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This is What $20 Buys At Grocery Stores In Europe

May 28, 2016 //  by Follow Me Away//  16 Comments

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Have you ever wondered how much you can buy for $20 at grocery stores in Europe? The results are pretty interesting and in some places, $20 in groceries bought us a good haul and in other cities, we left the store with only a few items. Although grocery shopping in Europe can be stressful at times, we had fun lining up all of the food after we arrived back from the store to see how much $20 measured up.

For all you ready to chastise us for “bad” eating, keep in mind that we may have spent more than $20 on a few shopping trips! Not to worry, we kept our receipts and made sure our total added up to $20! Now it is your turn to see what $20 of groceries looks like!

This is What $20 Buys At European Grocery Stores

Reykjavik, Iceland

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We knew Iceland was going to be pricey going in, but $20 was able to get us a decent amount of groceries. We were able to make the fruit and cheese last the entire 8 days we were on the island. While you are at it, why not check out 5 things to know about grocery stores in Iceland? 

Berlin, Germany

This is what $20 of Groceries looks like in different European cities

Compared to other grocery stores in Europe, Berlin provided us with a fantastic haul! Dare we say, we got the best bang for our buck on European groceries in Berlin? Some items we purchased, such as the mayonnaise, stayed with us for almost  3 months. It is a miracle neither of us got sick from the amount of times it warmed up to room temperature during travel days.

Prague, Czech Republic

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

This Caprio juice was the nastiest stuff we have ever tasted. I’m pretty sure we returned it for store credit. We also got ingenious and made homemade strawberry shortcake and it was fantastic.

Bunbeg, co. Donegal, Ireland

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

$20 of groceries in Donegal actually doesn’t seem as bad now as it did back then. We felt like we drained our wallets at that tiny and expensive Eurospar, one of the more expensive grocery stores in Europe.

Vienna, Austria

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Overall, Austria ended up being the most expensive country for buying groceries. Some cities were more expensive individually, but as a whole, Austria was certainly the priciest! On another note, those pretzels lasted for like an entire month.

Modane, French Alps

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

These brownies were the BEST DESSERT EVER. We should have bought like 3 boxes! Those zucchini latkes were spot on as well. Have to say we got a little over-zealous with the huge container of corn.

Imperia, Italy

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

Those muffins tasted good even after being squished in the bottom of our backpack for 3 weeks. We also learned to love blood orange juice. Have you tried it? It is pretty magical.

Innsbruck, Austria

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These waffles were an excuse for a breakfast item and were far too sweet. Also, Innsbruck is the place we discovered the magic of pear juice. We have also discovered that pear juice isn’t readily available at grocery stores in America so it will be a special treat when we head to Europe.

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

Confession: we didn’t actually buy this because $10 for ice cream is insane, but we had to take a photo anyway! $20 USD would get you like 2-3 items in Vaduz! If you want to visit, we suggest saving your pennies!

Dalkey, Ireland 

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

In Dalkey, we were able to purchase a massive box of veggie spring rolls on the cheap! The box was so big that we had spring rolls with each meal for almost two weeks! Grocery stores in Ireland can be on the pricey side so planning what you want to eat is important.

Trento, Italy

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

These cookies were such a huge letdown! They looked like chocolate chip but they definitely were NOT! We took them back to the store and it was a huge ordeal. We could have bought a house easier. We learned that taking things back in Italy is certainly not as painless as taking something back in America! Also, take note of the pear juice! 😉

Allerscheim, Germany

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Out of all the countries we visited, $20 stretched the furthest when purchasing groceries in Germany. That chocolate cost under $1 and we should have bought like 15 of them! Fruits, veggies, and meats were all the most affordable in Germany.

Lyon, France

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

We visited 33 cities and Lyon was the worst price wise when it comes to grocery stores in Europe. We ate out every day in Paris but the groceries were still cheaper, which is surprising. That was the best salad we have ever had and the dressing was on point.

Budapest, Hungary

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

We have never eaten such gross cheese puffs in our lives. Also, did you know that black beans virtually don’t exist in Europe and we were stuck eating kidney beans with every dish? Kidney beans don’t make for the best tacos, in case you were wondering!

