However, tourists might find it difficult to navigate the many chains of supermarkets in Paris. Here are the names of Paris supermarkets to know if you’re ready to visit a supermarché.

Franprix

The chain with the most supermarkets in Paris, Franprix has at least one store in almost every neighborhood. Stores carry the brand “Leader Price,” one of the cheapest store brands available. Franprix offers decent produce, frozen selections and general grocery needs. Many locations are even open on Sundays and until 10 p.m. at night! This is by far the most popular supermarket choice.

Carrefour

The Walmart of France, Carrefour offers a huge variety of brand name and generic goods. Smaller Carrefour markets within Paris and larger Carrefour superstores just outside of the city limits are sure to please the most ardent grocery store addict.

Picard

While not the cheapest place to shop, Picard does offer an excellent selection of exclusively frozen goods (this is a good market if you have a freezer). You can get almost anything frozen for reasonable prices, considering the great quality. We recommend sampling the cupcakes at these Paris supermarkets.

Monoprix

Whenever anyone asks where to buy something, Monoprix is usually a good answer. Comparable to Target in the US, Monoprix also doubles as a great grocery store with inexpensive Monoprix brand products. Every arrondissement has at least one large Monoprix store in addition to smaller shops, called Monop’ Daily, for a quick sandwich or can of beans.

Related: Gourmet Picnic ideas for your Paris hotel room

Additional tips

Other Paris supermarkets to look out for include G20 and Coopérative U stores. And while not always as cheap, bodegas and corner markets sell small selections of food at reasonable prices (and stay open late!).

Be warned that most grocery stores close before 9 or 10 p.m. and—apart from a handful of Franprix stores—are rarely open on Sunday. Store brands are consistently cheaper than name brands, though the quality is not remarkably different. Plus, brands such as Leader Price and Monoprix now offer organic goods, so even organic shoppers can find a deal!

Related: Paris Outdoor Markets: 10 tips for budget shoppers

Your experience with Paris supermarkets

Do you have a favorite grocery store or supermarket in Paris? Tell us about it!

The post A guide to supermarkets in Paris appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Whether you’re looking for some vin rouge to go with your dinner or you want a bottle for a friendly picnic, here are some tips to keep in mind for picking an affordable wine.

1. Don’t be thrown off by labels or price tags

Higher prices and pretty labels are not indicative of how much you will like a wine. Bottles at restaurants can cost €20, €40, €60 and beyond.

While the wine will probably be good, less discerning pallets can opt for the much cheaper and equally tasty carafe or pichet of wine. This is a house wine that is served in a small pitcher or glass bottle that comes with none of the frills of a Saint-Emillon or Chateauneuf du Pape, but it will still be a tasty accompaniment to most French meals.

Don’t feel goofy asking for a pichet at lunch or dinner, because even the locals will order up some house red, white, or rosé on a typical evening.

2.  Don’t get too cheapo…

When purchasing a bottle of wine at the grocery store or wine store, even Cheapos have a limit. Any bottle under €3 is rarely something that you’d want to drink, more often reserved for cooking or wild student parties. Stick to the €5-10 range to ensure that the wine won’t make you wince.

Appellation Medoc Contrôlée. Photo: Dominic Lockyer

3. “AOC”? A-OK!

Look for the AOC, or appellation d’origine contrôlée on any bottle you purchase. This indicates that the wine is a credible Bordeaux, Burgundy, or whatever other region (origine) it may claim. Without the AOC, there is no way to know if the wine was made by a professional or from some guy down the street in his bathtub.

Still, if you go to a wine bistrot like Le Verré Volé, many of their wines don’t have a AOC. However, you can be sure that the specialists in the store have visited the vineyards and know exactly where that wine is coming from.

4. Think inside the box, but outside the jug

Box is OK, but plastic jugs might be pushing it. Box wine is not quite trendy, but is accepted with wine stores like Nicolas offering up affordable varieties.

The liter-sized plastic jugs at the supermarkets, however, are not to be trusted. Take a tip from someone who may or may not have been there – it’s not worth testing unless you want your wine to double as a paint-remover.

5.  Know when to say “non”

If you taste a wine and it doesn’t suit your tastes, hopefully you didn’t buy a whole bottle of it at a restaurant. That said, if a wine tastes particularly offensive, with smells and tastes that seem unfit for any mouth, it may be corked, which means the wine has been spoiled in the bottling or aging process.

While rare, receiving a corked glass or bottle of wine can happen, and if you are really unable to drink the wine, ask your bartender or server what they think and they will usually be honest with you.

6. Supermarket wine is not taboo

With aisles devoted to all sorts of regional French wines, Parisian supermarkets like Monoprix and Franprix are acceptable places to buy a bottle for dinner or a picnic.

If you want to ask questions or are looking for something specific, however, head to a wine shop, or caviste. Nicolas or Le Repaire de Bacchus are two such chains found all over the city. Additionally, there are countless independent wine shops and bistros that will be happy to help you find what you’re seeking.

Your wine questions or advice?

What other questions do you have about wine in France? Have some advice to share with our readers? Join the conversation in our comments section!

Also in our guide: Heading to Paris soon and looking for advice on great affordable sleeps? Our editors have hunted down the best hotel deals, all visited, inspected and reviewed by EuroCheapo. Read more in our Paris guide.

Note: This post was updated on September 30, 2015 with new links, photos and information.

The post France: 6 wine buying tips for Cheapos appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

This piece of advice may seem quite obvious, but it’s also surprisingly easy to forget or brush off. After all, when you get thirsty walking down the rue de Rivoli toward the Louvre, dropping a euro or two for a small, yet convenient bottle of water seems like the best option.

Quite often, however, a giant bottle for a fraction of the price sits waiting for you on a shelf, only a minute or two away…

Check in and hit the grocery store

I’m quite proud to say that I’ve now got my grocery routine down. As soon as I check into a hotel in Paris, I usually ask at reception for directions to the nearest grocery store. Not only are French supermarkets fun (you can spend an hour in the cheese section alone) and mix you right in with the locals, they save you money and offer healthy food alternatives to boot.

I usually pick up several bottles of water, along with bananas and oranges, and, if I have a mini-fridge back in my hotel room, yogurt for breakfast. All of these items will be much cheaper in the grocery store (perhaps 50-60 cents for a bottle of Evian that would cost €2-3 at a train station), and they allow me to eat something healthier than the usual hotel offering for breakfast. (I don’t know about you, but after a week of a morning croissant, I start to look a bit like a stick of butter.)

After my cheapo breakfast en chambre, I head to a cafe for a tasty espresso or cappuccino (standing at the bar, of course!).

Back to those water bottles

One note about those bottles of water waiting for you at the supermarket: They’ll be packaged in groups of six or so, and usually priced to be sold as one unit. Don’t panic, in most cases you’re allowed to break up the packs and buy single bottles.

I took the above photo in a supermarket near the Bastille. Note that the packages of Vittel, Badoit and Evian have all been broken up into single bottles. If you don’t see any evidence of single sales, ask somebody working (if you can find anyone). Otherwise, just rip into a package, grab some bottles, and head to the cashier.

Your grocery advice?

Have some advice to share about Parisian supermarkets? Do you have your own rituals for shopping after check-in? Do you make your own breakfast en chambre? Share your thoughts in our comments section.

Also in our guide: If you’re heading to Paris, be sure to check out the reviews of our favorite inexpensive hotels. Our editors have scoured the city’s streets, visiting, inspecting and photographing every budget hotel we can find (water bottle in hand). Read more in our Paris guide.

The post Paris: Only buy your water at the supermarket! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.