Shopping in Paris
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Le Bon Marché
Opened by Gustave Eiffel as Paris’ first department store in 1852, The Good Market (which also means ‘bargain’ in French) is the Left Bank’s chic one-stop shop. The icing on the cake is its glorious food hall.
reviewed
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APC
The hip streetwear of the renovated and expanded Atelier de Production et Création (Production and Creation Workshop) is very popular with those young Parisian guys with pop-rock haircuts, white sneakers and jeans. The focus is on simple lines and straight cuts, though some pieces are more adventurous. It also has women’s clothes. There’s also a branch on rue de Marsaille ([tel] 01 42 39 84 46; 5 rue de Marseille, 10e; [hrs] 11.30am-8pm; [metro] Jacques Bonsergent).
reviewed
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Colette
This Japanese-inspired concept store has clothes and accessories as well as books, art, music and beauty products. Limited-edition sneakers, candles that smell like sex (so say staff, anyway), cutting-edge clocks – it’s worth a look even if you’re not buying. Colette’s famous sales see huge reductions on the designer stock, including Comme des Garçons, Marc Jacobs and far more. The Water Bar café-restaurant in the basement features still and sparkling waters from around the world.
reviewed
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Shakespeare & Company
Paris’ most famous English-language bookshop sells new and used books and is a charm to browse (grab a read and sink into one of the two cinema chairs near the stairs out back); the staff’s picks are worth noting and there’s a dusty old library on the 1st floor. This isn’t the original Shakespeare & Company owned by Sylvia Beach, who published James Joyce’s Ulysses ; that was closed down by the Nazis.
reviewed
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Fauchon
Paris’ most famous caterer has a half-dozen departments in two buildings selling the most incredibly mouthwatering delicacies, from pâté de foie gras and truffles to confitures (jams).
reviewed
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Aspasie & Mathieu
For old-fashioned accessories like gentlemen’s pocket watches, ladies’ hats and walking canes, browse Aspasie & Mathieu in the Latin Quarter.
reviewed
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Marché Couvert St-Quentin
Iron-and-glass covered market built in 1866; lots of gourmet and upmarket food stalls.
reviewed
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Forum des Halles
Les Halles, the city’s main wholesale food market, occupied the area just south of the Église St-Eustache from the early 12th century until 1969, when it was moved to the southern suburb of Rungis. In its place, the unspeakably ugly Forum des Halles, a huge underground shopping centre, was constructed in the glass-and-chrome style of the early 1970s. At last it’s slated to be gutted and rebuilt by 2012, and topped with an architecturally stunning ‘canopy’.
Atop the Forum des Halles is a popular rooftop garden. During the warmer months, street musicians, fire-eaters and other performers display their talents throughout the area, especially at place du Jean du Bell…
reviewed
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Bonton Bazar
This ode to childhood is an old-fashioned delight. It sells a mix of toys, kids’ chopsticks (handy for families dining out a lot in Paris), kitchen and bathroom wares (polka-dotted cutlery, black rubber ducks with fishing rods), bedroom decorations, pedal-powered metal cars and so on. Quaint, retro fashion of the same timeless ilk for babies (from 12 months on) and kids respectively is the focus of nearby Bébé Bonton ([tel] 01 44 39 12 01; 82 rue de Grenelle, 7e; [metro] Rue du Bac)and Grenelle Bonton ([tel] 01 44 39 20 01; 82 rue de Grenelle, 7e; [metro] Rue du Bac). In 2010 the St-Germain reference jumped the river to open Grand Bonton ([tel] 01 42 72 34 69; www.bon…
reviewed
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Galeries Lafayette
Paris’ famous grand magasin is a vast sight in itself, straddling two adjacent buildings and packed with fashion, accessories and the world’s largest lingerie department. A fashion show (tel: 01 42 82 30 25 to book a seat) takes place at 3pm on Friday.
reviewed
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La Petite Robe Noire
Paris being Paris, there’s secondhand…and secondhand: in the rag trade since 1975, collector Didier Ludot not only sells the city’s finest couture creations of yesteryear in his exclusive twinset of boutiques Didier Ludot, he also hosts fashion exhibitions in the neighbouring galleries of the Palais Royal, and has published a book portraying the evolution of the little black dress, brilliantly brought to life in his boutique that sells just that, La Petite Robe Noire. Shop mannequins modelled a 1960s Chanel and 2006 Lanvin the day we were there.
