Cost of food in Swiss cities
 

Hello,

I have never been to Switzerland and was wondering if the costs of grocery store bought goods such as bread, beer, wine, fruit, meat etc was more expensive than in other countries in Europe.

My initial impression of hotels etc is that they are definitely more expensive, especially in the cities like Zurich, Bern etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

It might be a bit more expensive but not overly so. For cheap(er) restaurant food, visit Coop, Migros and Manor self-service restaurants.

Of what you mentioned, only meat (beef and poultry) are expensive.

I found regular grocery items to be no more expensive than the U.S. or elsewhere in Europe. And Swiss wine is a down-right bargain for the quality. I am familiar with the area along the lake outside Geneva (Vevey and Montreux).

Grocery shopping in Basel didn't seem any more expensive than in Germany or Austria and on a par with what we pay for things at Waitrose in the UK.
The Co-op cafeteria style restaurant on Guderstrasse in Basel (behind the train station) was also inexpensive and the food was surpisingly good. When I worked in the area, my colleagues and I ate there several times a week.

I went to the CarreFour store next to GVA (Geneva) Int'l Airport and did the picnic thing of bread, cheese, sandwich meats, also got some extra Brie and crackers and beverages. Found the prices for food "normal" and not too unusual.

Carrefour is like a Walmart.

By the way, if you go to that particular store, there is a very interesting restaurant attached (up front/next to door) that is very good and a different take on buffet or cafeteria food...Amazingly good and fresh

We did a home exchange last July/Aug in Basel, so we spent a lot of time food shopping and looking for inexpensive restaurants. We really did not find market food more expensive than here in Southern California, especially since the fruits and vegetables were such high quality. The breads are delicious even at the supermarket! Also, loved the cheeses.

We found the Manor Department Store had good deals for lunch and an early dinner. If you bought a piece of meat or fish, you could pile your dish up with as many vegetables or salad as you could load onto the dish. I used to buy the all vegetable dish. It was very inexpensive. We watched other customers pile their food high and were encouraged by staff and locals to do the same, but we never developed their knack for getting the food safely to the table without spilling it. People piled their food so high, the cashiers would have to ask the customer to identify what was under the vegetables. It was amazingly good quality for cafeteria style; the food was being prepared in front of you and constantly being replenished. We only saw fresh produce used -- no frozen or canned seemed to be in evidence. We liked the Manors in Ticino and Geneve, too. In Ticino, there was fresh pasta available. The Manor also had good fresh pasta for sale in their markets and their prepared pasta sauces were surprisingly good for a fast, cheap and easy meal.

I am a vegetarian, so I can't say much about the price of meat, though my husband bought some of the chicken and said it was very good, but not any pricier than he pays at home, but he does buy free range chicken.

Good luck. You will love Switzeland. It's a beautiful country and we felt fortunate to spend over 6 weeks there.

A couple years ago, we spent 2 weeks in Karlsruhe, Germany, and 2 weeks in Zurich, back to back. We DID find the food, both at supermarkets and at restaurants, to be more expensive in Switzerland than in Germany. Of course, we were also running low on funds those last two weeks, so that may have made a small difference seem more pronounced. I came away feeling that Switzerland was quite a bit more expensive than Germany. However, I'm second-guessing myself after reading the previous posters...

Yes, more expensive in Switzerland - just look at the huge shopping centers that have sprung up near the Swiss borders in neighboring countries. The Swiss living near the borders do massive shopping runs across the borders because the savings add up. They are allowed so many liters of milk, so many kilos of meat and such per person per trip, so a family I joined on such a run marshalled their five sons - much to the teenagers' displeasure as you can imagine.

Depending on mood and random traffic density, the Swiss customs agents either take a perfunctory look at the receipts, or want to see the actual goods after making a headcount.

So, yes, groceries are markedly more expensive in Switzerland than across the borders. As to whether you will notice it on a quick trip, making only so many small purchases, I don't know.

The best tip I can give is to find the day of the morning local open air street farmers markets of the place you are visiting. You can get amazingly fresh produce, dried meats, cheese, dairy, eggs, baked goods, etc. fresy & at very reasonable prices, dealing directly with the producer/growers. Don't know about large cities but in medium to smaller towns this is one traditional way to shop.

Now the other question is, where do you find apartments to stay in?

Most of what I'm seeing is some accommodations outside the big cities. Couldn't really find too many rentals in Zurich and Geneva.