Hi there,
I'd like to spend a weekend in Basel, and on that occasion cross the border to France and do some shopping there?
Does anyone know where to do some nice shopping, I'd like to shop for books and food?

Thanks in advance for your tips

about 10 mn with a car (from the border),you have l ile de napoleon,it s a mall,with:
la maison du monde,thai restaurant,c&a,la halle aux chaussures,carrefour......and sooooo much more(but i just told you my favorites)
have a great time and a great shopping.

here s the link:

http://www.ilenapoleon.com/120-14042...poleon.com.php

There is a Saturday morning market in St Louis - mostly fresh fruit and locally grown vegetables, but also cheeses, bread, meat, regional cakes and honey ( I love the jars of walnuts in honey) There is also basic, cheap clothing there - much of it rather dowdy, but occassionally there is something nice - last weekend there were two stalls of interestingly cut, linen clothing.


I can also recommend the Geant supermarket ( being the only one I have been to , but I know other EF folk also recommend other St Louis supermarkets.)

From St Louis you are very close to the German border too - with the mall that is just across the walking bridge, at Huningue. (easist to leave the car by the Rhine and walk across)

Hi,

I often go to Leclerc in St Louis. It's 5 min by car from Basel and has a good choice of meat, fish and fresh vegetables at decent prices:
http://www.e-leclerc.com/magasin/st-...infospratiques
You can also go ther by bus by taking I think 64 from Schifflaende.
Enjoy your shopping

Without wanting to point out the obvious, the books in St. Louis will all be in French. If you're looking for English-language books, you won't find anything (although there are a few stores in Basel).

Leclerc has a small selection of books (as well as a big selection of magazines), but from memory I don't think St. Louis has a dedicated bookstore.

Wow, you must drive like a Frenchman!

Illzach is 37km from Basel. So as long as you maintain a speed of 222km/h, you can make it in ten minutes. (Please note, there's a speed camera just after the change to the 130km/h limit that you should watch out for)

For the rest of us, Illzach is more like a 25-30 minute drive.

What kind of food, what kind of expenses, how much time do you have?
There might be some where sooner, but if you have 30 minutes, drive to Colmar, take in the day and go to FNAC. They have english books as well. If you are just looking for french books, GEANT, Carrefour, any big super market has some basic french soft cover books available. If you are looking for cheap by pass Geant. I go there often, when I don't have the time. Instead take an extra 5 minutes and go to DIA or ED, it's one of those two(what I mean is it's called one of those two as they changed some storefront accessories, but it's the same company), MEGA cheap, LIDL no thrift style, but far better products. Most stores along the border accept CHF for payment, so does Geant. But in St Louis there is a store that used to be an Auchun, not a Smiley or something, across the corner from there(there is a pedestrian street and is across from a hotel, there is a change machine from CHF to euros, that gives the best rates. Banks are the worst via experience.
Mulhouse is a driving nightmare, but some architecture that is similar to New Orleans is there in the Old Town.
Meat(beef), remember Switzerland has meat restrictions. I can't remember the amounts, but once you cross them, like 500 grams to a kilo, you can get whacked with a 250 CHF fine. All sorts of other sausages and chicken, and what ever with a pulse has different restrictions.
There is a great meat place although across from the Ed store, just so you know.
About taxes and allowances. I used to think bringing more then a liter over the border of wine would wind me in big trouble. The fact is, they will just add, what turns out to be a quite meager tax of things like wine and milk. Wine is SOOOOOOOOOOO much cheaper in France, and there, such as in Blotzheim and St Louis wine stores selling in bulk, and at french prices. Go ahead and declare it. Be sure to keep your receipt. The tax is far less then buying a bottle of even mediocre or JP Chenet here.

You won't be fined if you declare the goods at the border. You will, obviously, have to pay tax.

You're allowed 500g of red meat per person, and up to two litres of wine (although in practice they'll allow 3 x 70cl bottles without charging tax).

Here are the duty free limits on food.

The additional tax on wine is tiny (0.60 CHF per litre) for up to 20 litres. After this, it rises to CHF 3- per litre.

Here are the duty free limits on alcohol.

Of course, you can bring in as much as you can hold in your belly without declaring it!

Hey guys,

Thanks for the quick replys:
@ absami: The mall looks great, I will surely check it out, I am looking forward to going to Sephora as well

@ Village Idiot: Thanks for pointing it out, I need to freshen up my French, so I am actually looking for French books, and looking around in Zurich, I found that they are way too expensive

@ Confloozed: Thanks, I am thinking of going to FNAC, but I need to convince hubby to go this far into France, he hates driving around the frenchmen, as he thinks of their driving style as rather, ehm, individual

@ bif: Thanks, I was thinking of St. Louis, good to know the name of the supermarket, was rather difficult to find this in the Internet....

Thanks again for all your replies, they are really valuable!

It's an easy drive to Colmar, and a beautiful town. If he likes beer and Beer Tent kind of food he will be in heaven. There are many little streams that run thru the town, and lots of great shops. Even a covered central market. There are even huge supermarkets in ZAC, exterior parts of the town. Remember this though. If you are low on gas out of Colmar, the next real accessible gas station is in Prattlen, CH.