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Original poster

France as a vegetarian

118 replies

WomanStanleyWoman2 · 12/05/2023 21:11

I know there’s a holiday topic, but the traffic is pretty much nonexistent, so I hope I’m okay to post here.

I’m vegetarian, as is my closest friend. We’re looking at short breaks this summer, and France looks like a good bet. However, when I went as a child it was HELL as a vegetarian. I don’t want to go through that again.

I was looking at destinations with cheap flights and was surprised to find vegetarian/vegan restaurants in some fairly small cities. Obviously this is a plus point - but it got me wondering, am I generally dismissing France as being non veggie friendly on the basis of school trips many years ago? Has it got a lot better?

Looking forward to hearing from vegetarians who’ve enjoyed French holidays and who have eaten well whilst there!

OP posts:
BabyStopCryin · 12/05/2023 21:12

I’ve been veggie since the mid 80s and we went to France every year and I don’t remember going hungry. I actually found ‘small town America’ the worst for veggies (so much bacon!).

spangleswereace · 12/05/2023 21:28

We went to France last year, we were fairly rural surrounded by small villages and the veggie options were limited. I ate a lot of crepes with goats cheese when we did dine out!

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 12/05/2023 21:29

Berlin was pretty awesome as a vegetarian. Gartnerei in particular was fab.
Paris is nowhere near as bad as it was, though.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General food
FearTheWankingDead · 12/05/2023 21:32

I find there’s no vegetarian food. I have to live off bread when I go. I can never poo in France

Original poster
WomanStanleyWoman2 · 12/05/2023 21:33

BabyStopCryin · 12/05/2023 21:12

I’ve been veggie since the mid 80s and we went to France every year and I don’t remember going hungry. I actually found ‘small town America’ the worst for veggies (so much bacon!).

Oh yes - America outside of major cities is terrible for veggies!

OP posts:
Vinorosso74 · 12/05/2023 21:34

I've managed ok in France. Paris was OK as there's a variety of cuisines. We went to Nice a few years ago and that was ok too, not the easiest but I ate ok. We did a day trip to Menton which is on the Italian border and I had an lovely lunch there! Small town Western Australia and Portugal were difficult

TiredOfCleaning · 12/05/2023 21:35

Dh is a vegetarian of about 9 years standing.

We go to Paris every year. (Not during covid). To be fair we do not go outside of Paris very oftebn as it is usually a long weekend visit.

Not a problem. Menus are marked with dishes marked as vegetarian. Omelettes are always a good bet. Baguettes with fillings a good bet. North African restaurants and Middle Eastern delis a very good bet.

2phat2phaf · 12/05/2023 21:36

I live in Brittany. Although vegetarian food never caught on, vegan food is definitely a thing here!

asimileofsomesmoke · 12/05/2023 21:40

I lived in France as a vegetarian! Restaurant menus were a little limited but always had a least two vegetarian options. Vegan is less easy though - lots of omelettes and savoury crepes

Original poster
WomanStanleyWoman2 · 12/05/2023 21:43

Thank you for all the advice 🙂 It sounds like we’d do okay!

OP posts:
Glitterbiscuits · 12/05/2023 22:12

@WomanStanleyWoman2 can you come back to the thread and tell us how you got on please?

AlanJohnsonsBeemer · 12/05/2023 22:21

You will be fine, I went to the Dordogne last year and am vegan and didn’t struggle too much but was also glad we were mainly self catering! Paris was much easier and that was a few years ago now.

Not France (obviously!), but I went to Palma 2 weeks ago and the choice of veggie/vegan food was amazing, I was so impressed.

AlanJohnsonsBeemer · 12/05/2023 22:22

DH is veggie and was fine everywhere

exexpat · 12/05/2023 22:30

Being vegetarian is fine in France, vegan is tougher. It is usually much easier in the big cities rather than more rural places, where if you don't eat cheese or eggs you will probably find yourself eating a lot of salad. Self-catering would mean you could get to try all the delicious looking fruit and veg in the markets.

