If you have $24 in your bank account, you have enough to pitch a tent along the Seine River in Paris, France, the city of love.
By Randy Kalp | SDUN Travel Writer
Know before you go
• Neighborhood street markets are a great way to sample the best of Paris for a fraction of the cost of eating out.
• The campground marks up its tourist transit cards (Paris Visite Carte), so it is better to buy them directly at the rail station when you arrive in Paris.
• Many of Paris’ public parks offer free WiFi access.
• The Louvre Museum is free on the first Sunday of every month.
So dubbed for its many hundreds of lights, that twinkle along the shores of the Seine after sundown, Paris, while beautiful and romantic, is also expensive. Camping, therefore—an oft’ overlooked option when traveling abroad—provides a budget-friendly option for those seeking to enjoy the dreamy sights, scenes and scents of this intoxicating city. Indeed, camping enabled us to spend an entire week perusing the street markets, nibbling pastries in the patisseries and ogling masters in the Louvre, none of which would have been possible if we’d stayed at a hostel.
We pitched our tent in the Bois de Boulogne campground, located in a wooded section of the storied park along the Seine River. For tent campers, there are several worn down grass areas—one along the back fence next to the Seine—where you can set up camp. Because the Bois de Boulogne campsite caters to caravans and RVs, most of its 17 acres are designated spots, and grassy knolls provided for tents can fill up quickly—especially during the summer high season. It should also be noted that this is not a section of the Seine that is shown in travel guides. While certainly not trashy, its views include industrial dock equipment, revealing the river’s importance as a commercial waterway.
Facilities at the Bois de Boulogne campsite are similar to campgrounds in the U.S.—showers, bathrooms and a market. The bathrooms are clean and the showers are hot (there is no extra fee to use the shower). Additionally, the campground has a restaurant that is open for dinner, and serves alcohol and coffee drinks.
Bois de Boulogne campsite’s main attraction, however, is its accessibility to Paris. The campground is a short walk from the 244 bus route, which will take you to the Porte Maillot metro station; the 244 bus runs daily until 10 p.m. If you would like to stay out longer, the campground offers a shuttle bus for €3 that operates until midnight and can be picked up from the same 244 bus stop at Porte Maillot, or you can catch a cab back to the campground.
The site’s only real disadvantage is its lack of reliable Internet. Unless you are truly desperate, I would not waste any money on the two Internet computer stations the campground offers at its reception office. In addition to being slow, they are costly and unreliable.
Overall, the campground is clean and fairly quiet in the evening. And despite the park’s reputation for turning into an outdoor red light district after dark, the campground felt safe. Nor did we have any issues with any of our property being tampered with.
If you want the time to really immerse yourself in the city known for its romance, try camping. The Bois de Boulogne campsite will always hold a special place in our hearts because it gave us a chance to fall in love with Paris.
