Tried the search but the centres i found seemed to be closer to geneva than lausanne.. Just wondered if there were any shopping centres or retail parks in france not too far from the border in Lausanne.. Need some new clothes and not found much in the local shops here.
I don't think its particularly close and it isn't a shopping centre, but Besancon is a great town with a nice pedestrianised shopping centre with some nice fashion retailers - big chains and smaller stores too.
Thanks for the replies... these sounds good. We have tried Divonne which is good for the food shopping and I like the Sunday market too but was after a few more clothes shops etc so might try Pontarlier and then go on to besancon
Besançon is another 50 mins from Pontarlier- but much larger.
The main street in Pontarlier has quite a few boutiques, and as per usual the big hypermarkets are dotted along the by-pass.
Don't forget Morbier cheese (with the line of wood ash in the middle), and of course absinthe. In the high street there is a small shop at the end by the old town entrance 'door' that specialises in local wines, absinthe and also excellent malt whiskies.
For clothes shopping, I could take the boat to Evian or take a road trip to Besancon or Annecy. You won't find all that much more interesting stuff in the shopping areas right on the border.
Make sure you know your allowances for cross border shopping. Last night coming back from a meeting at 22.30, there was a Custom's block/check on the main road 4 km from the border. They were checking and searching all cars. Common occurrence as they customs work night and day- but often away from the actual border.
Pontarlier town centre has lots of small boutiques, a good book-shop, an absinthe, Jura wine and Mal whisky specialist, etc. The commercial zone around town has Hyper-U, Géant, Leclerc, Liddle, Aldi + large stores for electricals, bedding, toys, gardencentre and DIY, shows, sport (including a large decathlon) gardening, etc. And only 40 mins from Lausanne - avoid peak frontalier time (cross-border workers) as you can have a jam from Ballaigues to Jougne (where there is a large ATAC supermarket btw).
Given the distances and time involved, I would suggest that the Val Thoiry shopping centre, just over the border from Geneva in the Pays de Gex, would be faster than many of the options mentioned. From Lausanne it is certainly easier to reach than Annemasse because you bypass Geneva. But for clothes, there's plenty of choice in Geneva and even with Swiss prices bargains can be found. I'm not so familiar with Lausanne but it appears that perhaps the offer is not as diverse there. . . Still, I find it passing strange that a place like Pontarlier would provide more choice.
Agreed - but sometimes it's nice to make a change and Pontarlier is quite pleasant. Have the best value lunch at the Brasserie in the High street- walk around- market on Thursday and Saturday morning- and a visit to one of the Hypermarkets (there is a Chinese restaurant next to McDonalds that do a 'all you can eat' excellent buffet for 10Euros Monday-Friday lunchtime.
There is really no difference between Geneva and Lausanne in terms of choice at the mid level. Geneva has more choice at the high end. There isn't much difference in choice on the border towns either. if you want really something different you need to head farther out.
Of course, some people can find something to wear just about anywhere. Others it takes a bit more work.
Anyway, as Odile says it's nice to get out for a day trip. Besançon & Anncey are lovely places to go for a day of shopping.
I am wondering if there is a Carrefour super market or some sort across the lake from Lausanne? I am thinking about Evian or Thonons. I will be travelling by a SBB day ticket, so no car to access those outskirt destination or far into France destinations...The suggestions above seem more up from Orbe while I am looking across the lake (thought to take a boat trip...
It amazingly is still the same ships which were around in 1958, when we crossed the lake "en-famille" with our Texas-uncle Bill and his wife. I still remember that we all loved the way over and Aunt Gertrude loved going shopping, mostly (100s of) postcards and souvenirs (!) really a lot
Pontarilier already offered nice shopping opportunities in the 1950ies/60ies when an uncle of me lived there who worked with customs. And people who worked at customs of course knew best how and what to shop on the French side
Gratuitous plug time; I'm in Evian and I'm in the process of selling a lot of vintage/retro second-hand (and plenty of new) good-label clothes (including vintage silk kimonos and coats) *ahem*.
But on a less self-serving note, neither Evian nor Thonon strike me as places where you'd want to buy clothes. The quality and price and variety - just not worth it. If you're in the mood to do some serious clothes shopping why not just pop to London for the day/weekend?