My wife dashes back to do this ... while I stand watching as the waiting queue adopts universal expressions of courteous reserve, no word or glance of reproof. Imagine the silent stillness. Eventually I apologise to the checkout woman who smiles and waves a hand: “Pfft!” she says. Then I apologise to the queue. They also smile: “Pfft!” My wife returns. We pay and go. It was a lovely meal that night, sitting on our bit of Middle-Britain-style decking by the Seine, catching glimpses of kids on paths (their shrieking reserved for the games area where, later, some would thrash me at ping-pong).

Maisons-Laffitte was Paris off the boil. Getting to the centre each morning was absurdly easy, even for timetable-phobes like us. Admittedly, one morning the train doors slammed shut on my wife's hands and for a moment it looked as if we'd be running all the way in. (Mental note: never laugh when your wife has her hands trapped in the sliding doors of a train that's just about to move off.)

Mostly though, the journey was flawless, the two of us strolling to the station along a quiet Seine path before cutting up through back-streets, ten minutes tops. We bought a cheap book of train tickets that meant commuting cost about £4.60 each per day, taking us by RER (suburban service) to any central Paris station.

Downsides? We had to carry everything we needed all day, but that wasn't much. We couldn't flop mid-afternoon (except that we did, actually, in the Jardin du Luxembourg). But it was all entirely serviceable, and the decking - I'm afraid - was a great place to sit in the evening, nodding like dolls at passing campers.

Budget Paris: romance, not rip-off

One of the most expensive cities in Europe? Not if you know where to look. Here are six favourites places to visit free

The best hotels in Paris

Friendly fashion haunt, high-sheen showstopper or affordable newcomer? Find your Paris match

• The complete guide to Paris style hotels

Paris: insider knowledge

Times correspondents with their tips on what to do, where to go out, where to eat and the best shopping

• City style: Paris

Six of the best nightclubs in Paris

The coolest clubs for different music and style tastes in the buildings, boats and bridges of Paris

Related Links

• The 15 best campsites in France

We might have got a certain kind of double hotel room for roughly the same price, but our mobile would have slept five at a squeeze, which really would have saved money. And self-catering, of course, avoided pricey restaurant meals at night, which matters when the euro is strong. We opted for lunches instead, just once eating late in Maisons-Laffitte itself, where they were charming.

Look, this really is hard to admit. But...I really enjoyed our gentle suburban stay. Call me bourgeois if you must.

Chic digs

— A 38ft houseboat sleeping four and moored on the Seine with Eiffel Tower views costs from £875 a week, www.vrbo.com/82128.

— The new award-winning Oops! near the Latin Quarter is billed as “the first design hostel in Paris”. Beautiful rooms from £24.59 a night. For this and other hostels including one attached to a pub selling 20 kinds of beer see www.hostelworld.com.

— A gipsy caravan sleeping four at Huttopia Versailles camping site, 20 minutes by train from central Paris, costs from £43 a night. See www.coolcamping.co.uk or www.huttopia.com.

— An original 6th-floor Parisian garret sleeping two in the middleclass 11th arrondissement costs £250 a week. See “the Paris Garret” at www.slowtrav.com.

Need to know

— Getting there: Return fares from London to Paris on Eurostar start at £59 with Rail Europe (0844 8484070, www.raileurope.co.uk).

— Stay: Eurocamp (0844 4060402, www.eurocamp.co.uk) has a special offer until March 31 of a seven-night stay at International Parc in Paris in a two- bedroom mobile home with decked terrace for £229. Flights, transfers, ferry crossings and car hire available at a supplement.

Times recommends

• Overlanding then and now
• Live Q&A: ski fitness and injury
• Get the right payment card and deny Ryanair its hefty fee