escape from paris

this city has me completely overwhelmed. its labyrinthine, massive, and almost as a expensive as london. At least the people here speak more comprehensible english than the scots. Today I wandered around the Louvre, the Pantheon, and unintentionally around the huge international train station. I stood in 3 lines that apparently had nothing to do with anything, and then ended up booking a ticket to Lyon with my rail pass just to get out of paris. But looking at hostel prices, Lyon looks about as bad. I think I might stay for a night then flee even further from any known metropolitan area just so that I can eat and sleep for under 80 USD.