I must stress that I have searched and couldn't find an answer. I am going to collect a friend from Basel airport on Friday afternoon and thought I would combine it with a trip over to Mulhouse for some shopping. I understand that things are cheaper in France, but would be grateful for some suggestions about what to buy. We eat a fairly broad diet - all except our daugher who is under the impression that fruit and veg are somehow toxic. I know we can't bring more than 500g of meat into Switzerland so will concentrate on stuff like canned tomatoes etc. What about detergent and dishwasher stuff? Laundry powder and toilet rolls.
Any advice is much appreciated.

IIRC you can bring about 2.5 kilos fresh poultry back to Switzerland per person. Fish is pretty much unlimited. I like to pick up cheeses, as there are a number of different cheeses in France. Proper croissants.

Make sure to take a chilly bin with you.

Prices used to be quite a bit cheaper, but the exchange rate has wiped out much of the savings.

Remember that a lot of the limits (such as the 500 grams of beef) are per person travelling ...

Here's the 411:

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en

And straight for the Food & Drink section:

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en

Funny quote though:

A) Meat and edible offal of cow, calf, pig, sheep, goat, horse, ass, mule or hinny, fresh, chilled or frozen"

I have never gone shopping in France but have been to Germany a few times.

I always stock up on detergent (dishwasher, dish soap, laundry), cleaning products, toilet paper, paper towel, wine (not sure if there is a limit to how much you can buy but I have never been stopped at the border), dried pasta, spices, canned tomatoes and some North American junk food I can't find here.

Some things are cheaper, but you'll notice that quite a few things are the same price with the exchange on the Euro. Either way it's just nice to get out and see different surroundings and all of the items on the shelf you'd never eat (like pickled pig's feet and cow tongue) but don't see that much here.

Not much is cheaper in Germany any more, in contrast with a few years ago. Detergent, toiletries etc can be even more expensive.

Meat is obviously a lot cheaper, and judging by that fat steak I had last night, tastes just fine.

Germany has a raging 19% MWSt vs 7.6% in Switzerland: so capital goods may be a good import, if the duty (as opposed to MWSt) is not prohibitive.


dave

If you don't want to drive all the way to Mulhouse (30-40 mn) farther to buy food, there is always Géant in St. Louis (45 avenue du Général De Gaulle) just at the border. And about 10 minutes farther Leader Price (14 rue de l'artisanat, 68680 Kembs). Leader Price is a generic store that
has a very large choice; I find their products are quite good (I've been buying LP brand for 19 years).

Konstanz is a nice day out - a pretty town just over the German border on Bodensee. It can be reached in 39mins by fast horse from Zürich.

dave

Ditto. We don't go as frequently to Mulhouse as we used to because of that. But you do have a bigger selection/larger sizes/more brands to choose from there and can find items that aren't available here.

On the weekend, Lörrach is full of Swiss shoppers. Even at the supermarket, there's almost always someone in front of me getting one of those green forms filled out to claim back their MwSt./duty/whatever.

My brother-in-law in Zürich does the occasional shopping run to Singen. While it's probably not as picturesque as Konstanz, I believe the shopping there is cheaper.

Thanks for all the replies. The main reason (apart from the airport run) is to get girly some neoprene boots that Decathlon stock and there is a Decatholon in Mulhouse. The other reason is due to my lack of spatial awareness, the last time I drove to Basel airport I found myself in Mulhouse and it seemed like a nice little place

Gosh how do I say this? It's nice, but please be careful in Mulhouse; lock your car and hold on to your handbag!

If you were coming from Gockhausen or Glockenspiel it may be complete culture-shock, what with all those people, busy shops n'all.

dave

Darlin' I spent 7 years in the Haut Rhin... I'm in a reverse culture-shock if you wish.

Getting back to the original question: there is a really big Décathlon in Kingersheim (10 mins farther from where Zug Bound got "lost"), there are some intereting priced shops (including my beloved L.P.) in the area.

My recommendations for purchase are things that you simply cannot get here.

Or Italian olive oil and salami for a fraction of the price

Darlin'? A bloke would be taken out and shot like a dog for such a patronising term. It's on a par with dawnclifton's "mate".
Luckily I recognise them for the terms-of-endearment that they are....

dave

There's a nice little cheese shop in the centre of Mulhouse, the "Butterblume Crêmerie". Right opposite the cathedral in the main square.

Of course when we went in the first time, the 4yo says in her most prominant voice: "This place smells!" ... all the Wibblets were quickly herded outside.

It has a huge selection of cheeses. I don't know if it's cheaper/better, but it's damn interesting.

There's a few cafes around for lunch, which are relatively inexpensive. Make a day of it.

cheers,
(Mr)Wibble

Hi All

Mulhouse is great for furniture. There is a huge retail park in Kingersheim, in the northern suburbs, (follow the motorway towards Mulhouse centre and then take the turning north signed to Kingersheim). Incidentally this is where the large Decathlon is located.
Me and the wife recently bought a top quality mattress from the Atlas mega-store there, and saved roughly CHF 1800. In addition, the French believe in fully pocket-sprung mattresses, like the English, and not the interestingly stratified foam things they like to sleep on here. There is a much wider choice of furniture too, with little or no brushed aluminum tubing / hospital bed wheels to be seen.
There is also a baby supplies warehouse in the same estate, we'll be going there this weekend.

Just as a final note, Konstanz is good for a day out, but expensive as it suffers from its position on the Swiss border. Singen is a bit scruffy, but definitely the place to go for retail parks / megamarkets.

Cheers

Jim

I like Mulhouse, though I don't go there that often. It's like a real functioning town with rather than a quaint tourist attraction.

The thing is about shopping abroad, you have do it for speciality items or in sufficent bulk to make it worthwhile, unless you enjoy shopping for its own sake. I don't know how much olive oil I get through in a month, but its not much...

dave

We went shopping to Jetsetten in Germany yesterday and it was, however packed with Swiss, rather good for basic food stuffs: meat, chicken etc. The problem though was there's a distinct lack of choice as Jetsetten is quite small and it only had a couple of main supermarkets. We're going to try Singen next Saturday so we can get more baby stuff among other things. Anyone know of any other good places to shop over the border?

Can anyone pls advice me on Furniture stores in Waldshut region since it is the nearest German border to where I live - Baden. I was looking for an Ikea preferably but I guess the nearest one is in Freiburg (pls correct me if I am wrong).

Thanks in advance for your help.