one full day on the coastal TER, or the bus up to Eze, fits without cutting into Vieux Nice, the Promenade, or Castle Hill. This version keeps two full days in the city and hands day three to one trip out, your choice of three, each with different train logistics and a different cost.

48 Hours in Nice: The Train Timetable Says Stay Put Nice sits on the busiest, cheapest regional rail line on the French coast: Monaco in 20-odd minutes, Cannes in 35, Villefranche in under 10. Every longer itinerary on this site built around Nice leans on that train. This one doesn’t, and that’s the actual advice: with only two days on the ground, the math on a day trip rarely works, and forcing one in costs you the city you came for.

Six Days in Nice, Never Leaving the City Six days is enough to cover Nice itself in genuine depth, all its museums, both hills, the port, the beaches, and even its own vineyard, without a single train ticket out of town. If Monaco, Eze, or Cannes are what you’re after, that’s a separate day-trip itinerary; this plan is built entirely around the city limits, which turns out to be plenty. Nothing here gets repeated and no day is overloaded.

Four Days in Nice, No Day Trip Required Four days is enough room to slow down and cover Nice itself in real depth, the Promenade, Vieux Nice, both museums, Cimiez’s Roman side, and a proper hike, without spending a single day on a train out of town. If Monaco or Eze are on your list, that’s the separate day-trip itinerary; this one keeps you in the city the whole time.

Three Days in Nice, Staying Right in the City Three days is enough to do Nice itself properly, the Promenade, Vieux Nice, Castle Hill, both major museums, and a beach afternoon, without ever needing a train ticket out of town. This plan stays inside the city limits the whole way; if you want the Monaco or Eze day trip, that’s a different itinerary. Bring water shoes for the beach days. The sand you’re picturing doesn’t exist here, it’s pebble the whole coast.

Nice on a Budget: What’s Free, What’s Worth the Fee, and What to Skip Most of what makes Nice worth visiting doesn’t cost anything: the seafront, the old town, the best viewpoint in the city, most of the beaches. This is a guide to the city itself, not the day-trip circuit, so everything here is stuff you can walk or tram to without leaving town. Bring water shoes. The beaches are pebble, not sand, and nobody warns you about that until your feet find out.