Shopping IN France

adchesney

We usually go for lunch (Saint Omer le Cygne) it is second to none for service and food, six-couse menu for €45.

With a crossing (Eurotunnel) for £29.57, it's not a bad day out. We are back there for the day next month - can't wait!

Andrew

crossleydd42

I love beef sausages, yet it virtually impossible to get them in the UK nowadays and pork ones, even good ones (who would want to buy cheap ones, anyway?) are tasteless unless 'beefed' (pardon the pun) with flavours added like 'sun-dried tomatoes'! That's why I like going to the US where a beef sausage is delicious. But we're talking France here: sorry!

Liverbird

A day trip by Eurotunnel is £19 mon-thursday....add another tenner on for travel fri-sunday. Well worth a trip!

http://www.driveline.co.uk/postcard/

rebeccaj

westwardbymanier wrote:

just wondered if any members do their regular monthly grocery shop in France? And if so are their many bargains to be found? Apart from alcohol.

olive oil, mayonnaise, mustard, cooking oil, washing powder, balsamic vinegar. All cheaper (and in most cases better quality) than in the uk

then there's the wonderful bread and all those gorgeous sliced meats, the fabulous desserts, the list could go on and on and on

droopsnout

Whilst much of what is written here is correct, some advice must be taken with an element of suspicion or doubt. Not that I'm suggesting that any contributor is deliberately trying to mislead, but because there are so many variables.

We live in France, and one of the main bugbears is being paid in sterling but losing out on the transfer of money cross-channel so that it is in euros in our French bank account. The exchange rate is the problem. Three years ago, there were 62-63 pence to the euro. Now it is closer to 70. That is around an 11% increase in prices for us, and that is before inflation.

So what one person finds cheaply in one year can be more expensive (or cheaper still!) the next.

Secondly, many of the hypermarkets do special promotions. French residents have their letter boxes bulging with leaflets with all the latest offers on. When there's a special on pork for a week, you will see the French peeps with trolleys stuffed with pigs' heads, etc. Some of the bargains found by our contributors here will have been at specially reduced prices - which, by the way, manufacturers supply to the retailers at equally reduced rates, then pay them to put the offer in their bargains leaflets!

Petrol and diesel have increased here as much as, or more than, in the UK. Supermarket price for 95 octane lead-free is currently 1.2324 euro (85p) per litre - so you won't save much on that. Diesel IS cheaper though. Prices change daily, as in the UK.

The bigger hypermarkets are not necessarily cheaper than the small supermarkets. In our area, the hyper Géant is more expensive than the same group's Casino supers. But the cheapest ordinary supermarket around here is Intermarché. I could give examples, but it would take up too much space.

Prices in Lidl and Aldi are pretty well the same in both France and the UK, but Aldi's range of products is much smaller in France, at least on the weekly special offers.

The supermarkets are presently full of "Back To School" stuff (how depressing!), and you may find bargains, or at least something a little different, on those shelves.

To give you something concrete to work on, here are a few prices from this week's Leclerc booklet (https://www.e-leclerc.com):

Casio Calculator Model Graph 25+: 39,90€
HP Multi-Function Printer Model PSC1510, 99€
Sony CD-R, 700Mb, spindle of 10, 7,50€
Epson Photo Paper, 255gsm, 10x15cm, 50 pack, 7,50€

There are no food or drink items in this week's offers!

From Casino's leaflet:

Lever Arch File, 24x32cm, 80mm-wide spine, 0,95€
100 Transparent A4 Pockets, 1,10€
Pack 3 Tipp-Ex Correction Pens, 8ml, 2,04€

Again, no food items in their leaflet this week.

If you'd like some up-to-date food prices from next week's offers, let me know on here!

stockmarket-diva

Just seen your question of where to eat in Calais. We have been going there for over 25 years and always eat in Le Chanel. It is excellent quality and value in comparison to England. In fact we sometimes get the cheap tunnel ticket after 6pm and just go over for dinner to this restaurant. Its still cheaper than eating in England for the standard of food.

droopsnout

stockmarket-diva wrote:

Just seen your question of where to eat in Calais. We have been going there for over 25 years and always eat in Le Chanel.

Sounds great! Can you tell us how to find it, please? Thanks.