 Poster: A snowHead
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We've just arrived in Bardonecchia from the Maurienne in France, and found everything apart from coffee much more expensive. I'd always read on Snowheads that it was cheaper here, and I guess it is for Brits who only know the Tarentaise or Morzine.
Fuel is 10 cents a litre more, lift passes are more a day, and bread and tap water is charged for at the table. Beers are 10cl smaller.
I am just surprised, as Italy is listed as having a 20% lower cost of living. Maybe it's just this area, or is the Maurienne good value compared to mainstream French ski domains?
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 21-01-18 18:36; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Although on the plus side, there's been a foot of snow in 6 hrs, and next week should be sunny
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@cstreat, I think you’ve been going to the wrong places. Certainly in the Sella Ronda area I’ve always found it cheaper in Italy with great food.
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Or the right places in France. I haven't been to the Maurienne for a while but it was very reasonable.
On a couple of visits to Italy in the summer I didn't find it expensive.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Maybe it's close enough to France that the pricing attitudes rubbed off a bit?
I can only speak on the dolomiti superski area but that was wonderfully cheap compared to french places I've been. Espresso 1 euro, bombardino around 3, lunches (very much) worth eating easy to find under 10... It spoiled me a bit.
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@cstreat, similar not far from there in Aosta, on the French/Italian border. Lots of posters will argue that it's waaaay cheaper on the Italian side, but living here and bouncing back and forth the reality is that it's not. Food is so much better though
Fuel in Italy has always been one of the highest rates in Europe, behind only Norway & Iceland I think. At the moment though France isn't far off
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They're all the same.
Who on earth could care about petrol or coffee being 10p cheaper or more expensive in one place or another?
The whole thing is a great non-issue
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@red 27, I care because I enjoy (and take) lunch/drink stops much much more when I don't feel like I'm being ripped off.
EDIT: unless you're being sarcastic and it went over my head...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| red 27 wrote: |
They're all the same.
Who on earth could care about petrol or coffee being 10p cheaper or more expensive in one place or another?
The whole thing is a great non-issue |
20% extra on 50% of your holiday is a reasonable amount when I expected it to be cheaper, but thanks for your helpful comment. Maybe you have confused the Trip Report section of Snowheads with the Daily Mail comment section? Or perhaps you only manage to holiday for one week at a time.
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Coffee (and wonderful hot chocolate) cheaper in the Dolomites (by far, far, more than 10p @red 27) but otherwise, much the same as (or a bit more expensive than) my part of France. When I was last down on the coast near Genoa - which was several years ago - I thought beers were very expensive, in very ordinary cafés. But coffee - and diesel - in France still cheaper than in England.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
But coffee - and diesel - in France still cheaper than in England.
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Fuel in France is now more expensive than UK. Almost on par with Italy at the moment, which was not the case last winter
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| maggi wrote: |
We paid 24 euros for 2 beers in a bar/restaurant in Courchevel the other week  . We did get a few free crisps in a tiny bowl, though  .
(It was snowing, it was windy, it was cold and it was there. And no, we never went back.) |
This is why we stopped going to the Tarentaise as a family; we visited our son last year when he worked in Val d'Isere, it was January, lots of queues, overcrowded, and a day pass was double the price of where we had been.
We are also in Italy to look for reclaimed building materials like abete panels and door furniture, but that's not cheaper either. My comments about prices were based on prices in town, not on the piste, hence my surprise, but the food has been excellent
As a bonus, there is a foot of fresh snow outside, our b and b hotel is 20m from the lift, and IS good value at £430 for 2, 6 days Inc breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I like Italy alot.
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You know it makes sense.
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@cstreat, bear in mind too that the north is the richer, more developed side of Italy
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Italy is more expensive for fuel in general. My cousin told me he paid 1 euro 70 for fuel last week in the veneto with diesel not far behind! French motorway fuel is dear (which is what most use for convenience on a long drive to the alps) but so is our motorway fuel. Fuel in the mountains is also more expensive than in 'regular' areas.
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Poster: A snowHead
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A good website for fuel prices in France is https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr For national comparisons, which are maybe less meaningful given the intra-country variations, https://www.drive-alive.co.uk/fuel_prices_europe.html Always found that the SuperU garage in Bourg St Maurice is good for buying fuel in the mountains.
I've always thought that commentary about differences in prices between France and everywhere-else was exaggerated to the point of having not much meaning. Comparing the cost of drinks between a swish bar in Courchevel 1850 and a little place in Folgarida doesn't seem to me to be comparing apples with apples. Neither does comparing a little piste-side hut in a far corner of the Sella Ronda, with a prime location in Cortina where most of the clients turn up in fur coats and bodyguards. A little bit of local knowledge (or advice from fellow snowHeads) goes a long way to avoiding the notoriously expensive places and going to the better value for money places. No doubt I've been to places in France and in Italy which seem very poor value for money, but in places I know well I would avoid them and head somewhere better.
In terms of mountain food I've not noticed a massive difference in prices between the bits of France I ski in and the bits of Italy I ski in. Italy is usually cheaper for coffee, France and Austria seem similar. Cheapest espresso I've bought in the last few season has been in Les Arcs (90 cents), although the quality of coffee seems uniformly higher in Italian resorts in my experience. I don't drink a lot of beer on ski trips, but wine seems a bit cheaper in France and Italy, more expensive in Austria (which, like coffee, probably reflects cultural habits rather than a desire to 'rip off' the unsuspecting tourist).
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 21-01-18 11:52; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Sweedish, prices off the autostrada can be 1.80-1.90
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Italian tolls seem to be higher than France where they are high enough.
