Couch Surfing in Paris: a new perspective
Couchsurfing city break in Paris
Thursday, 09, Jul 2009 01:18
The couchsurfing trend is sweeping the world so travelbite.co.uk's Sasha Butkovich discovers how to spend less money and have more fun on a city break in Paris.
When you're a university student studying abroad like me, you try to do everything as cheaply as possible. And who isn't these days? In such rough economic times, everyone wants to save money, and the word "free" is more seductive than ever, especially when it comes to travel.
I didn't think "free" would factor into my travel plans a few weeks ago when my friends and I were booking a weekend break in Paris. We didn't buy our tickets very far in advance so the train journey alone cost us quite a bit.
Without much left to spend on our accommodations, we scoured the internet in search of a cheap place to stay. It was then that my friend Ashley suggested couch surfing.
The Couch Surfing Project is made up of a network of people all over the world who open their homes and host each other in the spirit of cultural exchange. Surfers create an extensive profile on the website so that they can learn about each other and build trust.
When planning a holiday, they contact people in the city where they wish to stay. It's completely free to couch surf, and any host that tries to charge their guests money is breaking the rules.
According to the statistics on the couch surfing website, Paris is the most popular city to surf in. So my friends and I felt lucky to be chosen by our host, Alessandro, who said he receives requests from several people every week asking to stay with him.
In fact, he had even spread himself a bit thin and told two other desperate girls from Ukraine they could stay with us as well. Needless to say, the apartment was a bit cramped on Friday night.
Alessandro is originally from Sicily, but he works in Paris as an engineer. He lives right in the heart of the city, in the 6th arrondissement, which boasts attractions like the Jardin du Luxembourg and part of the Latin Quarter.
We couldn't have asked for a better host. He is incredibly friendly and generous, speaks great English, and loves to play songs on his guitar or keyboard for his guests.
Since he is a local, he didn't care to go sightseeing with us, so we went out on our own during the day. Alessandro's apartment is a short walk from the metro stops of Saint Germain des-Pres and Mabillon, so it was easy to hop on the train to get to the city's tourist attractions.
We bought two-day passes for the metro - costing about 14 euro each - which takes the hassle out of buying tickets each time you ride. We made sure to see all the big names, and took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. From there, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees, and the Louvre are well within walking distance.
In the evening, we met up with Alessandro and visited places that tourists would never get to see. We went to an amazing Greek creperie with a queue so long we had to wait 40 minutes for our food, but it was so delicious it was worth it.
He drove us around in his car at night, the music drifting out the open windows and the lights of the city zipping by.
He introduced us to some of his Italian friends, and we all went out to a Latin bar and danced the salsa. I never would have expected any of it from a weekend in Paris, and it was all fantastically fun.
The sleeping arrangements were crowded but comfortable. My two friends and I shared a bed, while the two Ukrainians shared the futon and Alessandro slept in a sleeping bag on his kitchen floor. The next night, the other girls had left and he got his futon back.
We felt completely comfortable sharing such close quarters with our host. However, the couch surfing website advises surfers to contact a back-up host as well as to budget money for a hostel just in case they feel uncomfortable staying with their original choice.
Being hosted this way gives you more than just a free place to stay. You also have a willing companion and tour guide, and it makes you feel like less of a tourist. Hosts want to show you around their city and give you a local's perspective.
Alessandro took us to places we wouldn't have seen if we'd stayed at a hotel, and it made our experience much more authentic and enriching. Within a weekend, we had gotten to know a bit of the real Paris and met people from several countries. Most importantly, we had gained a friend.
Though the average age of a couch surfer is 27, and 44 percent of Couch Surfers are between the ages of 18 and 24, the project is open to everyone. If you're open to the idea of cultural exchange and you'd like to see a city through the eyes of a local, then your age doesn't matter.
The project was founded by Casey Fenton, who came up with the idea in April of 2000 after booking a cheap flight to Iceland for a long weekend. Without a place to stay, Fenton sent an email to more than 1,500 students in Reykjavik asking if he could crash on someone's couch. He got several replies of offers to show him around the city, and after an amazing weekend, Fenton decided to spread the concept of couch surfing on the internet.
Fenton's website went public in 2004, and today there are over 1.2 million couch surfers in over 61,000 cities in 232 countries across the globe. With thousands of new users signing up each week, the community is growing rapidly.
My friends and I had such an amazing time with Alessandro in Paris that we offered to host him in London. Even though we aren't locals, we were still able to show him the sights and spend a fun weekend together. It was also nice just to be able to return the favour to someone who had been so generous to us.
Even though I went couch surfing mainly to save money, I had the travel experience of a lifetime. I would recommend couch surfing to anyone and everyone. Though it's easy to be a sceptic and not trust relative strangers enough to stay with them, I think this is a mistake.
Everyone who is involved with the program shares the same attitude about promoting cultural exchange. There are a lot of generous people in the world ready to welcome you into their homes and teach you something new. I know it sounds like a romantic notion, but sometimes, when you put your faith in people, you'll be happily surprised.
Visit this website to learn more about couch surfing.
Sasha Butkovich