My wife and I will be in France, Swizterland, and Germany for a total of 21 days. We are planning on bringing with a small backpack with items for a noon picnic or something to eat on the train. Are there any rules, laws, or culture in any of these areas against eating or drinking wine/beer in public?

Thomas Cook publishes some very small books in the series "Time for Food..."
for some of Europe's major cities.
There are very brief restaurant reviews, shopping advice, and also advice on places to picnic in those cities. There is definitely an edition for Paris.

I know that in Paris you cannot sit on the grass in many public parks, such as Luxembourg Gardens, where we saw the gendarmes enforcing the law.

Eating, and wine drinking, are almost mandatory on trains in Europe! Feel free to bring a picnic lunch on board.

Re parks: Yes, you may not be able to sit on the grass, but there will be chairs and benches. Not a problem.

Which brings up the question, is it ok to drink wine in a public park? Or in any public area that is not a restaurant?

One of the greatest pleasures in my several trips to Europe has been the liberty to share a glass of wine and perhaps a bit of cheese or sausage with my wife in a public place without being made to feel like a criminal and/or substance abuser of some sort as I usually am made to feel by the puritanical neo-abolitionists here in the US.

Amen FlyFish!

Here's an interesting related column in the Telegraph (3/6/01): "America's alcohol laws would drive anyone to drink"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...3/wsteyn03.xml


nocinonut, I've always wondered that myself. It's always been my impression that it's acceptable, if not legal, to drink wine or beer in public parks, or other public areas, in many (most?) places in Europe. I just tried searching the web for specific info about this but couldn't seem to find anything.

I may be wrong but it *seems* that European cultures are more concerned about public drunkenness than they are about public drinking.

Hi,

Yes, you may eat on the trains. Make sure you put your trash in the trash cans or take it with you off the train.

Yes, you may picnic in public and drink alcoholic beverages. Don't sit on the grass unless lots of people are doing it, and don't leave trash behind.

You will discover that Europeans are more concerned that what you do doesn't interfere with other folks than with what you do.

I recall one time in Denmark when an amorous couple were left to embrace in the middle of a street - until the light changed.

capo - - Many thanks - that column's a keeper and I have duly printed it out for filing. The author understands perfectly, as, apparently, do you.

You're welcome, FlyFish.

I especially loved the line, "In the United States, they enjoy getting drunk on insane stigmatisatory excess."

And the author's contention that "The jurisdictions that have the least alcoholism are those in which drinking is most socially acceptable and integrated into family life" is an interesting one.

I'm still coming up short trying to find something on the web about public drinking in European countries. I'd love to know if it's legal, or illegal but ignored unless one is drunk and obnoxious.

I know, Capo. In Italy I wanted to take my wine glass from my rental apt. down to the square to watch the sunset, and still don't know if it is legal or not.
I took it but felt guilty, like a child sneaking a drink.

It just occurred to me that maybe the reason I'm not finding anything pertaining to public drinking in European countries is that any laws, if they exist, are specific to municipalities, rather than to the entire countries.

nocinonut, when I was in Venice back in '87, I remember someone telling us to "be discreet" drinking wine in public. But last year, I specifically asked the people at our locanda about it and they said it was perfectly fine. Whether things have changed since '87, or we just got different advice, I don't know.

We had a picnic, with wine, in Rome's Campo di Fiori last year. I asked a group of Italians sitting next to us if drinking wine there was OK and they said yes, and that was enough for us.

If you're not sure wine drinking is allowed you can take a coke bottle for red wine, 7-UP for white wine, and enjoy it "legally".

I'm not saying right or wrong or savvy, but only my experiences. I bought a bottle of white wine from the wine shop when I arrived Venice and had a few hours before I could check into my hotel. I owner kindly got a cold one & opened it for me. So I sat and drank a bottle of wine by an out-of-the-way canal. Not classy perhaps but no one (including me) seemed to care!

On trains, anything seems to go as far as food and beverage. But as with hotels rooms, always clean up your own mess.

As several have mentioned... 1) walking on the grass in a public park in Paris seems by FAR the worse public social etiquette breech + 2) in Venice do NOT handle the fruit at a sidewalk stand or read the magazines at a newsstand!!!!!

Most of the picnics i've been on in France have involved a bottle of wine or a few beers... Even those picnics organized by French friends (families w/ kids, older people). In Paris, we often used to take a picnic + wine down onto the left bank of the Seine opposite Notre Dame or to the Parc André Citroen in the 15th.
If you are eating, in France no-one will pour scorn on your right to enjoy a glass of wine with your food, whether indoors or out! And of course, beer is almost considered like a soft drink - you'll often find it next to the cans of Coke in the coolers that young vendors carry around near the main tourist attractions in paris.
On the TGV train, it's not uncommon to see people sip a beer or glass of wine from the bar (they sell the stuff on the train).

Hi

It is a common site to see French families taking a picnic by the side of the road. There are many shaded areas with tables for the purpose.

Quite a nice lifestyle ? French bread, bit of cheese, ham, tomato ....... followed by fresh peaches. With wine of course.

Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com

Broadly speaking, the further south you go in Europe (and the more Catholic the country), the more relaxed both social attitudes and legal prescriptions are likely to be about alcohol. The further north (and the more Protestant the dominant cultural tradition) you go, the greater the likelihood of puritanism.

In the UK, drinking in public is not illegal, except that some city centres have local bye-laws designed to stop groups of vagrants and/or young hooligans concentrating to drink in public places. Some of us over 50s were brought up not to eat and drink on the street, but, in the area of social disapproval, food that is hot and smelly and drink that is likely to fizz and spray are obviously more of a problem than cold picnic food and still drinks. In London, not on a bus or tube, but on longer-distance trains (especially when not crowded) perfectly OK - why else do they have buffet cars and refreshment trolleys? What would a trip to the seaside be without devouring your egg sandwiches, pork pie and apple before you even start seeing the countryside?

There are regulations in Germany about barbecues and parties in public parks but two people sitting down somewhere, eating and drinking, are absolutely acceptable. Drining alcohol in public is also legal and acceptable. As soon as the weather allows, every second restaurant and pub puts out a few tables on the street and they serve alcoholic drinks. As for trains, eating and drinking is also normal (they sell food and alcoholic drinks in the trains to be consumed in the seats). I'm pretty sure that the same applies for Switzerland and France.

Noone will bat an eye on the trains in Switzerland if you are eating. The food sold from the carts that might be rolled down the aisles is on the expensive side so it isn't uncommon for someone to bring their own along. The only problem you may encounter is that of ice, should you prefer to drink something with ice in it. Some Europeans seem to think that ONE ice cube in a drink is suffcient!

Bonjour All,

In France and Switzerland, it is perfectly legal to drink alcohol in public, including parks and trains. Only public drunkenness is illegal, if it "disturbs the peace" (read repeatedly bothering passerbys, a fight, or dancing naked on the tables - but then if the dance has artistic merits, you might even get away with it ;-> ).

What's more, nobody will ever frown upon someone merely having a beer or some wine on a picnic, even with their children nearby. Drinking in moderation is perfectly acceptable socially.

In Swiss trains, take advantage of the local wines sold on board. Sante ! (To your health!)