Grocery Shopping in Italy

Slow travel allows us to live like a local temporarily which includes grocery shopping. Pictures and cost analysis reveal similarities and differences between Italy shopping and American shopping for groceries.

LIFESTYLEITALY GALLERY

11/13/20253 min read

Anyone on a budget, whether traveling or not, knows you can’t eat in restaurants all the time or you will go broke. The less money you have, the more you eat at home. Greg and I grew up in homes that ate a lot of casseroles and stews because our family budget was small. We learned how to stretch our dollars when it came to grocery shopping and food. Thankfully, I enjoy cooking now, and eating at home helps us eat healthier and save money while traveling through Europe.

We frequently stay in each location for three to four weeks which means that grocery shopping is needed multiple times in that location. Our first few shopping trips are larger simply because we must start from scratch in each move by purchasing things we don't transport in our suitcases (toilet paper, coffee, butter, oil, sugar, etc.). Though we are living smaller than our USA life, sometimes we need to buy items for the apartment itself (a cutting board, knife, or cheese grater) just to make it through the daily comforts.

We've all heard that shopping in Europe is different than shopping in America, but first-hand experience and pictures tell most of the story. For example, warehouse shopping is rare with small chain stores or mom-and-pop shops being the norm. Shopping 2-4 times per week is not uncommon in the towns we visited because people buy smaller quantities with fewer preservatives in their foods. It’s just healthier. You can’t purchase medications, even Tylenol in the grocery store. Medications must be purchased at the pharmacy. If medications were needed on the same day as a grocery trip, you will see those items in the photographs next to the grocery items.

Throughout several stories in this series, we will show you photos and costs of grocery items that matched our diet and preferences. Today’s story will reveal shopping costs in the Italian towns of Lucca and Parma where we stayed for a month in each city. We shopped on other days too, but I failed to itemize the receipts for those trips. Keep in mind that exchange rates from EURO to USD change daily and our totals may reflect that change.