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Original poster

General food/drink costs in France these days?

12 replies

wickedfairy · 13/05/2011 15:13

Hello,

We are camping in France for 3 weeks this summer and I am just wondering about the general cost of food/drink/general household items?

We have 2 DC's (4yo, 11 months) - was wondering whether we should bring enough nappies/wipes, etc to last us the trip or buy them there?

Also some staple food like pasta/beans, etc? Will obviously be buying all our fruit/veg locally....

Just don't want to lug loads over in the car to find they are a similar price/cheaper or not take anything and find out everything is very expensive. We will be in the Vendee, if that makes any difference!

TIA Smile

OP posts:
BizzeeBee · 13/05/2011 15:48

Bring your own baked beans if you want to have them on holiday. They don't have them here so I pay over a euro for a tin on the British goods shelf in my local supermarket.

stikmatix · 13/05/2011 20:52

Over a Euro for baked beans, wow that's a bargain! When we lived in France it was over 3 Euros a tin in the supermarket for Heinz. Needless to say we didn't eat baked beans for 6 years! Marmite (and anything else that is very British and not popular abroad) is expensive, I used to bring it back from the UK!

We left France in 2009 and I would say that supermarket prices were largely similar in France and the UK over the 6 years we were there. Now I don't know if they've gone up at the same rate as prices in the UK, I suspect so. Bizzee will be able to give a more accurate picture.

NorbertDentressangle · 13/05/2011 20:58

We were there almost a year ago and TBH we were shocked at the supermarket prices.

The one that stuck in my mind was when I couldn't find a packet of (simple basic) biscuits for under the equivalent of £1.

DP remembers rice, pasta and pulses being ££££s too.

BizzeeBee · 14/05/2011 06:22

Trouble is, I'm not really sure what UK supermarket prices are like in the UK now to make a comparison.

What I have noticed is there are far fewer BOGOF, and discount deals in the supermarket here, and there can be less in the way of economy lines except in basic food items.

Maybe you could bring a bit of food to get you started e.g. some breakfast cereal, baked beans, bag of pasta and anything 'British' that you can't easily get in the French supermarket and you or DC can't survive without for the duration of your holiday. Feel free to ask me if certain things are available here.

I think with holidays you have to accept that you may end up paying more for some stuff than you would at home, but that premium is worth paying so that you don't lug it all with you in the car, and is part of the cost of going on holiday.

Can't believe it's taken me this long to remember this - definitely bring what tea you will need for your entire holiday with you (plus it's quite a light thing to carry). Proper Tetley / PG tips style tea can be hard to find - it's usually expensive individually wrapped sachets.

gastrognome · 14/05/2011 06:48

I'd say yes definitely bring nappies and wipes if you have room as they are cheaper in the uk. Plus basics like tea bags. I think pasta is probably about the same price, but it wouldn't hurt to bring some with you just in case.

Where will you be staying? It's likely that there will be a couple of big hypermarkets within driving distance - eg Carrefour/Auchan. And probably a few local markets too, which can be good for fresh fruit and veg, etc. Food at small supermarkets (such as Monoprix or Casino) in town centers is usually a lot more expensive than the out of town stores.

The exchange rate right now means that things in France appear a lot more expensive than they were a few years ago.
Also, AFAIK, it's illegal in France for them to sell at a loss, so you won't find those loss leader products, BOGOF offers, etc. that you see in the UK.

But wine, good cheese, etc. is definitely cheaper in France so that's one silver lining!

Sleepwhenidie · 14/05/2011 07:02

I second what gastrodome said, it does seem much more expensive than a couple of years ago, probably largely because of the exchange rate.

Definitely take nappies and wipes, they always seem shockingly expensive in France -probably because of what people have said about discounts etc there, I always seem to buy them on some kind of offer here but have never seen them there.

Baked beans just aren't readily available so yes to those and to tea bags because they are just better Grin. I wouldn't worry about dried pasta...but if your DC's breakfast of choice is weetabix then take that too, I can never get it over there.

frenchfancy · 14/05/2011 07:11

If you are staying on the coast then that will affect the prices of things. Even the supermarkets are more expensive right on the costal resorts.

Weetabix is available in both my nearest supermarkets, but it wasn't up until a couple of years ago.

It will always seem more expensive if you stick to a british diet. Eat what the locals eat and it becomes more affordable. So lentils with you sausages instead of beans, baguette and jam for breakfast instead of cereals. croissants are expensive and most french people only eat them on high days and holidays.

Bring your nappies with you, just because it will save you time and hasstle working out which size/brand to get. The space you free up on the way back can then be used for wine!

ENormaSnob · 14/05/2011 08:45

We went to the vendee in 09 and found it expensive tbh.

Can't remember the exact prices but it was definately more than England.

jenpet · 14/05/2011 09:42

As always, it depends what you eat. We've lived in France since 04, and I've just had to spend most of the last month in the UK, and I found it quite expensive the other way! Things like fresh fish, as well as seasonal fruit & veg seemed very expensive to me, and the few ready meals I had to buy Shock
That said, I know nappies are more expensive here, and anything not "French" is obviously more. If cost is important there are lots of "budget" supermarkets now too - Ed, Lidl, Aldi etc. Also, if you look at LeClerc or Carrefour websites it will give you a good idea of basics too...

Original poster
wickedfairy · 14/05/2011 11:36

Thank you for your advice! We will probably bring nappies and wipes, at least we can just use the ones we are used to and as mentioned above, we won't have to check out the sizing/fit, etc.

I understand about remembering we are on holiday and eating as the local's do and that is fine, I don't have a problem with paying a little extra for certain things, I was just checking that certain things weren't triple the price of the UK, etc! I always eat local food anyway, but thought it may be prudent to bring a few things, maybe for the children. Thanks for the tip re teabags, will definitely be bringing my own! We eat Lidl beans anyway, so not bothered by Heinz... Smile

Any other things we should bring with us? TIA

OP posts:
Kiwinyc · 14/05/2011 16:31

Fill up your car just before you cross the channel... petrol might be £1.37 a litre here but over there its £1.48 or so. (According to DH)

frenchfancy · 15/05/2011 12:44

Petrol is about 1?48 per litre (so about £1.37). Diesel is much less, about 1?28.

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