Cities & Regions

Shopping is a regional business: store density, opening hours and the distance to a border all change from place to place. This group collects the city and region guides, from Zurich, Bern, Basel and Geneva to the border regions, cross-border shopping, duty allowances and what happens at the customs post.

What applies in your canton often does not apply in the next one, Sunday trading and late opening above all. Every guide therefore states which place and which date a figure belongs to. All 26 cantons and seven Swiss chains are covered, in four languages.

How to use them: the guide gives you the local rule, the app gives you the local price. You filter the deals down to your canton and see what is running near you this week. Free, no account needed. As of September 2026.

All guides in this category (27)

Paper pop-up map linking Zurich to a smaller town, with a raised barrier and yellow car.

Supermarkets in Zurich: what you pay in the city and across the border

Around 50 Migros, 45 Coop and no Lidl in the centre. ShopVille open 365 days until 10 pm, and the Jestetten maths: CHF 58.50 travel on a CHF 200 run.

Basel market with red-and-white awnings, vegetable crates and the red town hall.

Grocery Shopping in Basel: The Practical Guide

Compare Basel’s grocery hubs, markets and cross-border options. See the store tables and what to include in the cost of a trip to Germany.

Geneva market beneath trees with striped awnings, fruit crates and a tram.

Grocery Shopping in Geneva: The Practical Guide

Compare Geneva’s grocery hubs, markets and nearby French shops. Use the tables to plan your route and check the costs of crossing the border.

Miniature aerial view of lakeside Lugano, with a giant yellow grocery bag among the rooftops.

Grocery Shopping in Lugano: The Practical Guide

Lugano is Switzerland's only major Italian-speaking city, with Italy 15 minutes away. Migros Papillon, Manor Food, Esselunga Como, Piazza Riforma.

St. Gallen old-town lane at dawn with bay windows, a fountain and market stalls.

Grocery Shopping in St. Gallen: The Practical Guide

St. Gallen is the only Swiss city close to both Austria and Germany. The Shopping Arena has Coop, Aldi and IKEA, and Marktplatz a daily market.

A tilt-shift aerial of a city and one straight road leading to a village full of shops

Grocery Shopping in Winterthur: The Practical Guide

Winterthur has Rosenberg (Migros and Denner, under renovation until autumn 2026) and the Grüze zone with Coop, Migros, Aldi and Lidl. The guide.

Retro Lucerne poster with the covered bridge, Mount Pilatus and a grocery basket in front.

Grocery Shopping in Lucerne: the practical guide

Lucerne has the oldest shopping centre in Switzerland (Schönbühl: Migros+Coop+Aldi+Denner), the Mall of Switzerland in Ebikon, and a unique fish market.

Zurich street beside the Limmat at dawn, with a tram, open shop and yellow bag.

Grocery Shopping in Zurich: the practical guide

ShopVille at Zurich HB is open 365 days a year, but it is expensive. The full map: shopping hubs, the 6 weekly markets and the best-value neighbourhoods.

A steep cobbled lane at dawn with market stalls being set up and a cathedral tower at the end.

Grocery Shopping in Fribourg: Supermarkets, Market & Prices

Grocery shopping in Fribourg: supermarkets (Migros, Coop, Aldi, Manor), market days, and the trick to compare prices live with Rappn.

Giant white paper parcel with a yellow strap in an Alpine meadow near a raised barrier.

Cross-Border Grocery Shopping in Germany: The Swiss Guide for 2026

CHF 150 per person, 1 kg of meat: the category table with the German price gap, how the VAT refund works, and where the trip stops paying in 2026.

Border village at dawn, with grocery bags in an open car boot and a raised barrier.

Cross-Border Grocery Shopping France: When It's Worth the Trip in 2026

Is shopping in France actually worth the trip? What costs less, the new CHF 150 customs limit, and what to buy (and never buy) at French supermarkets.

Lakeside promenade with a regional train and a basket of unlabelled wine bottles on a bench.

Cross-Border Grocery Shopping in Italy: When It's Worth the Trip (and When It Isn't)

Is shopping in Italy from Switzerland still worth it? The CHF 150 customs rule, 1 kg meat limit, where to actually go, and when the savings are real.

A lithograph poster of a lakeside town with a clock tower, a white steamer, a crate of cherries on the quay and a notice board of empty squares.

