Budget for Groceries? Self catering vacation - Paris & Florence

Hi Quinne,

My girlfriend and I traveled through Europe on the food budget of just $25 CAN per person per day, and on this we even ate out one meal per day. In the end, we were well under-budget. Just remember that if you are going to consume much in the way of alcohol or bottled drinks you will need to increase this amount accordingly.

The problem is that there are so many variables that it is nearly impossible to forecast. You indicated three meals - we don't do three meals. And how much cooking do you want to do? We don't do much cooking so we tend to focus on salads, vegetables, fruits, cheese, prepared meats, breads, etc. with some take out. We can get by on about 20 E a day but may not want to go that light.

Hi Quinne - One way to look at this is that you would be eating if you were at home, so consider that when you think about how much you will spend. My husband, adult daughter and I rented an apartment in Paris and we did a lot of meals "at home", or bought supplies to make a picnic lunch. Breakfast was often french toast, made from bread left over from the previous nights dinner. We saved a lot of money doing this. If you are only planning to eat out a few times, think about how much you would spend at home to eat out a few times. Have a fantastic trip!

Hi,, I think Andrea had a good point,, what do you spend a week on groceries at home,, now, add in a few extra treats,, ( wine, pastries etc),,, and consider you have no pantry stock like at home.. and also that Paris and Florence will be a bit more expensive for you as you will not have a car to drive out into suburbs and find hyper marches,( bigger grocery stores)

Also consider on vacation you will buy more prepared foods ( like pastries,, LOL) so you would be spending a bit more there,, and as I said,, treats,,

I tend to be genorous in my estimates, but I think 200-250 euros would do it.. a week , in Paris,, I can't address Florence as I have only been once years ago.

PS I wouldn't count on three meals a day in the apartment,, I mean, you would be out sightseeing during day and not likely to make a habit of returning for lunch all the time.. You could pack picnics I suppose,, but I would just buy a crepe or sandwich from a bakery instead. That would be about 5-7 euros a day each,, including a can of pop from a corner store .

Ps.. don't think in dollars it will scare you,, LOL

We just spent a week with our 2 kids in a self-catering in Ireland and spent about 100 euro in groceries, plus treats and beer. We had cereal/oatmeal/muesli/eggs for breakfast, sandwiches/fruit/yogurt for lunch, and cooked dinner. We bought meats that were on sale and worked our menu around that. Bangers and mash were super cheap to do, since a package of sausages was around 2 euro.

So budget in euros what you would spend on a week of groceries (we spend about $100 US/week here), and that'll get you pretty close.

Address of an on-line Italian supermarket. In Italian of course but an Italian/English dictionary would help. Plus, of course, it has pictures!

Although prices will vary, it will give you a rough idea of the costs of basics etc.

http://www.prontospesa.it/

Thanks everyone - this is a lot of help and gives me an idea of at least where to start.

When at home we spend about $375 for 2 weeks for our family of 4 (2 young girls)which is about $25 per day. So I think if we budget for that plus some extra for a few nice dinners out etc.

Yes we probably won't be coming back to our accommodations for lunch - but would pack some items to eat and then occassionally eat out for lunch too.

I have been to Paris before with my mother back in 2004 so I know how to eat there on a budget relying on restaurants etc. but never bought groceries while I was there so have no idea the cost of things and how far the Euro will actually go.

Parisians and Italians like to shop for food in the mornings and go to different shops for what they need.

To me, not worth the time, but then I never travel to Europe with the idea of skimping on food costs. It is one of the main reasons I go there.

For instance, in Florence you might miss out not going to I Latini. The last time we went to Florence, it was only for a day and it was unfortunately a Monday. I Latini is closed on Mondays. I sat on the curb outside, inconsolable.

Maybe we should budget for our meals in Europe, but honestly, unless you seriously have to stick within a certain budget, I'd buy whatever I wanted from a grocery store or market and not think about it. We did a combo of eating out and self catering (I have Celiac), and I never stopped to think of the cost!

If you go to the French grocery chain Franprix website, and look around you can find a their weekly promotion, a 16 page flyer that you can peruse online. Just google on Franprix to find their website and look for de votre magasin. It could give you some idea of grocery prices for Paris. Sorry I don't know about Florence. Franprix are all over Paris. Also there is a chain called Picards which specializes in frozen foods. They are all over Paris also. Don't know about their prices though.