Vacapedia Vacation Rentals Blog

Next year, France will be making some museums free to the public. Detractors of the proposal think that it would be more of a tourist subsidy than an enticement for the French to get out and see some art–but you have to go with the flow.

Cities have always been expensive places where it’s easy to save money by doing the numerous free things that cities offer. There are parks and gardens, shops, exhibitions, and great architecture to gawk at. You don’t get those things when you stay out in the country.

So why not plunk yourself down in one of Europe’s great cities on your European vacation and just stay there? What if you didn’t worry about cars and trains, or driving on the wrong side of the road or the law?

Paris, for example, has offered a place for writers, artists, philosophers, and scoundrels for a very long time. It’s one of my favorite cities in the whole world. I look into ancient, vine-covered courtyards and think, “golly, there’s some perfect serenity in the midst of the city that never sleeps!”

Then why not take all the money you’ve saved from car rentals, rail passes, and the like and plow them into an interesting place to live in the heart of a city like Paris for a few weeks? Like the one in the picture on the right? You could do worse:

Cosy two-storey apartment (100 m2) in an 18th century building with an internal courtyard, near the magnificent Place des Vosges in the Marais district, one of the most pleasant and fashionable areas of the capital.

The Marais is the place to be and be seen. Imagine yourself there. Really. Maybe the Louvre would be free by the time you visit. Mona Lisa waits for you, smiling.