A Peek Inside Costco In France: Is It Worth A Special Trip? (2024)

Is there Costco in France? Yes, and there are two of them, but they’re not in Paris. Is it worth making a special trip to the Costco warehouse when you’re visiting France? This was a question I asked myself during my last trip and I had the opportunity to find out as I was so close to one of the warehouses. I discovered that in many ways they’re the same as North American Costco warehouses but not entirely as many products are catered to a different (obviously French) market. Get a glimpse inside the warehouse, its unique offerings, and decide if it’s worth making a special trip there.

1. Where Is There Costco In France?

There are over 860 Costco warehouses around the world, such as in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Taiwan, and Europe. Spain has 4 warehouses and France has 2 locations!

Costco Locations Near Paris, Not IN Paris

The Costcos in France are NOT in the heart of Paris; however, there are two Costcos located just outside of Paris. Why are the Costcos outside of Paris? Like most Costco stores around the world, they cater to suburbanites, who have larger homes and want to shop in bulk. Plus the warehouses require large parcels of land to store their goods.

Costco Wholesale Pontault-Combault
Costco Wholesale Pontault-Combault is 30 minutes southeast of Paris in Pontault-Combault. If you were heading eastward from central Paris, to say, Bois de Vincennes and kept going, you’d eventually reach Pontault-Combault.

Costco Villebon-sur-Yvette
The Costco I went to is south of Paris in Villebon-sur-Yvette, located less than 30 minutes south of Versailles and 20 minutes southwest of Paris Orly airport. As I mentioned in my trip #37 report, I stayed in nearby Jouy-en-Josas on my way from Bayeux, Normandy to Dijon, Burgundy. It was the perfect halfway point and the Costco store in Villebon-sur-Yvette was only 20 minutes away so it was the opportune time to visit. Had I not been so close, I would not have made a special trip there. I love Costco but had no need to “stock up” on items. I was just curious if there were any real deals. (Answer: not really).

2. Can You Use Your Costco Membership Card At A Costco In France?

You can use your Costco card in another country! Your Costco membership (ie. from the U.S, Canada, or any other country) is accepted at Costco stores in France. You just need to show it upon entering and when paying. According to Costco’s website about membership privileges:

“Your membership card is valid at any Costco warehouse worldwide and is not transferable.”

It’s important to note that Costco also states, “If your photo is not on your card, only passports, as well as photo identification issued by the United States, Puerto Rico, Canadian Federal, State, or Provincial governments are acceptable forms of identification.”

3. Prices At Costco In France

(a) Prices In France INCLUDE Taxes

A nice thing about shopping at Costco (or any store) in France is that the price shown includes all taxes. The VAT(Value Added Tax), is a general consumption tax and included! So the price you see is the price you’ll pay.

In Ontario, Canada, we have to add on the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax which is the federal and provincial tax combined) on most items. That’s 13% tax on top of the listed price of goods and services.

(b) VAT Refund

If you spend enough, you might be able to get some of your VAT tax back. Supposedly, Costco gives one of the highest reimbursem*nt rates: 15.5%. As I wrote in this post about applying for the VAT refund in France, after you have paid for your items at Costco, go to the membership desk to see if your purchases qualify. (Remember, not all purchases are eligible. Consumables, like food, are not). If you have spent the minimum required (100.01€ ), they will fill out the Détaxe form that you will take to the Tax Refund area (Détaxe) to get some of your money back.

I did not spend over 100€ so I can’t say for sure if this still applies at Costco. However, in theory, it should if Costco considers itself a participating retailer.

4. Navigating The Aisles Of Costco In Villebon-sur-Yvette

The layout of the warehouse in Villebon-sur-Yvette, which opened in 2018, was pretty much the same as Costcos located in Canada and the United States. The 120,000-foot warehouse has aisles devoted to snacks, food products, electronics, clothing, office supplies, household goods, health and beauty, and a large assortment of sporting and outdoor goods, like the three enormous tents hanging from the ceiling. There were many North American products and brands.

This Costco south of Paris also had a “Centre de Pneu” (Tire centre), “Centre Optique” (Optical centre), “Centre Audif” (Hearing centre), and a food court, just like in North America.

5. The French Experience At Costco

(a) French Products In Costco

Many of the same brands found in North America (ie. Kirkland brand products or Weber vitamins and supplements) are available. But there were many more French brands and French foods (ie. enormous amounts of cheese and French pastries/bread) that are tailored for the local French clientele.

(b) Books At Costco—-All French

I came upon a large selection of books but, I didn’t see any English books. (No surprise really). So, unless you’re fluent in French, you’ll probably just skip browsing the book section.

(c) French Cheese

Being in France you had to know that the selection of cheese can be fantastic at supermarkets. At Costco, it was pretty impressive but have I been to French supermarkets that had a more extensive selection of cheese? Yes. So, while there were many types of goat cheese at Costco, for example, I don’t think a special trip is needed.

(d) Wide Variety Of Bread and Pastries

It’s no surprise that French breads and pastries were a big feature at Costco. While there were those packages of 6 enormous muffins, there were also Madeleines (package of 20), St. Michel soft cookies (Galette Moelleuse), bake-at-home baguettes, frozen croissants, and pain au chocolat. North American Costcos have many of these items, but the variety in France is much larger.