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What @rob@rar said. I am looking forward to a couple of weeks of skiing at Les Deux Alpes. I shall be going by plane and Ben's Bus - so fuel station prices will not directly affect me. I expect prices to be broadly similar to the Dolomites. The hot chocolate will not be as good. Food quality on average will be a little bit down - but not if you know where to go (fortunately I have good friends who will make sure I am updated). I expect to enjoy myself hugely - as I would if going to the Dolomites 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| achilles wrote: |
| The hot chocolate will not be as good. Food quality on average will be a little bit down - but not if you know where to go (fortunately I have good friends who will make sure I am updated). I expect to enjoy myself hugely - as I would if going to the Dolomites |
Agreed in all points. Hot chocolate in France is a cause for national shame and Macron should pass a law banning its sale until they can do it like the Italians do it.
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| Quote: |
I've always thought that commentary about differences in prices between France and everywhere-else was exaggerated to the point of having not much meaning. Comparing the cost of drinks between a swish bar in Courchevel 1850 and a little place in Folgarida doesn't seem to me to be comparing apples with apples. Neither does comparing a little piste-side hut in a far corner of the Sella Ronda, with a prime location in Cortina where most of the clients turn up in fur coats and bodyguards.
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That's a given, you need to compare like for like- for example price of a can of coke is a good indicator, is it €2 or €6...
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| moseyp wrote: |
| That's a given, you need to compare like for like- for example price of a can of coke is a good indicator, is it €2 or €6... |
Sure, I tend to use an espresso as my international comparator. But a single comparison often seems to end with an entire resort (or even a country!) being damned. In Les Arcs the most I've paid for an espresso is €3.10, the cheapest is €0.90. Neither means that Les Arcs, or France, is the cheapest or the most expensive place in the world for coffee. I'm sure the same applies for other eating and drinking on the hill, and in the resorts. About the only thing you can conclude from the cost spread for espresso in Les Arcs is that it's easy for an unwitting visitor to pay way over the odds, but with a little bit of research you can get a better value for money coffee stop.
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IME though not in ski resorts Italy is by far more expensive bordering on (and most times exceeding) a total rip off!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@rob@rar, that's why I use coke, or a chocolate bar. It'll likely be the same price in both the cheaper and dearer restaurants in a resort.
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@rob@rar,
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Hot chocolate in France is a cause for national shame and Macron should pass a law banning its sale until they can do it like the Italians do it.
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Hear hear! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@achilles,
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Food quality on average will be a little bit down - but not if you know where to go
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this is SO true and what everybody in the France-hating brigade regularly ignores. If I were to make a generalisation about France, I'd say that they are a bit more careless about slope-side food than they are elsewhere. Also that they are not as dependable generally as they once were.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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It's nice though when you don't need to know where to go, if you know what I mean. You can throw a stone somewhere in Italy and hit a perfect margherita for €4 in some random comune sparso.
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We were offered "le vrai" hot choc in Tignes at the PSB - and it was definitely very good. But not found it anywhere else in France.
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You know it makes sense.
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Having skiied in many of the big French resorts, I was pleasantly surprised while in the Sella Ronda recently to see lunch time meals with coffee typically 60% to 70% of what I expect to pay in France for the same.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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My title did sound like a gross generalisation ; the intent was to compare the Modane area with the Bardonecchia area. Our little hotel on the piste edge treats us like family, great breakfast, private sauna and tub this evening, and is excellent value. We skipped lunch today so we can have a good meal tonight. There were Sunday crowds, but alot of snow, so we are happy.
This is our first visit to Italy so we didn't know what to expect ; we are also relying on our French to get by. We love France, and have had excellent meals there, but also some of the most atrocious food as well over the years.
I do believe that if you are prepared to pay criminal prices for whatever, you are allowing that business to exist, so I jog on!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| moseyp wrote: |
| It's nice though when you don't need to know where to go, if you know what I mean. You can throw a stone somewhere in Italy and hit a perfect margherita for €4 in some random comune sparso. |
Love those days...Lecce in Puglia last summer..4.50 for a Margherita and a 1 euro bottle of beer
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| moseyp wrote: |
| @Sweedish, prices off the autostrada can be 1.80-1.90 |
ooosh thats a whack! where are you paying those prices?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Champoluc significantly better value than Chamonix!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Haven't paid that myself but seen it regularly off the autostrada up north last year. Sometimes it includes service, sometimes not
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yes to be fair you are possibly seeing servizio (attendant doing the fuel for you prices) was that benzina or gasolio?
Thats still pretty high for Italy!
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SP95 and it was both. Not really, it’s the second or third most expensive fuel in Europe, and top five or ten in world. It’s just various excessive taxes on it
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i Know its expensive..i have a house there too, its just 1.90 is a lot more than my local fuel off autostrada so wondered what area that was?
Italy is the land of taxes!!!
still the coffee 
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North, between Milan and Cortina
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Looking for historical rates and found €1.83 for 2015 which sounds about right. I used to drive across the border to France purely to fill the tank. This year has been the only time I’ve know the prices to be on a parity
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The veneto is fairly dear on fuel. I'll ask my cousin what he's paying when i speak to him tomorrow as he lives just outside venice.
You can still pay much less though, this is the station i used recently (and use fairly often on the way back to the uk)
https://it.fuelo.net/gasstation/id/55966?lang=en
It's a handy site. Below shows average prices over week month year etc. You can search for cheap stations on route so may help!
https://it.fuelo.net/?lang=en
Average prices in Italy today Diesel 1.52 and unleaded 1.63 with somewhere selling diesel at 1.99
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