Sights and experiences you can get for free in France

Be a sightseeing V.I.P.—Sightseeing passes grant admission to dozens of sights, avoiding the lines and saving money

Online ticket prices can be cheaper than buying them on-site (and will also save you time waiting in line)

Tips and advice for how to get the most out of seeing the sights, museums, and monuments during your France vacation

Don't use the most famous booking engines; use the ones with the largest selection and lowest rates

Hotels' official star ratings have nothing to do with how clean, central, comfortable, or charming a hotel is—just how many (often pointless) amenities it offers

Avoid the scandalously high prices of the hotel minbar

Comparison-shop dozens of booking engines at once

Avoid the scandalously high cost of making a phone call from your hotel room

How to find and rent a vacation appartement (apartment) from $40 in France

Hotel sites often feature special sales and promotions you won't find on the booking engines and aggregators

Serviced flats, residence hotels, Aparthotels, and other townhouse suite lodging in France

From B&Bs and farm stays to cottages, castles, and campgrounds, here are French lodging alternatives to the traditional hotel

Shop around, ask lots of questions, even haggle, and you can often get a room for much less

Breakfast at a B&B can be lovely—but at a standard hotel, you probably won't be getting your money's worth

Stay on a working farm (Séjours à la ferme) and experience the best of French hospitality and countryside tradition

A dozen ways to lower your hotel costs in France

Hotel laundry services are obscenely overpriced

All the steps you can take to find the lowest price on the perfect place to stay in France

I don't mean don't eat breakfast—just try to avoid overpaying the hotel for it

A place to call your own for the night or the week—renting a gîte, villa, house, or cottage in France

A room with "external facilities" (shared bath down the hall) always costs less for this minor inconvenience

Cheap bunks in shared dorms and a backpackers-of-the-world-unite atmosphere

Crowd the clan into one room rather than renting two

Get a hotel in the suburbs or next town over to save money

Free lodgings in France: Hospitality networks (couchsurfing), home swaps, and house sitting services

Opaque rates can save you up to 60% if you book a bit blindly

Offer euros rather than Visa, and sometimes you can get a slight discount

Couchsurfing and other hospitality networks allow you to sleep for free in other member's homes

Hospitality networks gather folks who are willing to put up fellow members in their homes for free or for a small fee

Trading spaces isn't just a show on basic cable anymore. It's a way to live life like a local on your travels absolutely for free—so long as you let the local borrow your life (and home) in return.

Sleep for free on vacation by watching someone's house (and, often, watering their plants and feeding their cat)

Camping and campgrounds (terrains de camping) are a cheap way to spend the night while traveling

Sleeping in couchettes on overnight trains

Sleep in a religious guesthouse or retreat at abbeys, monasteries, priories, and convents across France from just €17

Programs like WWOOF and Helpx let you barter your services for a free place to stay

If you love sailing, or just have an unquenchable taste for adventure and new experiences, you can sign on to help crew a boat just about anywhere in the world, including France

Picnic like a king on the budget of a pauper

Prix-fisse, tourist menu, lunch menu—a fixed-price or set tourist menu may not be the best meal you could have at that restaurant, but it's certainly often the best budget option

Tips to save money on dining in France and eat better for it

Do not leave 15% when the gratuity is already included

If you cannot avoid the breakfast charge, make the most of it

Be your own chef and you can save money and add an extra cultural experience to your trip

Lunch at a fancy restaurant will often cost less than dinner

Become a street food gourmet

From crèpes to quiches, there are many excellent (and inexpensive) French versions of fast food to try

Skip the big slab of meat and order two starters instead—more variety, lower cost

Eat less; save more

Bottled water costs $2–$10. Eau de robinet (tap water) does not.

Pick the Château My-Brother-In-Law, last-year's vintage

T-mobile offers the cheapest international roaming—it works in 140 countries and costs as little as $10–20 per month for voice and data.

How to find the lowest rates on a rental car in France

Obey the speed limits of pay the (high) price

How to get the best deal on plane tickets to France

Aggregators search all the booking engines, airline sites, travel agencies, and airfare discounters in the blink of an eye

Oh, waiter! There's a scam in my soup!

Some flexibility on your travel dates can save you up to 50%

Why pay retail when wholesale airfares to France are available?

Use Skype (and an internet connection) to make and receive free voice and video calls—or have your friends and family Skype your cell in France for 10¢ per minute or $1–$2 per month.

Using credit cards in France

Book your own cruise excursions for up to 40% less than the cruise ships charge

How to decide if a rental car is the best choice for your France vacation

How to get the cheapest fares on French trains

Timing is the key to saving a bundle on airfare to France from North America

Buy at the right time - The sweet spot is 6–12 weeks out

How opaque fares work—"Express Deals" on Priceline and "Hot Rates" on Hotwire

Using debit cards to get cash at an ATM (point d’argent) in France

What are foreign transaction fees and how can I avoid them?

Just what are Duty Free Stores in airports and when is Duty Free shopping a savings?

The hotel garage will often be far costlier than a nearby public garage or other parking option

Unlimited train travel in France, or France and some neighboring countries, or even all of Europe—Is a Eurail pass worth it?

Fly across Europe for as little as $25—welcome to the wonderful age of no-frills airlines, the little jet engines that could

Where to get a low-fee credit card for traveling

How to get the most out of renting a car in France with the lowest cost and least hassle

From fare alerts to e-savers, deals newsletters to price predictors

How to exchange your dollars for euros at the best rates (and lowest fees) possible

Call ahead to notify your credit card issuer of you travel plans

Top shopping tips for a trip to France to help you bring home the best gifts and souvenirs from your French travels at the best price

Not all local advice is honest advice

Sightseeing discounts for children, students, seniors, families, and teachers

Get your airfare to France and rental car together and save on both

Young adults, families, seniors, and couples can get 25%–50% off all trains with a French railcard

How to avoid the high fees and charges for credit card cash advances

How to arrange for a short-term lease on a brand-new car in France—cheaper than a rental for longer periods, and far better insured

Prepare for REALLY expensive gas—like $7 per gallon

London is the cheap airfares turnstile of Europe, so fly cheaply into here and then elsewhere in Europe or North Africa on a no-frills airline for far less

Roundups of deals and sales from many sources

Get automated updates on low fares and dropping plane ticket prices

When it is high, low, and shoulder season in France?