Supermarkets in Paris

In France there are two kinds of supermarkets. A supermarché is what comes up in most people's mind when they think of a supermarket. A hypermarché is a gigantic store that combines a supermarket and a department store. Besides food and drinks you can buy e.g. clothes, books, kitchen equipment, suitcases, office supplies and computers at hypermarchés. 

The following supermarché chains can be found at different locations in Paris:

Lidl
Lidl is the cheapest supermarket in Paris. Besides food and drinks, you can buy detergents and toiletries at Lidl. The disadvantage of Lidl is the lack of choice. You can buy three
different kinds of soap. That's it. However, soap costs € 0.80 at Lidl, whereas you would
pay € 1.50 at other stores. Another example is olive oil, which costs € 2.75 at Lidl and
€ 3.85 at some other stores. And a fresh pain au chocolat costs only € 0.35. If you want to
save money, I advice you to try to find what you're looking for at Lidl. If you can't find it there, go somewhere else.

DIA
DIA is a Spanish discount supermarket chain that has 90 stores in Paris. You're more likely to find a DIA in your neighborhood than a Lidl, the other discount supermarket chain. The difference with Lidl is that DIA comes up with great, but temporary (!) discounts, while Lidl has mostly fixed prices. DIA is slightly more expensive than Lidl, but sells a wider range of products. To give you an idea of the prices: 1 kilo of nectarines costs € 1.99, one lemon costs € 0.59 and a bottle of sugar free lemonade costs € 2.09. DIA's cheese is € 0.50 more expensive than Lidl's cheese.  

Carrefour City
Carrefour is a chain with both supermarchés (called ''Carrefour City'') and hypermarchés. Carrefour City can be found everywhere in Paris. In most cases it's a small store with a limited amount of products. Unlike Lidl, this is not reflected in the price. Carrefour City is the most expensive supermarket in Paris. You pay for the convenience of having a quality supermarket nearby, even if you live within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. If you don't want to spend too much money on groceries I advice you to look for another supermarket.

 

 

Monoprix
Monoprix is somewhere in between a supermarché and a hypermarché. It combines food retailing with hardware, clothing, household items and gifts, but the stores are not as massive as the hypermarchés and can therefore be found in every arrondissement. In case you don't want to leave your house you can even buy Monoprix's products online and have it sent to your house. Monoprix is not a discount supermarket. The prices are similar to Carrefour City. People with a limited budget are better off going to Lidl or DIA, unless they need a dish brush or other household products.   

 

Franprix
There are regular sized and small stores of Franprix in Paris. In general, Franprix charges less for products that you could also find at Carrefour City and Monoprix. Lidl and DIA are cheaper though. A white baguette costs € 1.00, 3 big bananas cost € 1.40 and you pay € 2.25 for chorizo (100 gram).   

There are only two hypermarché chains that can be visited by metro. Most hypermarchés  are situated outside Paris, because the hypermarché chains are not allowed to have a store in the city centre due to the size of the store.  

Carrefour
Carrefour is a chain with both supermarchés (called ''Carrefour City'') and hypermarchés (called ''Carrefour Auteuil'', named after the neighborhood). The Carrefour hypermarché that can be visited by metro is situated in the 16th arrondissement. Carrefour is one of the more expensive stores, but the quality of the products is excellent.  

Practical information
Address

3 Avenue du Général Sarrail, 75016 Paris

Arrondissement
16^th

Website

http://www.carrefour.fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Michel-Ange Molitor (red circle below).

 

 

 

Auchan
Auchan is cheaper than Carrefour. The food and drinks are more expensive than at Lidl and DIA, but at Auchan you have an endless choice of products. There is even a salad bar. To be more specific about the price differences between Auchan and Carrefour I'll give you an example. The cheapest plastic bin at Carrefour cost me € 7.50. One day later I found a similar plastic bin at Auchan for € 2.50. I regretted buying the plastic bin at Carrefour! Also, Auchan is a lot bigger than the Carrefour hypermarché. 
 

Practical information
Address

26 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 93170 Bagnolet
Arrondissement
20^th
Website
http://www.auchan.fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Gallieni (red circle below).