I was in Nantes a couple of months ago and walked past a glasses store that caught my eye. It was called Lunettes Pour Tous (which means glasses for everyone in French) and the sign out front intrigued me. It said, “10 euros, 10 minutes.” Because it was Sunday, the store was closed, so I went home and checked out their website. I liked what I saw. Then a couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to return to Lunettes Pour Tous to see what it was all about. Could I get glasses for 10 euros in 10 minutes? What’s the experience like? Read on if you’re looking for “glasses online France”.
Lunettes Pour Tous review for glasses online France
Let me say right upfront that I am very particular about my glasses. I’ve worn them since 3rd grade, then did the contacts thing, and finally ditched contacts once and for all about 10 years ago when my eyes just couldn’t tolerate them anymore. So I’ve been a glasses wearer 100 percent of the time for years now.
Light, minimalist frames are my go-to and Silhouette is my brand of choice. They’re super light, well-made, and barely there. But they’re also expensive and sometimes it’s nice to be able to switch up my glasses look. I decided to branch out and try other styles of glasses but didn’t want to break the bank. It’s not easy for picky, vision impaired people like me to have multiple pairs of glasses depending on our mood and outfit. It gets expensive.
The store experience
Enter Lunettes Pour Tous, a French prescription glasses concept that this glasses lover was eager to try. With 17 stores in France, their concept is “10 euros, 10 minutes” and is displayed on the sign out front. Affordable glasses with barely any wait time is the new reality because the glasses are put together right there in the in-store lab while you wait.
Even if you don’t have a current glasses prescription, it’s no problem. They do eye exams right there in the store for free — with or without an appointment, so you’re covered. I love the concept of being able to get trendy glasses affordably and fast.
Let’s talk about the stores if you’re looking for cheap glasses in France. The stores are brightly lit with a clean, minimalist vibe, and the employees are attentive and friendly. All of the frames are nicely organized on wooden tables for you to try on instead of on vertical displays like many optician shops. The store design almost reminded me of an Apple Store.
Stand-up mirrors on each table let you take a peek at yourself. Upon walking in, I was greeted by an employee with an iPad who registered my name and explained the Lunettes Pour Tous concept.
Then I had a look around. Many of the frames are plastic in various colors and styles. I found the quality and selection to be very good. Right away, I found glasses I wanted to try on.
I had about six frames in my hands when I sat down on a bench to try them all on. Because I wear prescription glasses, I had to resort to selfies taken on my phone to see how I looked in the sample pairs since I couldn’t see myself. Finally, I decided on a light pink translucent pair for regular glasses and a slightly bigger tortoiseshell rim with brown polarized lenses for my sunglasses.
I let the employee know what I had picked and we then did an eye exam in a private room at the back of the store. The fact that Lunettes Pour Tous offers eye exams in-store with and without an appointment is a huge plus. It’s convenient and makes affordable glasses accessible to a wider group of people.
It consisted of regular eye exam tests like you’d find at an eye doctor – – focus on the hot air balloon above the road, read back the letters from left to right, etc.
In France, it’s kind of a known fact that you can encounter long wait times to see an ophthalmologist. A 3- or 6-month wait is normal. And hugely inconvenient. Lunettes Pour Tous gets this and even incorporates the hassle of appointment wait times into their marketing. I like that they poke fun at the long wait times at eye doctors’ offices and have come up with a solution.
After my eyes were checked, it was time to go over lens options back on the iPad. This is the part where you can add significant cost to your frames depending on what coatings and lenses you choose, but FYI they also do non-rx glasses for those who just want glasses as a fashion accessory.
I was happy to see that the lens options are in-line with what you’d find at more traditional opticians — thin lenses, blue light coating, polarization, etc. More on the cost below.
Here are the lens options I had to choose from:
After we finalized my lens selection, we adjusted my frames and did some eye measurements to ensure a proper fit.
10 euros, 10 minutes?
So back to the marketing on the sign, where it says you get your glasses for 10 euros in 10 minutes.
Did I leave with my glasses in hand in 10 minutes and did they cost 10 euros?
No… and I really wanted this to be the case!
My prescription is a -5.75 and currently, the stores are only able to fill your order on site in 10 minutes for prescriptions up to about a -4.50. For those of us who need a stronger correction, the wait time is about a week and the glasses will be shipped directly to your home for free.
They will adjust the frames before you leave so you’re sure to have a good fit when they arrive at your door, but I was bummed I wouldn’t be walking out with my new frames the same day. I couldn’t seem to find any info on their website in the FAQ or anything pointing out that those of us with stronger prescriptions can’t leave with our glasses the same day.
The manager did explain that in the future, stores will hopefully be able to accommodate a wider range of prescriptions in the 10-minute time frame, so I look forward to that since the store’s whole selling point is that you leave with your glasses in 10 minutes.
For people with a weaker prescription, they are able to get their glasses in about 10 minutes.
Now let’s talk about the cost.
While there is a selection of frames at the 10-euro price point, the majority were priced from 30 to 50 euros, which is still super affordable. Then, once you add your lenses and additional options, the glasses do end up costing significantly more than 10 euros. My glasses, frames and lenses, cost 215 €. The sunglasses were 170 €.
