St Malo - Hypermarkets - which one to go for?

[NicoG]

Afternoon all,

I am going to France this weekend - Portsmouth to St Malo. We have the day in St Malo on Saturday, and I have three aims for the day:

1. not miss any rugby;
2. acquire a lot of wine and cheese; and,
3. have a nice lunch.

In furtherance of 2, I wondered which of three Hypermarkets I should assault out of Leclerc, Carrefour and Intermarche.

I have deployed some man maths in a somewhat novel application, and worked out that if I buy around 100 bottles of wine, the trip itself actually becomes free of charge, based on a saving vs UK prices of 2 - 3 quid on each bottle for the sort of stuff I intend to buy.

I've realised that despite having been to all these supermarkets before over the years, if not in St Malo, elsewhere in France, I don't actually have a clue how they rank in terms of quality - eg which one is a Tesco Equivalent and which is Waitrose/M&S / F&M !

So which is my best bet given my aims? I would like there to be a decent deli / cheese / charcuterie counter too - should I just head for the physically biggest store? I'd rather just do one, as opposed to schlepping all over town in view of aims 1 and 3 above.

Cheers

[Doofus]

NicoG said:

Afternoon all,

I am going to France this weekend - Portsmouth to St Malo. We have the day in St Malo on Saturday, and I have three aims for the day:

1. not miss any rugby;
2. acquire a lot of wine and cheese; and,
3. have a nice lunch.

In furtherance of 2, I wondered which of three Hypermarkets I should assault out of Leclerc, Carrefour and Intermarche.

I have deployed some man maths in a somewhat novel application, and worked out that if I buy around 100 bottles of wine, the trip itself actually becomes free of charge, based on a saving vs UK prices of 2 - 3 quid on each bottle for the sort of stuff I intend to buy.

I've realised that despite having been to all these supermarkets before over the years, if not in St Malo, elsewhere in France, I don't actually have a clue how they rank in terms of quality - eg which one is a Tesco Equivalent and which is Waitrose/M&S / F&M !

So which is my best bet given my aims? I would like there to be a decent deli / cheese / charcuterie counter too - should I just head for the physically biggest store? I'd rather just do one, as opposed to schlepping all over town in view of aims 1 and 3 above.

Cheers

The duty-free allowance for bringing wine into the UK is 18 litres / 25 bottles.

[Jordie Barretts sock]

As your man says, you can't just load up anymore.

I've always found LeClerc to be slightly cheaper than Carrefour. But they're all much of a muchness.

[omniflow]

I googled the Waitrose question about 18 months ago - the results were inconclusive.

My personal preference is Leclerc - but I've not been to the St. Malo one.

There is a Maison Georges Larnicol in St. Malo - the Kouginets are fabulous with a cup of coffee, and will keep a couple of days.

[Muzzer79]

LeClerc has always been the best in my experience.

The coffee eclairs are also to die for

[matrignano]

Doofus said:

The duty-free allowance for bringing wine into the UK is 18 litres / 25 bottles.

24 bottle (4 cases) per person!
So if OP travels with other people they collectively could bring more booze. Not sure if minors/kids also count in terms of extra allowance

[Jordie Barretts sock]

Children do not count!

And Border Force WILL check on your way back.

[captain_cynic]

Doofus said:

The duty-free allowance for bringing wine into the UK is 18 litres / 25 bottles.

That is still quite substantial.

You can also bring in
- 42L of beer.
- 4L of spirits or 9L of alcohol below 22% ABV which is not beer or still wine (I.E. sparkling wine, port, sherry, cider, schnapps).

Per adult

Spare a thought for Australians where the government limits you to 2.25L of any alcoholic beverage.

[Doofus]

captain_cynic said:

Doofus said:

The duty-free allowance for bringing wine into the UK is 18 litres / 25 bottles.

That is still quite substantial.

Yes, but the OP said he plans to buy 100 bottles.

[omniflow]

Jordie Barretts sock said:

Children do not count!

And Border Force WILL check on your way back.

I've been to Europe by car about 8 times since Brexit and not once have customs pulled me over to check what I've got in the car.

Yes, passport control will check that you've got no extra people in the car, but that's been it for me.

Before Brexit, I got stopped by customs 3 or 4 times over 20 years or so.

[Jordie Barretts sock]

Alright Mr Pedant.

There is a risk that BF will check on the way back if your vehicle looks well loaded. And that you have only been away for a little over 24 hours.

Better?

[NicoG]

Thanks to all who have identified the mouche in my pommade.

I will be with one other adult who doesn't like wine (yeah I know....) and if anything will be more interested in some form of tart fuel, so I can have 48 bottles.

On the plus side, I can double my budget per bottle, and thus, savings per bottle and still have a free trip! Petit Chablis will become premier cru - I can live with that !

[NicoG]

Forgot to say it sounds like Leclerc is the winner, and it does appear to be the biggest...

[Mobile Chicane]

Leclerc.

Make sure you buy at least one of their hefty carrier bags and use it in the UK at every opportunity.

[omniflow]

Jordie Barretts sock said:

Alright Mr Pedant.

There is a risk that BF will check on the way back if your vehicle looks well loaded. And that you have only been away for a little over 24 hours.

Better?

In my opinion this isn't pedantic, merely the use of the correct name for the function. Border Force really won't give two hoots about how much wine you've got. It will be Customs that take an interest. Border Force will be looking for stowaways.

When you're driving off the boat, there are two sets of checks you pass through. The first one is Border Force - there's generally a queue - you have to stop and present passports for every passenger in the car. If you've got a big car or a motorhome, they may check in the boot / inside to make sure there are no undeclared people in the car / motorhome. Generally this is known as "Passport Control".

Once you've been through passport control you then go past customs. They generally have a large building and they may signal you to drive inside. If they don't then off you go. If they do, then they might just ask you a couple of questions, or they might start to check over your vehicle. Even if they start to check over your vehicle, they may not bother to count the booze you've got with you - it all depends on what they've decided to check for.

[Jordie Barretts sock]

You missed my smiley then?

Bet you're a real hit at the drinks party.

[Boxster5]

I concur that Leclerc is our favourite too (although never been to the St Malo one) and we’ve been to all the usual rivals.
The Leclerc in Reims for example is absolutely massive, so much so that some staff travel around using rollerblades! It also has the biggest cheese counter and olive selection we’ve ever seen anywhere.
It’s also spotless like all the Leclerc we’ve been in, a far cry from the usual grubby UK supermarkets.
I wish we had the same standards here.

[andyA700]

Jordie Barretts sock said:

Alright Mr Pedant.

There is a risk that BF will check on the way back if your vehicle looks well loaded. And that you have only been away for a little over 24 hours.

Better?

He isn't being a pedant, it is very unlikely they will check, it is just up to you if you want to take a chance. I have been travelling to France on daytrips and main holidays since 1997 and I haven't been checked once, including the time when I had a gunbag and targets on the rear parcel shelf in my BMW. Nowadays though, that would probably see a full SWAT squad descend on me.

[andyA700]

The Leclerc in St Malo is very good. It is just off the Rue de la Croix au Fevre.

[Rob 131 Sport]

St. Malo is a great place for a stopover as discovered last year having a night there as opposed to years of just passing through.

The Ferry to St. Malo is on the ‘mature’ side and I think k is been replaced shortly.