Self catering in France without a car

[hopeishere]

We are found a week self catering in France without a car. Any tips for stuff we should bring? I don't want to buy a load of stuff and then have to leave it behind! None of their supermarkets seem to do deliveries- there's a Carrefour nearby.

I was thinking a few dishwasher tablets in a Tupperware, Mayo and tomato sauce! Will be bringing cereal for DS as he has special needs and we have learnt the hard way what it's like when we don't bring it...

Depending on where you are it sounds limiting tbh

we have done lots to self catering holidays in France where we took a plane as too lazy to drive but always hired a car.

Whereabouts in France will you be ? Shopping deliveries aren’t really a thing here outside the cities, and neither is public transport tbh. Could you hire bikes?

If you are arriving after 4pm on a Saturday, you won't get a shop opened until 8am on a monday. If you are close to a Tvg station great, you can do lots, but other than that, you must have plenty to do on your doorstep.

We do this when we visit MIL since she downsized but DH’s home village has everything shops wise (greengrocers, fishmonger, deli, baker, butcher, candlestick maker, overpriced wine shop, spar for cupboard groceries) so we don’t really bring anything tbh. And we mostly eat out so it’s really just breakfasts, snacks and wine to buy. I wouldn’t self cater without a car if I didn’t have stuff within walking distance, it would be too difficult.

We're on a train route so that's all fine. House in a town not rural - walking distance to shops/restaurants. I'd thought they might be closed all day on Sunday so that's good to know. We're not planning on sightseeing so we don't need a car. Just pool and chill.

Good shops will, in general, be open Sunday morning.

I wouldn't take mayo to France - bit coals to Newcastle.

In the SW more and more Intermarché supermarkets are doing delivery. Even outside the cities, so you may be in luck.

Have a look on the Intermarché and SuperU websites.

Thanks. There is an intermarche as well so will have a look!

Just come back from France. Even though we drove, the only foodstuffs we took was cereal and coffee. Everything else we brought there - food, shower gel, hand wash, etc.

So I would only take ‘must haves’, ie. Food, toiletries etc that you can’t live without. The rest you can buy.

we mainly shopped in Lidl or Carrefour in France.

Things to note, anything over 50 euro you need to put your card into the machine.

Shops close at midday on Sundays.

French bread, croissants, pain au chocolate are delicious!

I think it depends where you are whether shops are open on Sundays, in touristy areas supermarkets will be open until midday, in other areas they might not be. But wherever you are you’ll usually find small Spar type shops open until at least midday on Sundays and bakeries/butchers etc.

Does your DS have milk on his cereal? French milk is generally UHT, but you will normally find a few things of fresh milk in the chiller cabinet. Just something to be aware of - personally I can’t stand the UHT stuff.

Bring a couple of reusable shopping bags with you, so you don’t have to buy some more when you arrive. I always forget and end up spending €5-10 on bags we really don’t need.

We self-catered in France travelling by train at half term. It was fine as we got everything from the small supermarket 10 minutes walk away.
We have said that if we go again one of us will go straight to the accommodation with DS and the other will do a big shop in the proper supermarket and get a separate taxi.

He's does have fresh milk - that's helpful thanks. Also about the shopping bags. DH and DS will be bringing small rucksacks so we can use those!

TOWELS - we learned that hard way that you should not assume these are supplied in a French gite / self catering property.

I wouldn't take mayo to France - bit coals to Newcastle.

The mayo in France is a billion times nicer than British mayo!

We have never found shopping on Sunday mornings a problem in France , quite often there is a market somewhere nearby.

We often get food from a traiteur, ready cooked food which can just be heated up in the evening. Even the food from the supermarket deli counters are pretty good.

Another one that may be relevant for your child is that French squash isn’t the same thing. It is a thick syrupy cordial. (Or at least was when we use to go) Ours were unsurprisingly happy to drink fizzy pop instead. Yours might not be.

It’s not clear how familiar you are with French shops in general, so apologies if you already know this, but often small shops will close on a seemingly random basis - although I believe this is on a rota with other shops in nearby towns, or the same town if more than one. It may be that the local supermarket closes on Sunday, but the boulangerie is closed on a Wednesday. The same will be true for the pharmacy - there will always be one open somewhere, and your local pharmacy should have a sign up telling you where you can go if they are closed.

I used to live in a fairly small town and the local spar type shop became a “depot de pain” on the day the bakery was closed so you could still get fresh bread and pastries.

I only take tea, porridge oats and muesli. Most french breakfast cereal has chocolate in. Find out when market day is and if there is a Picard in the vicinity.

You don’t need to take anything except your DC’s special cereals! Enjoy the amazing fresh food and embrace the local food culture!

Will do @AnIntrovert hut Ive incredibly picky kids who don't feel the same sadly! 🤣 It's more trying not to waste money on stuff we will end up leaving behind.

You say your in a town, the generally there should be a market twice a week. If so, you win!