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cost of food and drink

wales
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cost of food and drink
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i'm going to berritz mid april with a few family members to watch my nephew in an international rugby tournement.

heard storries of how expensive food and drink is in france, what sort of prices can i expect. generally we will be cooking at out accomodation, so what can i expect to pay

London, UK
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Food and drink need not be expensive in France, but inevitably if you stick to a British diet it can be. I am not sure from your post whether you are eating out or selfcatering. If the latter then prices are comparable to Britain, particularly if you use a supermarket or can find an open air market. Restaurants display their menus outside and it is usually quite possible to find places that have lower prices than in UK fo a comparable or better meal. If you want to have several pints of beer after each match then the cost will certainly mount up.

wales
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Thanks for that. We will be looking to cook ourselves most of the time, really looking forward to french food eating al fresco. What's the cost of local wines

Liverpool, United...
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I agree that eating out is generally cheaper for a meal of better quality - especially if you go for the set menus, which usually have a few choices for each course. Also eating out at lunch time is cheaper, as there is always a cheaper lunchtime menu.

We have found that buying ingredients such as meat is more expensive than in Britain, but often local butchers are no more expensive than the supermarkets. If you are eating in, and are on a budget, it makes sense to buy the cheaper cuts of meat as most French people do, rather than the sirloin steaks, lamb chops and duck breasts - but you are on holiday, so you may want to treat yourself, and even if the meat is more expensive, it will still be cheaper cooking at home for your evening meals than going out.. Try to buy local produce at markets, and you shouldn't go wrong.

We tend to eat out cheaply at lunch time, and then have a light meal in in the evenings.

Wine is very good value - you will find that the house wine in both restaurants and bars are very cheap and high in quality when compared to Britain (and Spain, where house wines are often really rough). Wine is also sold at very reasonable prices for a glass, 1/4 pichet (1/4 of a litre, which is two small glasses), 1/2 pichet etc. One of the most civilised things about France is that you can buy enough wine for one, two or four glasses without the ridiculous mark up you get in the UK for half bottles.

Beer (always lagers) is usually stronger than our standard lagers, and ends up being more expensive - the usual drink size is 1/3 litre I think (just under half a pint) but when you compare prices pint for pint, you pay more in France. But you do end up drinking less of it!

Edited: 13 years ago
wales
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that sounds great, never ben to france, really looking forward to it.

going to local markets grabbing some bread, olives, cooked meats, wine and lazing round for 10 days with a bit of rugby in between.

are there any things you would recomend doing or seeing around the biarritz area, we've got cars hired, so travelling is no problem

Ohio, USA
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The villages and towns along the coast — Hossegor, Guéthary, St-Jean-de-Luz etc.

Take a trip into Spain at least as far as San Sebastian. Head back to Biarritz by way of Pamplona and St-Jean-Pied-de-Port and/or take the road from Pamplona to Hendaye.

Explore all the coast roads between St-Jean-de-Luz and San Sebastian.

Take the little train to the top of the mountain at la Rhune. Fun and spectacular views.

Lots of good villages to explore.

You will find both wine and beer in the local shops to be very good value, but be very careful of drinking wine if you are having a picnic while you are out exploring. The BA limit in France is 0.05 and it is vigorously enforced. I've seen roadside checks in the oddest places and at all times of the day and night.

Enjoy!

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