Grocery Shopping in Zug: The 2026 Local Guide

Where to shop in Zug: Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner stores, opening hours, weekly Aktion. Real 2026 guide for canton ZG residents.

Retro travel poster with a market stall, terraced Lausanne cityscape and lake.

Grocery Shopping in Lausanne: The Practical 2026 Guide

Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro, Otto's, Riponne market, cross-border runs. Everything for grocery shopping in Lausanne.

A very long wooden market table running across a meadow towards a city in a river bend, snowy Alps on the horizon.

Grocery Shopping in Bern: The 2026 Guide for Locals and Newcomers

Bern's grocery scene changed in 5 years. Aldi at Zytglogge, Lidl in Loeb, the Märit on Bundesplatz. The full 2026 guide to shopping in Bern.

A lakeside quay by the station with a moored steamer, a regional train, a mountain behind and a shopping basket on a bench.

Where can I buy groceries cheapest in Lucerne?

Lucerne and its agglomeration: cheapest supermarkets, where the discounters really are (Kriens, Emmen, Littau) and late shopping at the station.

Seven unbranded stalls at a sunny Zurich market.

Where Can You Buy the Cheapest Groceries in Zurich?

Where to shop cheapest in Zurich: Aldi, Lidl, Migros, Coop, Denner compared, ShopVille open on Sundays, plus the weekly Aktion check by district.

Giant shopping trolley in the shallows of Lake Geneva with the Jet d’Eau behind.

Where can I buy the cheapest groceries in Geneva?

Where does a Geneva shop cost less this week? Aldi, Lidl, Migros, Coop, Denner and Manor compared, plus the real France border rules (CHF 150 limit).

A market under the arcades of a southern Swiss square with crates of tomatoes, figs, bread and cheese and the lake beyond.

Where are the cheapest groceries in Lugano and Ticino?

Lugano and Ticino this week: Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl and Denner compared, plus the Italy rules (CHF 150 per person per day). Check it live in Rappn.

A huge wicker basket full of fresh groceries in a riverside meadow with wooded hills on the horizon.

Where can I buy groceries cheapest in Basel?

Basel in the tri-border corner: cheapest supermarkets plus the truth about crossing to Weil am Rhein and Saint-Louis. Who wins per category?

A 1930s lithograph poster with a red train on a viaduct, three identical villages in the valley and a grocery bag in the foreground.

Cheapest groceries by canton in Switzerland: does your canton actually matter?

Do groceries really cost less in some Swiss cantons? The honest answer: prices are national, your basket is local. Check your weekly basket live in 2026.

Grocery bag on a bench at a lakeside railway station.

Cross-Border Grocery Shopping in Austria from Switzerland: Is Vorarlberg Worth It?

Vorarlberg from eastern Switzerland: CHF 150 per person duty-free, 1 kg meat cap, Austrian VAT refund from EUR 75. What is actually worth it, per BAZG.

A paper pop-up with a grocery bag straddling a border line and a completely blank measuring column

Grocery Prices in Ticino 2026: More Expensive or Cheaper Than the Rest of Switzerland?

Are groceries more expensive in Ticino than the Swiss average? Why there is no cantonal price index and how much cross-border shopping to Italy weighs.

A tilt-shift aerial of a border valley with a giant yellow crate straddling the white line on the road.

Grocery Shopping in Italy from Ticino 2026: Customs, Allowances and VAT

Shopping in Italy from Ticino 2026: the CHF 150 duty-free limit, quantity allowances (meat, butter, alcohol) and why it barely pays off for groceries.

A lakeside town arcade with every shutter rolled down and one single kiosk open

Sunday shopping in Ticino: what the cantonal opening law allows

Ticino: 19:00 on weekdays, 18:30 on Saturday, closed on Sunday. The exceptions in square metres, the authorised Sundays and the 1 October 2026 change.

A market square with striped awnings and fruit crates beside the station of a small yellow funicular

Lugano Market Days and the Weekly Markets of Ticino: Days, Hours and Squares

Lugano market days are Tuesday and Friday, 7.30 to 14.30, Bellinzona Saturday, Locarno Thursday: the full Ticino table with hours and squares.

A Valais market street in late afternoon with apricots, rye bread and cheese and two tower-topped hills behind.

Grocery shopping in Valais: when the shops close, and where they stay open

Shop hours in Valais: 18:30 on weekdays, 17:00 on Saturday, closed on Sunday, and until 21:00 in recognised tourist places. Full table and sources.