Dublin, Ireland 

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

3 for $10? That was a pretty good price for that much meat! These cheese puffs were actually decent tasting but nothing beats the highly processed American kind!

Bogliasco, Italy

What $20 of Groceries Looks Like Around Europe

We couldn’t even make $20 of groceries because everything was so cheap! This small Mediterranean town gave us some fantastic bang for our buck. Plus, that tiramisu was freaking delicious.

Salzburg, Austria 

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This cheese was actually disgusting and the tacos we made didn’t taste the best either. We can blame the kidney beans and lack of black beans. Also, liter containers are beyond small and are used up in like two days!

Taking pictures of $20 worth of groceries in Europe for 3 months was so fun! Here are our conclusions:

Best city: Berlin

Worst City: Lyon

Best country: Germany

Worst country: Austria

Which European country gives you the best bang for your buck? Is there food from a specific country you are just waiting to try? Tell us in the comments! 

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Category: Destinations, Europe, Travel TipsTag: Budget Travel, Europe, france, germany, Iceland, Ireland, Paris, travel hacks, travel tips

Previous Post: « The Perfect European Road Trip Route: 8 Countries in 7 Days
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Larissa

    May 31, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    Black beans do exist in Europe you just need to know where to look for 😉 I’m Brazilian so I need my beans hahaha. Also for me Paris has been by far the most expensive city !! Great post xx

    Reply
    • Follow Me Away

      June 2, 2016 at 9:29 pm

      We probably saw them one time in all of our 3 months being there! Paris is expensive but Ireland was worse!

      Reply
  2. Jessica Spivey

    June 3, 2016 at 6:48 am

    What a neat idea! Thank you for sharing. Very interesting to compare!

    Reply
  3. Kathi

    June 18, 2016 at 8:48 am

    You really tried to return stuff you had tried and just didn´t like???

    Other than that, yes austrian groceries are quite expensive esp. compared to Germany or Italy which is a food heaven, but it also depends on which store one buys. Hofer (Aldi) is less expansive than Merkur and so on..

    Reply
  4. Megan

    September 1, 2016 at 8:31 am

    You need to head over to Poland! Super cheap, delicious and fresh food.

    Reply
  5. Connie Parchman

    September 2, 2016 at 11:33 pm

    The local “supermarket” is one of my favorite places to visit in any new city. Thanks for the fun comparison!

    Reply
  6. Diane

    February 19, 2017 at 3:58 am

    Super interesting. So fun to see what $20 bucks buys. Sharing w/my FB community!

    Reply
    • Follow Me Away

      February 20, 2017 at 1:15 pm

      Thanks so much!!

      Reply
  7. Anna

    February 21, 2017 at 10:55 am

    That comparision doesn’t make any sense… Especially about Liechtenstain.. You chose the most expensive brands (and they are expensive in all european countries), while in other cities you were buying the cheapest brands…

    Reply
    • Follow Me Away

      February 21, 2017 at 1:04 pm

      Hey Anna! As we said we didn’t buy anything from Lichtenstein, but the Ice cream was a stark example of the high prices in that country. We wanted to pick up a drink and chips and were shocked at the high prices so we didn’t even buy that. It is just a very pricey country all around 🙂

      Reply
  8. Anna

    February 21, 2017 at 10:58 am

    Also, it’s a big difference between, for example, Eurospar and Tesco in Ireland. It’s ALWAYS expensive when you shop in small stores, no matter which country it is.

    Reply
    • Follow Me Away

      February 21, 2017 at 1:05 pm

      Of course there is a difference and we would always love to shop at the absolute cheapest store. Unfortunately in remote places like Donegal, a Eurospar is a welcome sight and we don’t have the freedom to choose between many options.

      Reply
  9. Ball and Chain Travels

    February 1, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    I wish we would have done one of these and totally plan on it for our next visit. We were constantly blown away by what we could get compared to the U.S. Great post!

    Reply
    • Follow Me Away

      February 1, 2018 at 8:49 pm

      You so should!! It is such a fun little project!

      Reply
  10. sam esfahani

    May 29, 2019 at 8:33 am

    you have to buy the exact same thing if you wanna compare!

    Reply

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