mlm59

I will be accompanying a group on a tour of Europe that will include Rome, Florence, Lucerne, Paris & Madrid. Many are students who will have a limited budget for extras. Breakfast and dinner are included in the tour price.

When traveling in the US I save money on lunches by purchasing food in grocery stores or Wal-Marts. Even in cities where these stores aren't easy to find we buy snacks and drinks from drugstores such as Walgreens or CVS.

Are there similar places in these cities where we can purchase food & drinks at reasonable prices?

Joe18

Paris is the street food, along with the food, capitol of the universe. Great crepe stands, buy picnic lunches at small shops, etc. Florence and Rome have pizza shops, open counter restaurants where you can point at the food you want, plus the usual American fast food places (all the cities have these as well). Madrid has tapas bars that are cheap and shops that sell churros and hot chocolate. Haven't been to Lucerne.

lincasanova

in madrid you can buy many savory and sweet pastries at a bread shop to hold you over. Besides tapas,which BTW are not so cheap anymore in my opinion, there are salad bars , which for students are a great deal . FRESCO is the name of a good one, near plaza mayor.
7.5 euros at lunch. unlimited salads, pastas, soups and desserts. one beverage and unlimited coffees and capuchinos as well.

you can also order a bocadillo, 8panish sandwich on baguette type bread) of many differnt types for about 4 euros in all bars.

Remeber it is cheaper to eat at bar than seated at table. then,outside tables are LOTS more expensive.

nytraveler

Florence and Rome both have several wonderful sandwhich shops - no table service- you just point out what you want, pay and then take to a table.

hhildebrandt

Students will be subject to a lot of knockoffs and specials, so to eat at university commons (Resto-U in French) if they can prove their status with an ISIC (International Studentīs Id-Card)

If you look for the cheap side of travelling, what about Lonely Planet Onlineīs Thorn Tree Forum?

For lunch, either try to find a street vendor selling you a slice of pizza, a crepe or a sandwich. Or try to find a grocerīs store where you buy some ausage and cheese and soft drinks an a bakerīs to get the bread. With these items, you can have a picknick at some public place or park on a bench.

If you find at Rome, Florence, Lucerne, Paris and Madrid these universita commons ant cafeterias, you also have the chance to meet young people eager to try their english, to make friends and tell you how to have a maximum fun on a minimum of cost.

ira

Hi m,

You will likely eat better from sandwich shops, street vendors and markets than the bkfst and dinners you get on the tour.

FainaAgain

Do they have CO-OPs in Lucerne, maybe you can search? These are less expensive food chains throughout Switzerland. If there is a store in Zermatt, may well be one in Lucerne, too.

TravlGrl

The European equivalent to Wal-Mart is a chain called Carrefour. They have a website and you can check their locations to see if they will be local to where you are.
My DH and I ran smack into one in Monte Carlo last year. Prices are great and you get a real feel of the local goodies.
http://www.carrefour.com/english/homepage/index.jsp

capxxx

But the OP was asking about grocery store-type places.

Yes, there are many little neightborhood shops where you can buy food for picnics. But you may go to one shop for your produce, another for your bread, and another for your meat and cheese. They are usually all nearby in the same street or area, so its easy to get a picnic.

I don't know how to locate them in general, though -- maybe ask your hotel about what's in the area?


There are a few national chain supermarkets, but not so many in the big cities and toursty areas.

Check out the Mercato Centrale in Florence, which has all the little food shops under one roof.

missypie

When my husband went on his "student tour of Europe" with some friends (staying in hostels, etc.), the group lived on bread and jelly. (Peanut butter would have made it more nutritious, but maybe they couldn't find it?) They would have been thrilled to have had 2 meals a day provided, with only the bread and jelly for lunch!

There are cheap eats to be found at the big grocery stores, but those typically aren't in the touristy parts of town. For example, while in Paris, we took the metro out to St. Denis. Right by the station was a huge, Wal-Mart-y type supermarket. The prices were quite low. But it was a long ride to get out there.

One thing I do for every European trip is to pack some granola bars, cheese and crackers. Many times on group tours, one has so little free time that one doesn't want to devote the time to eating a restaurant lunch, even given unlimited funds. You might want to tell the kids to bring a few snacks with them.

Also, there's nothing wrong with grabbing an extra roll and piece of fruit at breakfast time, for an on-the-go lunch.

FainaAgain

Ummm... apologies, still struggling with English... by Co-op stores I meant the stores selling produce, like bread, fruit, meat, cheese.

julies

For us, part of the fun of visiting Europe is visiting the grocery stores and seeing what is available locally. Don't bring in cheese from home; it's cheaper in europe than here. Crackers are difficult to find in European markets, but the breads are delicious, cheap and fresh baked every day. Fruit and yogurt are available in all stores and so is candy and snacks. Granola bars you might want to bring from home. If people are into peanut butter, bringing a small jar along in your suitcase would definitely be a good idea for a nutritious snack. Lonely Planet guidebooks usually have listings for grocery stores in each city.

mauld

In all major (and most smaller) cities in Europe there are supermarket-type stores where you can stock up on foodstuffs, toiletries, wine and even souvienirs at much cheaper prices than the tourist stores. (In fact I always make a point of buying my cats some 'foreign cat food'... usually those Whiskas type pouches to bring home). You'll also find a good assortment of deli/grocery stores.

mlm59

Thanks to all of you who gave us many great ideas. I shall pass this information along to our group.

I'm sure all of us will take along some snacks, but we won't to carry food with us as we travel about each day.

I have read that food is most expensive in Switzerland. Will we be able to find a grocery or sandwich shop for reasonably priced food in Lucerne?

scatcat

There are many bakeries in Lucern that sell sandwiches. There is also a McDonalds and a Subway across the street from the train station. Is your group taking the train to Engelberg and on up to Mt. Titless?

Mimmel

In Paris there are small grocery stores called Monoprix & Franprix where you can buy groceries & lunch/snack foods.

mlm59

Again, thanks to all of you have been so helpful. Hopefully everyone will be able to afford at least something for lunch each day. I think we will do okay with the continental breakfast, but I've heard dinner may not be very good.

Scatcat - our group will arrive in Lucerne by train from Florence. We will be in Lucerne for 2 days. We have a tour part of the 1st day and then can do whatever we choose. There is a recommended side trip to Mt. Pilatus. May daughter and I plan to take that trip. Our friend and her daughter who are going also have previously visited Mt. Pilatus and highly recommend it. They say it was one of the hi-lights of their previous trip to Europe.