Shop ‘til YOU DROP

In the first of our new Insight guides, Helen Parkinson delights in the French shopping experience

Shopping in France is an unbeatable sensory experience. Think of a French market and your mind will wander to mouthwatering stalls of the freshest bread, homemade tapenades, and jams for eating straight from the jar; soft scarves to touch and soaps to smell; chatter wafting through the air. From the seemingly neverending supermarket cheese counter to the intimidatingly chic department stores of the capital, a trip to the shops is an experience to savour wherever you are in France.

Supermarkets and shops

The first port of call for many a self-catering holidaymaker once they’ve crossed La Manche, France’s supermarkets are in plentiful supply – that is, unless it’s a Sunday. Like lots of European countries, many supermarkets shut up shop on Sundays in France. This was strictly adhered to even as recently as a decade ago, but now a few supermarkets defy convention to serve the baguette-starved masses on Sunday mornings. Later on Sunday afternoons, however, not a chance!

The fab four of the French supermarket world, with outlets across l’Hexagone, are Auchan, Carrefour, E.Leclerc, and Géant Casino. Each has its merits, but all offer an excellent shopping experience. Like elsewhere, there are also a number of attractive discount stores, some of whose names will be familiar: Lidl, Aldi, Netto and Leader Price. For smaller purchases, most towns also have convenience store-type outlets including Carrefour Market and Intermarché. Fans of health food stores will be in their element with France’s two top brands, Biocoop and Naturalia.