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Streams of tired tourists straggle back to their hotels at day's end as I join locals picking up fresh baguettes at a boulangerie near the chic Boulevard Saint-Germain. I stroll down the quiet rue du Dragon, stop at a glossy green double door that guards a stone apartment building and tap in the numerical code that clicks open the door.

Greeting a resident with the requisite bonjour in the plant-adorned courtyard (French etiquette requires a hello, even between strangers living in a big building), I climb four flights of stairs and turn the key. The high-ceilinged, stylishly decorated studio with black leather furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, kitchen, washer and pull-down bed in the alcove is owned by a couple who live elsewhere in France. Oops, no Wi-Fi as I'd anticipated -- it's standard in lots of rentals, and I forgot to check.

But the apartment is mine for the week for about $1,250 via a local agency called Servissimo. That works out to around $180 a night -- less than I would pay for a room in an unremarkable hotel.

No more playing tourist. This trip, I'm living like a Parisian, renting an apartment to feel like a resident and saving money to boot. If I also steer clear of tourist haunts in favor of restaurants, cafes and shops patronized by value-loving Parisians, my experience in one of the world's tourist magnets will be cheaper, yet far richer.

"I feel truly sorry when I see disoriented tourists sitting in a tourist trap where I wouldn't go even if paid," says Amandine Dubessay, 36, who has started a service (rueamandine.com) to help visitors live as Parisians do.

Others are in that business, too, as travelers become more sophisticated and interested in immersing themselves in foreign cultures rather than going shoulder-to-shoulder with tourist hordes.

Venture out for value

Bonnie Brayham's Purple Truffle (purpletruffle.com) specializes in custom Paris itineraries, such as private tastings with the city's top cheese and chocolate makers. Her clients are "looking to be sitting in a restaurant where the menu is not in English and where everyone around them is not speaking English," she says over lunch at tiny stone-walled Pramil on the Right Bank. Chef Alain Pramil serves creations such as rabbit with figs and says he doesn't want to be on TripAdvisor because people "will come with (high) expectations." Too late: He's already ranking high with TripAdvisor users.

That night, my Parisian friend Frederic -- who maintains a list of restaurants with good food at good prices -- zips me across the Seine to the Right Bank near the Bastille. He parks his car illegally on the sidewalk in scofflaw Paris style. The city's famed haunts have become "so expensive," he says. Locals seek out small places in once unfashionable neighborhoods.

We walk to hole-in-the-wall Le Temps au Temps (a play on a French expression that means "give time to time," or loosely, "don't rush," he tells me). Two Americans are dining, but they turn out to be regular Paris visitors who hunt down good meals. Two kirs (Sauvignon Blanc with black currant liqueur aperitifs favored by the French) cost just $5 each. An appetizer, main course and dessert run $35.

"Great value for Paris," Frederic pronounces, black cashmere sweater elegantly draped over his shoulder. "Of course, you cannot compare it to gastronomy ($300 dinners), but I put it four out of five on the non-gastronomical scale."

The next morning, I use my $30 "Navigo" week-long Metro/bus/local rail pass to meet Drew Graham, an American former dot-com exec, at one of the high-end Paris apartments he rents mainly to Americans via his CobbleStay.com. While there has been a move to crack down on short-term vacation rentals, dozens of agencies lease flats. Rentals even are listed on the French Government Tourist Office website (franceguide.com).

This CobbleStay penthouse near the Luxembourg Gardens has a kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and terrace overlooking the rooftops. It rents for as little as $1,351 weekly in January.

"We want to make outsiders insiders," Graham says, before leading a tour of favorite Paris places largely undiscovered by Americans. They include the remains of a Roman gladiator amphitheater in the Square des Arenes de Lutece. His tips to help Americans fit in include slimmer pants for men and no white athletic shoes: The latter scream unsophisticated tourist.

C'est si bon!

The next day, I have brunch with Paris friends in the bustling bohemian Marais district. Their 25-year-old niece, Alice Boucoiran, is wearing shorts over polka-dot stockings and appropriated her uncle's yellow silk handkerchief for a neck scarf, looking effortlessly chic in a way few Americans can.

The boisterous Saturday cafe meal ends with a walk to boutiques and a dessert of handmade bonbons at a Paris chocolatier of the moment: Jacques Genin. He makes his heavenly sweets above his shop on the rue de Turenne.

Sunday, I visit the zoo at the Jardin des Plantes botanical gardens, with its ornate cages that date back to the days of Louis XIV. Frederic, his daughter, Suzanne, 6, and I are surrounded by French families ooh-ing at flamingos and laughing at orangutan antics.

Later, I meet my friend Elaine, a public relations specialist from L.A. who is married to a Parisian. An avid shopper, she points me to L'Embellie, a favorite depot-vente -- French for a consignment shop -- where Parisians bring lightly worn fashions. I mean only to scope out deals at the rue du Regard branch, but saleswoman Joelle Basnier has me at bonjour. She fetches stylish Prada wool pants that originally cost at least $500. Price: about $210. I offer about $195. Sold.

We also visit one of Elaine's favorite spots, the Decorative Arts Museum, which isn't on most tourists' to-do list and has a great gift shop.

Meanwhile, I've been checking in with USA TODAY colleague Stephanie Armour, who happens to be vacationing in Paris and has rented an apartment for the first time. Over a grand creme (French-style latte) at a cafe near the flat she's sharing with her husband and their two daughters, Stephanie raves about not staying in a hotel.

Apartment living is "so much better, because you feel like part of the community. It's more homey," she says. She rented the two-bedroom flat with three fireplaces and balcony from a Frenchman for about $1,400 a week via Airbnb.com. He thoughtfully left them wine, mineral water, bread, jam, juice and coffee.

I notice that Madeleine, 7, and Olivia, 5, are sporting artfully tied scarves, which they got in Paris. Tourists have pointed at the children and even taken their photos, saying, "Look at the cute little French girls," Stephanie reports.

Overnight, it seems, they have become Parisian. And later, when the bakery proprietor recognizes me and hands me a baguette for tomorrow's breakfast without my having to ask, I feel like a local, too.

(c) Copyright 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.  

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