Swiss diet – or how to survive on a budget in Switzerland
Switzerland is known for being one of the most expensive countries in the world. I hope this is not a surprise for you! The day I saw prices in swiss restaurants here for the first time was the day I have officially decided that it is time for my “Swiss diet”.
Today I would like to share some tricks on how NOT to spend all your money for food and drinks in Switzerland. Believe me you could literally do this in the first few days!
1. Cooking at home
Coming back to the idea of a “Swiss diet”: you can avoid fasting if you cook at home!
The most popular grocery stores in Switzerland are Coop,Migros and Denner. However don’t forget about the German discounters Aldi and Lidl, where prices for similar products are half as much.
The average prices for products in grocery stores (depending on the store) are:
- Pasta/spaghetti (0,5 kg) – 2-3,5 CHF
- Rice – 2-3 CHF
- Milk – 1-2 CHF
- Eggs (10 pieces) – 3-5 CHF
- Bread (one loaf) – 1-2 CHF
- Apples (1 kg) – 2-4 CHF
- Cheese (100 g) – prices for cheese really vary depending on the sort and the brand – could be from 1.50 CHF to 10 CHF (there is actually no limit here, it can be even higher)
The main headache, especially for meat lovers like me, is finding affordable meat and fish. Luckily most stores have always some special deals for meat, chicken and sausages running at all times.
Plus if you are a beer lover you will be surprised about the fact that a beer can be even cheaper than bottled water. However, if you can afford it, you should try a craft beer from one of the many local micro breweries all over Switzerland 🙂
Wine lovers should check regular discounts in Coop and Denner (Migros does not sell any alcohol or tobacco) – or go straight to Lidl, which sells a lot of cheaper, but still drinkable wines. Sometimes you can find discounts of 50-70% for a good bottle of wine 🙂
2. Shopping after 5 pm
Many grocery stores run daily promotions, when the price of perishable products decreases by 20-50% towards closing time (around 17:00).
For the ones who love desserts and pastry this will be an ideal time for shopping: most of the sweets have a discount of 50%, while the quality of the products is still good.
After 5 pm you could also find good discounts for meat, sushi, chicken.
3. Endless water sources
Don’t forget that in Switzerland you have natural sources of drinkable water everywhere – not only from the tap. For example, in Zurich there are around 1200 clean-water fountains. Every fountain that is not explicitly marked as “NO DRINKING WATER” will serve you with fresh water ready to drink. You can just refill your bottle and continue your journey!
Plus not using bottled water is also a great advantage for the environment.
4. Picnics at the lake
Picnics at the lake or in the mountains with wonderful views are certainly equally enjoyable as eating in the fanciest restaurants. Simply enjoy the weather and the peaceful and inspiring scenery, while you taste the many different cheeses you just bought before.
In Switzerland there are plenty of places for picnics with the nicest views. And don’t forget about the huge variety of hiking tracks! You can hike everyday till you cannot feel your legs without having to take the same way twice.
Personally, this is one of the things I really like about Switzerland: enjoying coffee at the lake in the early morning and in the evening gathering with my friends for a couple of drinks after classes.
That were my tips on how to save money while still enjoying the food and drinks Switzerland has to offer.
I hope you find it useful!
Next time I will continue to talk about tips of how to save money living in this crazy (but wonderful) country!
“Prost!” 🙂
