How many arrondissements are there in the city of Paris?

Where's the CHEAPEST city to fly into close to Paris [IF it's cheaper than flying into an airport in Paris]?

• I bought my husband tickets to Costa Rica for mid may [2 week vacation]. But desperately want us to visit Paris too. Everyone I've spoken to say they have no interest in going to Paris UNLESS they've been there, then they of course say it's very beautiful. {Is it true French ppl think they're "superior" to others?] I don't really believe that, so why is it that ppl say this? I still want to go there anyway, and definitely will. BUt since I just bought tix to costa rica and looking for a spanking great deal on some new specials--like 1000-1100. {Total] for 2 PEOPLE who aren't more or less superior to anyone thanks. And we'll learn the French language as much as we can b4 our travels--don't worry! and pls don't get unraveled abt Americans now, because our President may be a little better than the last one. I'm not sure about this actually [hahahahahahaHAHAHAHAH!]--unfortunately I have no control over our leaders. But anywho wld like to spend a few paychecks over there to enjoy France. thx

• Answer:

  There is no ready made answer for your question, as so much depends on when you fly and when you buy, how crafty you are in finding cheap tickets and with which airline you fly. What I did when flying to the USA last year was going to my travel agency. She found tickets that were 25% cheaper than the best offer I had found. At that time the cheapest option was to fly via a different airport in Europe. Like you fly home to London, change and fly to Paris. If you want to arrange your own tickets you can search ticket search sites like Skyscanner or Kayak, or one of the many others. Try playing around with 'all airports' for Paris, and for a slightly longer time. And allow indirect flights too. And having been in Paris, and the rest of France, often, I can assure you that the French are not more proud of their language than the people who speak english, and much more willing to accommodate people speaking a foreign language. And they are not superior in any way nor will they claim to be. Just be polite about speaking English (if you need to), start with Bonjour, smile and ask if you can speak English, and you will likely be helped in English. In some cases they even ask someone to come in and help you. Remember that Paris is an expensive city, not just the tickets there, but also hotels, food, transport, museums and other entertainment. You can do Paris on the cheap if you research well, but I doubt it is worth the money you spend on the travel. If you really think you have too tight a budget, postpone by a year or two, make Paris the main destination of your next holidays.