(e) Butter Croissants

I love butter croissants so I had to do an investigation at this French Costco warehouse. 12 freshly baked all-butter croissants are more expensive in France than in Canada (6.49 € or $9.00 versus $6.99 in Canada). But 30 frozen croissants are more expensive in Canada than in France ($16.99 in Canada versus 9.49€ or $13.66).

If you’re visiting Costco from Paris, would you really pick up a dozen croissants and take them back to the city? Sure, they bake them there in the warehouse and I realize they’re cheaper than those from your local boulangerie (0.54 € vs. 1.2 €). But there’s something about getting one locally and supporting your local business.

Buying a dozen croissants from Costco is like buying a dozen croissants from a hypermarché, which is a big French supermarket (ie. Hyper U, Géant, or Auchan) that mass produces and sells products in bulk. They just don’t look as appealing as the ones from the boulangerie. I don’t even buy them at Costco in Canada. Just give me a warm, freshly baked croissant and I’ll be happy.

6. Wine, Liquor, and Champagne Sold By Costco

I know that in the United States, Costco sells wine and liquor; however, in Canada, they do not. In France, there is a large selection of wines (French and foreign) and you can find Ricard Pastis, Apero, Scotch whiskey, Japanese whiskey, and other alcohols from around the world.

You can find many inexpensive wines for under 10€ from well-known brand names (ie. Famille Perrin and E. Guigal), but many there were many brands I didn’t recognize.

7. Costco Foods

They have frozen foods, and refrigerated sections for fruits and vegetables, meats (beef, pork, and poultry), as well as deli and prepared foods. And yes, there’s even Costco’s famous rotisserie chicken! In Canada, the quality of Costco meats, vegetables, and food products is always excellent and here in France they also looked very good.

The warehouse also has food and wine sampling; however, I arrived early in the day and they didn’t have anything set up.

8. Costco Food Court

The Costco food court in France sells pizza, french fries, chicken wraps, salads, sundaes, and soda pop. The prices were cheap. Contrary to what others have said, they did NOT offer poutine (curds, fries and gravy) as they do at Montreal Costcos.

You can purchase Costco’s famous all-beef hot dog and 20-ounce pop combo for 1.50€ (about $2.15 Cdn) but you don’t get free refills like in North America. In Canada, the price is cheaper at $1.50.

9. International Products Imported By Costco

I was amused to see Kirkland Signature Organic Maple Syrup-Sirop d’Erable, which is made in Canada—at a Costco in France. The 1-litre bottle costs 12.00€ ($17.28) in France versus $15.99 in Canada (It’s cheaper in Canada but not by much with today’s exchange rate. It also helps that there isn’t any tax added onto the Canadian purchase.)

10. Price Of Electronics

I wasn’t surprised that the Apple Watch Series 8 (41mm) was more expensive in France than in Canada but it wasn’t by a lot. The watch retailed for 469.99€ (incl tax) which is about $677 Canadian (based on a $1.44 per € exchange rate). At that time, the same product in Canada retailed for about $643 (incl. tax). So when exchange rates are favourable, I can see Costco’s prices as being very attractive.

11. Is It Worth A Special Trip To Costco In France?

Now that you know what a Costco is really like in France, is it worth making a shopping trip there? If you answer yes to any of these, maybe you should go!

• Do you already have a membership or are prepared to join Costco?
• Do you NEED to buy items in bulk? (ie. 40 rolls of toilet paper?)
• Are you passing by Costco and a stop isn’t out of your way?
• Are you looking for a “deal” where an item like an Apple watch would be cheaper at Costco than at a regular store?
• Do you NEED to stock up on wine/liquor?
• Do you have a car (or lots of friends) to take all your purchases back with you on the Metro?
• For all your trouble, are you really getting a good deal?

One final food for thought: if you’re just visiting Paris, what would you really buy in Costco that you can’t find in the city? Do you even have room in your home for all your purchases? Where will you store your 40 rolls of toilet paper? Will your fridge or freezer have room for your 15 pounds of ground beef?

If you’re visiting France for a while and want to pick up some goods for your stay outside of Paris, sure, it’s something to consider; however, I wouldn’t go out of my way. There are plenty of hypermarchés in France that have discounted products and they can sell you things in bulk. Shopping at Costco, in any country, is fun, but it’s not the be-all and end-all.

12. Costco Locations in France

(a) How To Travel By Public Transportation To Either Costco From Paris

The easiest way to get to Costco is by car. Can you get there by bus or Metro? Yes, but I personally don’t think it’s worth the journey. Assuming you’ll be leaving from the centre zone of Paris and taking the RER, you’ll be paying more and the trip will take you at least 1 hour with a few transfers. Then, of course, you might have difficulty getting all your purchases back to Paris.

As an example, I investigated the route from central Paris to Costco in Villebon-sur-Yvette and in most cases, it would take you from 1 hour to 1.5 hours where you would take buses, the RER to Massy Palaiseau, and then walk to Costco.

(b) When Are The Costco France Warehouses Open?

Both Costco stores in France are open 7 days a week, but with shorter hours than one finds in North America. In France, they are typically open:

Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sunday 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Costco Villebon-sur-Yvette

Address: 3 Av. de Bréhat, 91140 Villebon-sur-Yvette, France

Costco Wholesale Pontault-Combault

Address: Zac Les 4 Chênes, 35 Rte de Paris, 77340 Pontault-Combault, France

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