That said, they’re still much cheaper than what you’d pay at a traditional glasses retailer, which makes accessorizing your look at Lunettes Pour Tous an affordable option.
A few more things I liked about Lunettes Pour Tous:
1) Throughout, everything was paperless. Customer information is recorded on an iPad and there are no lengthy forms to fill out or file away. 2) They also release new frames every week so the in-store selection is never stale.
3) They have a selection of frames for children.
Bottom line
I think Lunettes Pour Tous is a nice alternative to traditional eyewear concepts and would recommend it if you’re looking for fun, trendy glasses in France at an affordable price. I think it’s even more enticing for people with a weaker prescription who can leave the same day with glasses in hand in a matter of minutes.
If you’re on a budget and don’t want to spend a fortune on new glasses in France, Lunettes Pour Tous is absolutely worth a look. I enjoyed the experience and love my new glasses!
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Where do you buy your glasses? Is Lunettes Pour Tous a concept you would try?
Disclosure: I was gifted one pair of glasses and one pair of sunglasses in exchange for my review. Thank you, Lunettes Pour Tous!
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Hi Diane!
Here in the states I use Lenscrafters where the old slogan was eyeglasses in an hour. Now, the time frame is same day for easy prescriptions or a week for more challenging ones. I have had glasses since 6th grade, when the option was glass only, so I’m used to a heavier lens. I’m picky, have always like the glass, photograde in charcoal grey not brown tint, once there were choices. Last time I bought glasses, I finally tried their Transitions lens which were plastic, super lightweight, & scratch resistant. I will not get them again.
In all my years with glass lenses I never cracked, chipped, or broke them except the last pair before the Transitions. Hence why I decided to try the new type. Those chipped first week, scratch easily, never got as dark as my photograde, which I loved as I don’t need another pair of glasses for sun, and they got knocked off my face so easily compared to the heavier lens. So , once I get a new prescription, I will be going back to glass, photograde. I pay about $400. for photograde glass, but the plastic were only $100. less. II have an astigmatism & now need bifocals, they say that added to the cost. I always get a fairly cheap frame, lowest last I saw was just under $100. They also have eye exams which make them super convenient. So, yes I do like these types of shops for glasses, but I always know with my history that the price will be more than what is advertised. Now, I have 2 cataracts forming, so am waiting before getting another pair to see how fast they grow.
Thanks for always having such fun & interesting blogs!
Blessings!
Q
The Nantes shop should do well, as that is where the specialist eye hospital is. Shame there isn’t one in Tours or I would have checked them out. We have resorted to using Goggles4U and ordering online. After my husband had a detached retina it changed his prescription drastically. To buy from the optician was going to be about net €1000 a pair. Health insurance is more or less useless for glasses. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for these new businesses who are distrupting the glasses rip off sector. The more I’ve read about how the sector is controlled the more willing I am to support these new business selling glasses that are actually affordable.
Thankfully I just need readin glasses which I get from a dollar store f or $5
I thought eye care was included with healthcare in Franch. Not so?
Hi Hila, French healthcare covers medical appointments and only a very, very small portion of glasses. I don’t know the amount off the top of my head but generally, the secu reimburses maybe 20 euros for frames and 20 for lenses, or something that barely covers the cost of glasses. Many people have supplementary insurance that may have vision included where an additional amount is reimbursed. In my case, my mutuelle pays 250 euros toward glasses… which still leaves a hefty chunk to be paid out of pocket (last pair for Silhouette glasses were over 600 euros total) if you have a strong prescription or like expensive frames.
Thanks for your info.
Good Morning ,
That rash looks 100% of the rash my son just aquired on day #8 of this medicine. He has to take 3.5 ml 2x day for Babesiosis and he had a severe sore throat the night before kept thinking something was stuck in it crying and dry heaving. Finally calmed down after about a half hr. Didnt think anything of the medicine as this was his 7th day taking it and than the next day he woke up. Arms, top of chest, armpits, lower part of stomach and back and whole top of both legs covered in a very itchy raised red rash and the more he scratched they started to look like welts with white areas around them. Called pharmacy as it was a sunday and they said to stop immediately and give him benadryl. So i guarentee it was the medication and not actual fruit after seeing your photo of leg
Hi Emily, thanks for your comment. I think it got nestled under the wrong post and it’s in response to my malarone reaction post…
First, I’m sorry to hear about your son’s reaction and that he has to take this drug. I didn’t realize it was a treatment for other parasitic diseases as well besides malaria. I have heard other stories like your confirming similar reactions so leaning toward the fact that it was malarone and not tamarind. Thanks for sharing your story!
Your blog post saved the day on my recent Paris vacation! The first two people I asked said quick glasses were impossible, so I did an internet search just in case, and found this page. It turned out there was a Lunettes Pour Tous near my hotel and it was even open on Sunday. They took the prescription from my existing (broken) glasses and were able to make me a new set within an hour even though my prescription is strong.
Thank you.
Hi Virginia, so glad that you were able to get it taken care of. It’s true that things don’t often happen quickly In France and even less so on a Sunday!