If you want great vegetarian or vegan food in Europe, the top destination at the moment seems to be the Netherlands, judging by my experience and my travelling adult children and their partners (all veggie or vegan).

lavenderhaz · 12/05/2023 22:52

Cheese baguettes and macarons! 😂

RampantIvy · 12/05/2023 22:59

I would be wary of the cheese. A lot of French cheese is made with rennet.

I go to a fair few food festivals and, while most English cheeses are vegetarian, I have never come across a French cheese that is.

Silkierabbit · 12/05/2023 23:05

It's not great for vegetarians. DH is French. DD is veggie and on way over she wanted McDonalds and DH asked if they had any vegetarians burgers. The girl paused and said poulet ou poisson 😂

When we've been out with MIL to restaurants they've generally given her the meal without the meat at same cost and same rest of portion size.

MIL always says to her why can't you eat a bit of meat, why do you need to be completely vegetarian?

crackofdoom · 12/05/2023 23:12

I'm still surprised by how un vegetarian friendly France is compared to the rest of Europe. That said, you won't starve- you'll probably just get mighty bored of cheese baguettes and goat cheese salads 🙄

I did notice a few more veggie options had crept onto the menus du jour when I went last year- miso aubergine seemed very much in vogue. And I found frozen veggie "steaks" in the supermarket!! (they were terrible, but still).

If you're going to Paris, especially if you're taking Eurostar, there's a South Asian community near the Gare du Nord. Rue Fauborg St Denis, up the side of the station, is lined with South Indian vegetarian restaurants. I love them!

Lysianthus · 12/05/2023 23:21

Very limited. Lots of 'we can take the chicken out of the salad ' sort of thing. Omelettes get tiresome.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 12/05/2023 23:25

Paris is fine - because there are lots of non-French restaurants. More rural areas are still rather a struggle.

FANCHEA · 12/05/2023 23:28

Experiences of eung veggie in France from years ago have put me off from going now as a family. The millennium new years day spent eating a "pizza" of frozen peas and carrots still a vivid memory, but so is the amazing macrobiotic places we found in Paris!

My friends daughter visited for the first time last year and survived on...cheese baguettes. I remain unconvinced that a family of non meat eating foodies would be happy anywhere but in self catering, and even then, you don't want to cook every single meal.

SarahSmith2023 · 12/05/2023 23:32

Mostly I go self catering or take food back to the hotel (just bread/veg/fruit etc) if eating out pizza is common & generally good, gnocchi etc.

but it's not a culinary adventure!!

it's where I gave up being vegan because it was getting to the point of being 'food free'.

as for low carb...ha ha ha.. just no. I LC as a diabetic who doesn't want medication, but in France it's virtually impossible (and I'm far too easily tempted by baguettes, croissants & macrons!!

Ruins my HbA1c!!
(no need to tell me off, I KNOW how bad it is for me)

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 12/05/2023 23:40

I’m afraid that French love food. When we lived there, it was the only topic of conversation which was universal. Everyone wants to know what you had for dinner, what you had for lunch, do you know the winemaker in the next village, which vegetable stall in the market do you prefer.

so they just don’t understand about people excluding whole classes for foodstuffs for anything other than really, really serious health reasons. And even then, many firmly believe that some red wine and a nice ripe cheese will put you right.

I suppose you could call it a gut feeling.

Original poster
WomanStanleyWoman2 · 12/05/2023 23:59

I’m afraid that French love food.

It is possible to love food and be vegetarian 🙄

OP posts:
TimesRwo · 13/05/2023 00:06

We were in rural France very recently. I don’t pork, and as I’m pregnant had to be careful about steak, so generally went for the veggie option in restaurants.

The menu was very very limited for me. Maybe one or two veggie options in each restaurant we went to! So don’t think French restaurants are great for veggies!

Could be different in places like Paris.