The last few months have been expensive ones in our household. James, myself and the middle daughter have all needed glasses. This was a first for all of us so we toddled off to the local opticians, prescriptions in hand and nearly fell over when we saw the prices.
As a trip back to the UK and Specsavers (or even the pound shop) wasn’t on the cards, we eventually settled on Leclerc as they were slightly cheaper, offered a second pair for one euro extra and gave cash back on my loyalty card. My bog standard reading glasses cost 190€, James’s were 246€ and Tilly’s were an eye watering 296€. Ouch! Even with a generous mutuelle which refunded 100€ per person, we were still left with a massive bill. Double ouch.
Tilly needs to wear hers all the time and it quickly became apparent that she really needed a pair of prescription sunglasses. I was fully prepared to not eat for the next month when James came across a chain of stores called Lunettes Pour Tous. They have branches in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille and Toulouse and if you need glasses and can get to one of the stores, I cannot recommend them highly enough.
You simply turn up (no appointment required) and are given a free eye test. If you have a recent prescription they can also work from that or your existing glasses. There’s a choice of over 400 frames which start from an incredible 10€ and the most expensive models are 50€. All types of lenses are available with all the usual options, anti-glare, anti-scratch, blue light etc. They will give you a ‘Feuille des soins’ for a refund by the Sécu and your mutuelle and this is the really good bit, your glasses will be ready in ten minutes!
The store was clean, shiny and modern with state of the art equipment, the staff were courteous and helpful, service was excellent (they suggest you go and have coffee whilst your glasses are being made and send you a text to confirm when they are ready). Unlike Leclerc, they made sure James’s glasses actually fitted and if you buy a second pair at the same time, offer 20% off.
This time round we paid 90€ for a pair of progressive glasses for James (he had unfortunately sat on the previous pair!) - this included the most expensive frames in the shop and 40€ for prescription sunglasses for Tilly (20€ for the frames and 10€ per lens). So, if you need glasses, you now know where to go!
