shopping for booze in Calais

djs_2 · 16 May 2005 at 10:31AM

I am going to Calais on a booze cruse, does anyone know the best place for wine and beer bargins

supernudger · 16 May 2005 at 11:41AM

https://www.day-tripper.net is a good place to start.
https://www.tesco.com/vinplus to download a tesco price list.

JimArnold · 16 May 2005 at 12:05PM

there are any number of wine and beer warehouses but I usually stick to the Auchan - they have a web site with a map. Theres a Majestic (?) wine & beer warehouse there as well (Coquelles)

http://www.majestic.co.uk/ also has a map

I assume you are going by car?

sainthalo · 16 May 2005 at 3:09PM

stick to the real french places like auchan especially. the places designed for english shoppers are dirty, not cheap for france and poorer quality for france. you also get served by apes. seriously stick to auchan.

Rave · 16 May 2005 at 5:40PM

I disagree with sainthalo- I find Eastenders prices are very good and the quality of their own brand stuff is good too- I'm a huge fan of their own 'Dog's B*llocks Range' French red, very drinkable indeed, £7.50 for a case of 6. A case of 24 25cl bottles of Stella is under £6, I'm sure Auchan can't undercut that?

Yes it's a grotty old warehouse but who cares? You won't be there more than 20 minutes......

Edit: their spirits are a lot cheaper than the Cite Europe Carrefour too.

Joannekerry · 16 May 2005 at 6:13PM

We always go to City Europe, very convenient if going through the tunnel. They have a Carrefour and a Tesco, we normally pop in both pricing things up and then let battle commence with the trolleys! You will also find on the lower floor plenty of restaurants to eat in and also there are some sports shops that are quite a bit cheaper than the UK. We have tried places like Eastenders but by going to City Europe you have the added advantage of two supermarkets competing against each other.

telly-addict · 16 May 2005 at 7:02PM

You get your Clubcard points too if you go to Tesco Vin Plus in Cite Europe. They do ask you if you want to be billed in Euros or Sterling - if you choose the latter, does it save you the 2.75% loading that most credit cards charge you? I have a Nationwide card that we use overseas so it doesn't matter (no loading), but it has just occurred to me that it might work like that?

Also - we have successfully used the cash points (with Nationwide debit card) at the bank next door to Tesco to get our Euros commission free.

bagpuss · 16 May 2005 at 7:37PM

If you go to Auchan you also have the Sainsbury's booze store there as well and you can even order on line in advance and turn up to collect it. You get your Nectar card points too! I generally tend to use the Tesco and Saisnburys websites to look at prices before I go and then compare to Auchan and Carrefour once I get there. If you do want to get the prices from Sainsburys then you may have to log in to pretend you are placing an order. The site is: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk and the look for the link on the left for the Calais wine store.

Another tip if you don't mind travelling a bit further is to go away from Calais to somewhere like Saint Omer (where they have an Auchan) where although you don't get such a vast range you do find that the prices on things tend to be that bit cheaper too as they aren't after the booze cruisers!

Check out other things too such as foil, fabric softener, water softening tablets, washing powders/tablets, chocolate and even vegetables as they are often cheaper too. My best bargain has been Knorr stock cubes at about 30p (I think) as opposed to 90p over here!!

Most importantly though - Don't forget too to make sure you have a euro for the trolley and enjoy your day!

thefirs · 16 May 2005 at 8:42PM

telly-addict wrote:

They do ask you if you want to be billed in Euros or Sterling - if you choose the latter, does it save you the 2.75% loading that most credit cards charge you? I have a Nationwide card that we use overseas so it doesn't matter (no loading), but it has just occurred to me that it might work like that?

With a NWBS or Frizzell card, make sure you get billed in Euros "Je vous paye en €uros, je l'insiste". Any other card will cost you the same charge of 2.75% loading whether it goes to Tesco or the bank. You choose.

Tescos (and Sainsbury at Auchan's car park) has the advantage that you can buy familiar brands, and a good range of new world wines that the local garçons will not be able to match, but don't expect the same full range that a large UK store can provide.

Auchan's Diesel seems a couple of centimes cheaper than Carrefour in the last week or two, but note that it's moved over the road from the Auchan car park and they haven't yet got round to changing the signs yet so don't keep circulating in the hope of finding it in the usual place.