Breakfast and snacks
France > Basics > Eating and drinking > Breakfast and snacks

Jambon Beurre

A croissant, pain au chocolat (a square-shaped chocolate-filled light pastry) or a sandwich in a bar or café, with hot chocolate or coffee, is generally the best way to eat breakfast. Croissants and sometimes hard-boiled eggs are displayed on café counters until around 9.30am or 10am. If you stand – cheaper than sitting down – you just help yourself to these with your coffee; the waiter keeps an eye on how many you've eaten and bills you accordingly.

At lunchtime, and sometimes in the evening, you'll find places offering a plat du jour (daily special) at between €5 and €12, or formules, a limited or no-choice menu. Croques-monsieur or croques-madame (variations on the toasted-cheese sandwich) are on sale at cafés, brasseries and many street stands, along with frites (potato fries), crêpes, galettes (wholewheat pancakes), gauffres (waffles), glaces (ice creams) and all kinds of fresh-filled baguettes (these very filling sandwiches usually cost between €2.50 and €5 to take away). For variety, there are Tunisian snacks like brik à l'oecuf (a fried pastry with an egg inside), merguez (spicy North African sausage), Greek souvlaki (kebabs) and Middle Eastern falafel (deep-fried chickpea balls in flat bread with salad). Wine bars are good for regional sausages and cheese, usually served with brown bread (pain de campagne).

Crêpes, or pancakes with fillings, served up at ubiquitous crêperies, are popular lunchtime food. The savoury variety (often called galettes) provide the main course; the sweet white-flour ones are dessert. They taste Nice enough, but are usually poor value in comparison with a restaurant meal; you need at least three, normally at over €4 each, to feel full. Pizzerias, usually au feu du bois (wood-fire-baked), are also very common. They are somewhat better value than crêperies, but quality and quantity vary greatly – look before you leap into the nearest empty seats.

For picnics, the local outdoor market or supermarket will provide you with almost everything you need from tomatoes and avocados to cheese and pâté. Cooked meat, prepared snacks, ready-made dishes and assorted salads can be bought at charcuteries (delicatessens), which you'll find everywhere – even in small villages, though the same things are cheaper at supermarket counters. You purchase by weight, or you can ask for une tranche (a slice), une barquette (a carton) or une part (a portion).

Salons de thé, which open from mid-morning to late evening, serve brunches, salads, quiches, and the like, as well as gateaux, ice cream and a wide selection of teas. They tend to be a good deal pricier than cafés or brasseries – you're paying for the posh surroundings. As bars are to men in France, salons de thé are to women, and they generally have a more female ambience and clientele. For cakes and pastries to take away, you'll find impressive arrays at every boulangerie-patisserie.