GROCERIES WORK DIFFERENTLY IN EUROPE
Same errand — different stores, different schedule.
Back in Boston, groceries were one trip. Plan the week, load the cart, done. Everything in one place, open whenever you needed it. We didn't think twice about it.
Here it works differently — and once we figured it out, it was fine. Better than fine actually.
In Europe you do one larger run per week for staples and two or three shorter stops during the week for whatever is fresh. You're buying closer to when you'll actually eat it, and that changes how you shop entirely.
Where you live determines what you have access to. In Lyon, as an example, we had everything within walking distance — multiple store formats, markets, bakeries, specialty shops, all nearby. In a mid-size town you'll find one or two supermarkets and a bakery. In a smaller village it's one supermarket, a bakery, and a weekly market, with a short drive for anything more.
The big chains run two formats. The hypermarché or large superstore is your full weekly run — everything including non-food items, open Monday through Saturday until 8 or 9 PM, no midday closing. The supermarché is the regular grocery shop, food-focused and more convenient when you don't need the full haul. Most cities also have a quality city-center option — better food, good ready meals, open late and sometimes Sundays.
Bread comes from the boulangerie or local bakery. Every day or every other day — fresh, never in bulk. Produce from an open-air market a few times a week. Meat and cheese from the butcher and fromagerie. The bakery is a quick errand and the market is a leisurely one.
European apartments have smaller fridges and once you're shopping a few times a week that stops being an issue. You're not storing seven days of food. You're picking up what you need for the next couple of days.
One thing we'll tell you — Sunday afternoon is not the time to realize you're out of something. Before noon on Sunday you have options. After that, much of Europe is done for the day.
We check hours before we go now. That goes for day trips too — and we found mid-week is when Europe opens up. Lower fares, trains never sold out, far fewer crowds. We took four rides across southern France.
Scott & Liza
