Diesel at 90p a litre: France is affordable again

As I write, the euro is creeping up past 1.15 to £1, an encouraging signs after creeping close to parity at the end of 2008.

So prices in France aren’t as scary as they were. Diesel was 90p a litre when I visited France a couple of weeks ago. And you can eat out at a sensible price since that nice Monsieur Sarkozy reduced VAT in restaurants from almost 20% to just 5.5%.

Chris and Yannick (our park manager and chef respectively) have come up with some great value menus including local style food, seafood and meat feast, all at around €15-17 for a three course meal. Chris says it’s the best value in the Vendée.

To make the most of your euros, you need to spend wisely. For example, remember that in France petrol and diesel prices vary more than in the UK –  when I was filling my tank with diesel at €1.01 per litre, the motorway services were selling it at €1.15. Always head for the hypermarkets – they are never far away. Look for “Centre Commercial” signs*.

Staying at Le Pas Opton, you’ll probably be self catering much of the time. Hyper U and Leclerc in nearby St Gilles both offer great value for good French food. You can pick it off the shelves, or try your luck (and your French) conversing with the butcher or fishmonger behind the counters – always fun and they love it when you try out your language skills!

* If you leave the UK with an empty tank , then try:

For St Malo – there’s a 24 hour self service petrol station at the Intermarche hypermarket on the left as you drive out of town.

For Caen – there’s an Esso unmanned self service station, adjacent to Intermarche on the way out of the port town of Ouistreham. But for the best fuel prices, drop into Carrefour just next to the Caen ring road.

En route, there’s a Carrefour just outside Avranches, close to the road down to Rennes – look out for signs to Zone d’activites de la Baie – it’s on the Rennes side of town. There’s a large Hyper U at Bain de Bretagne between Rennes and Nantes. And once you’ve arrived at LPO, you’ll find Hyper U and Leclerc fighting it out on price.