The first way to save money on your holiday is to simply be aware of what you're paying for. When you book your hotel, you should check if breakfast is included and how much you are being charged for it. It is lovely to wake up in the morning, roll into the elevator and be at your breakfast table, but at what cost? Many hotels will automatically throw breakfast in, but when challenged about the price of just board rather than bed and breakfast the difference may be anything between 15 and 50 Euros per person per night that's quite an extra! If you don't get breakfast at the hotel however, you will loose out on that begin-the-holiday-day feeling, but really so what, think about the alternative. What if, instead of spending 30 euros a night for the privilege of rolling out of bed and into the dinning room you went instead to the local bakery, bought there fresh cakes or bread and maybe a take away coffee. You will have spend maybe 7 or 8 euros, and you'll sit outside under a tree, or next to a river, out in the real France rather than a hotel dinning room..really, is that so bad!
Now, what about for lunch. You may be tempted into an expensive road side cafe, but wait, think again. What about a local grocery store, or even better a produce market. You go to a market and stock up on French baguettes, cheese, maybe even a bottle of wine and adjourn to a nearby park for a picnic. You may have to splash out on some plastic picnic cutlery and maybe a rug to sit on, but over the course of a week this will save you a fortune whilst enhancing your holiday experience tremendously.
If however you can't resist the lure of a restaurant there are a number of ways to keep the expenditures low. Firstly, you might want to go at lunch time rather than in the evening when there are both horrendous crowds and often more expensive menus. You should also keep an eye out for the prix fixe menu which will contain several dishes for a fixed price which will always be cheaper than a la carte or the main menu. Finally, if you are a wine fan you should order a carafe of the house wine; the wine will be from a local winery and will be often cheaper than imported wines and much more authentic and pleasant.
Accommodation wise there are so many options in France you have no excuse for spending more than you wish. Camping is a great budget option but you should be warned that the campsites are starred in much the same way that hotels are and so camping doesn't always mean cheap. However it is a fun way to see the country and can be a great way to save money.
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