A weekend in Paris for £250

'Paris was always worth it,' said Ernest Hemingway. With just £250 and this guide, you'll have the time of your life.

First, get your bearings.

Navigating Paris is easy. It is compact enough to walk almost everywhere, and the Métro and bus system are cheap and reliable.

The city is divided into 20 arrondisements (or districts) that start at the Louvre and spiral outwards like a snail's shell. If you want to take a tour, here are two of the best options for travellers on a tight budget: Fat Tire Bike Tours (€24). You might feel a bit silly cycling around Paris with a large group of tourists, but these tours, led by Mike, a friendly American, are a fun way to get to grips with the city. They are faster and cheaper than the walking tours and great for working off those croissants. Bateaux-Mouches (+33 1 42 25 96 10). They may be a bit hackneyed but for first-timers, a trip down the Seine on a bateau-mouche is a must. The river cuts through the heart of the city and offers amazing views of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Musée D'Orsay, the Grand and Petit Palais and the Pont Alexandre III. Boats depart from Pont de l'Alma on the Right Bank. Tickets €7, children (four-12 years) €4.

Where to stay - Hotels in Paris

Hôtel Beaumarchais (3 rue Oberkampf, 3rd, +33 1 53 36 86 86, rooms from €99). Modern, bright rooms with small but funky bathrooms in a prime location on the hip Oberkampf-Bastille axis.

Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais (12 rue Vieille du Temple, 4th, +33 1 42 72 34 12, rooms from €128). Elegant, 18th century country-style hotel in Le Marais with the atmosphere of a private town house. All rooms are en suite, air-conditioned and sound-proofed.

Hôtel L'Anglois (63 rue St Lazare, 9th, +33 1 48 74 78 24, rooms from €79). Excellent-value Art Nouveau hotel with large rooms, antiques and an original lift.

Hôtel Chopin (46 passage Jouffroy, 9th, +33 1 47 70 58 10; rooms from €63). Cosy 36-room hotel with good-sized rooms and plenty of twin bedrooms.

Brunching out

Le Pain Quotidien (138 rue Mouffetard, 5th, +33 1 55 43 91 99, www. lepainquotidien.com; lunch from €5). Go to this good-value Belgian chain for brunch on a Sunday, when the rue Mouffetard food market fills the street with fresh produce, singing and dancing. Brilliant breakfasts of bread with chocolate spreads and jams, and great tartines and salads at lunchtime. You can buy the products to take home.

Bioboa (3 rue Danielle Casanova, 1st, +33 1 48 04 52 56; lunch from €5.75). Organic, top-quality, fast-food canteen from Mariel Gambosa, with a glamorous interior and friendly staff. The healthy menu is heavenly: omega-3 salad, tofu and duck-breast sandwiches, strawberry and goat's cheese gaspacho and homemade bread. Fruit juices, vitamin cocktails and shakes are freshly made before your eyes. Perfect shopping pit-stop.

Dinner in Paris

Chez Janou (2 rue Roger Verlomme, 3rd, 00 33 1 42 72 28 41; dinner €25. Neighbourhood restaurant serving comforting southern French cuisine, including lamb dishes, fish, crème brûlée and 'crumble' (pronounced crurm-bleu). A fabulous old fashioned bistro interior, with a hip clientele and reasonable prices. Buzzy atmosphere by night.

Alcazar and Mezzanine (62 rue Mazarine, 6th, +33 1 53 10 19 99, www.alcazar.fr; fixed-price lunch at Alcazar E24 for two courses with wine, dinner at Mezzanine €30 for two courses). Terence Conran's fashionable bistro and lounge bar have a daily fixed price menu that allows you to eat in style without breaking the bank.

Drinks in Paris

Le Nashwa (9 rue des Récollets, 10th, +33 1 42 05 38 73). Situated on the up-and-coming Canal St Martin, this Arabian-chic bar is very Zen, with an exotic décor and cosmopolitan menu that nods towards the Mediterranean (plate of houmus or aubergine caviar €5, tagines €11). Music ranges from salsa to reggae and the hip, young crowd befits the area.

Pause Café ( 41 rue de Charonne, 11th, +33 1 48 06 80 33). The place to hang out in the Bastille (Paris's answer to Soho) for a buzzy atmosphere without the attitude. The old zinc bar has beers on tap but bagging one of the sought-after tables on the heated terrace is a challenge.

Wine and Bubbles (3 rue Française, 1st, +33 1 44 76 99 84; www.wineandbubbles.com). This lively wine shop and bar is great for bottles on a budget: a corkage fee of only €3 is added to the shop price if you decide to stay and drink in the adjoining low-lit bar, which plays funky music. Try the charcuterie plates and delicious bread.

Things to do in Paris

Friday Pari Roller (www.pari-roller.com). Every Friday night, about 10,000 Rollerbladers hurtle around Paris from 10pm. The route changes each week and it's an unmissable sight. Saturday The Viaduc des Arts (Promenade Plantée, 12th). This disused railway line stretches east from Bastille and is a thriving arts centre. Browse in the art and craft shops, which are housed in the railway arches and sell designer furniture and objets d'arts, then climb the steps to where the railway once ran and you will find a secret garden path that cuts through the city. Stop for the jazz brunch at Café Viaduc.

The new art scene (in the 13th, around rue Louise Weiss). Paris's edgy new art quarter is buzzing. Unlike the Louvre, the small galleries here are free.

Sunday Rue Mouffetard food market. From 8am to 2pm, the city's most scenic food market kicks into life. As well as food there is singing, dancing and boules in the little square at the end of the street: you'll think you've stepped back to Paris in the 1950s.

Explore Le Marais. The individual boutiques are all open, as are many of the quirky art galleries, nostalgic cafés (which rub shoulders alongside fashionable new ones). And there is always the place des Vosges where you can chill out. It's Paris's oldest square and, arguably, the prettiest, lined with galleries and, on Sundays, artists and musicians, too.