reviewed
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Hôtel Drouot
Paris’ most established auction house has been selling fine lots for more than a century. The bidding is in rapid-fire French (now also available on the website) and a 10% to 15% commission is charged on top of the purchase price. Viewings (always a vicarious pleasure) are usually from 11am to 6pm the day before and from 10.30am to 11.30am the morning of the auction. Further details can be found in the weekly Gazette de l’Hôtel Drouot (www.gazette-drouot.com; €3.40), available at the auction house and selected newsstands on Friday, as well as on the main Hôtel Drouot website.
reviewed
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Puzzle Michèle Wilson
Puzzleurs and puzzleuses will love the selection of hand-cut wooden jigsaw puzzles available in this shop. Ranging in size (and degree of difficulty) from 80 to – wait for it – 5000 pieces, the puzzles depict for the most part major works of art; everyone from Millet and Bosch to the impressionists is represented. The ones of medieval stained glass and 18th-century fans are particularly fine. There are two other outlets, including a 15e branch ([tel] 01 45 75 35 28; 97 av Émile Zola, 15e; [hrs] 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Sat; [metro] Charles Michels).
reviewed
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Didier Ludot
Paris being Paris, there’s secondhand…and secondhand: in the rag trade since 1975, collector Didier Ludot not only sells the city’s finest couture creations of yesteryear in his exclusive twinset of boutiques Didier Ludot, he also hosts fashion exhibitions in the neighbouring galleries of the Palais Royal, and has published a book portraying the evolution of the little black dress, brilliantly brought to life in his boutique that sells just that, La Petite Robe Noire. Shop mannequins modelled a 1960s Chanel and 2006 Lanvin the day we were there.
reviewed
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Espace IGN
The most ubiquitous (and user-friendly) pocket-sized street atlas available is L’Indispensable’s Paris Practique par Arrondissement (€4.90) – newer versions also include Vélib’ stations – though the similar Paris Utile (€4.50) from Blay Foldex has its supporters. More detailed is Michelin’s Paris Poche Plan (No 50; €2.20). All of these are usually available from the Institut Géographique National bookstore Espace IGN, which also sells walking maps, city plans, compasses, satellite images, historic maps and guidebooks.
reviewed
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Cacao et Chocolat
You haven’t tasted chocolate till you’ve had a hot chocolate (€3.50) spiced with cinnamon, ginger or cayenne pepper at this exotic shop showcasing cocoa beans in every guise. Citrus, spice and chilli are among the flavoured bars to buy here or at its outlets in the Marais ([tel] 01 42 71 50 06; 36 rue Vieille du Temple, 4e; [hrs] 11am-7.30pm; [metro] St-Paul) and on Île St-Louis ([tel] 01 46 33 33 33; 63 rue St-Louis en l’Île, 4e; [hrs] 10.30am-7.30pm; [metro] Pont Marie).
reviewed
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Le Petit Bazar
A real quartier (neighbourhood) boutique with a distinctly ‘green’ philosophy, this emporium for tots has it all: imaginative games and toys, clothes, bedroom furnishings and accessories, stuff for school and babycare products – all organic, recycled or made by local artisans. Top it off with a coffee corner to help yourself to a herbal tea or juice and slice of homemade cake (fill in your own bill and pay at the counter), not to mention a clutch of music workshops for toddlers (aged one to five).
reviewed
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Marithé & François Girbaud
This globetrotting designer couple call themselves ‘jeanologists’, having devoted themselves to more than 30 years of denim. They have four other boutiques in Paris, including a Marais branch ([tel] 01 44 54 99 01; 20 rue Malher, 4e; [hrs] 11am-7pm Mon-Sat, 2-7pm Sun; [metro] St-Paul) and a St-Germain branch ([tel] 01 53 63 53 63; 7 rue du Cherche Midi, 6e; [hrs] 11.30am-7.30pm Mon, 10.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sat; [metro] St-Sulpice) with its own ‘vegetation wall’ inside.
reviewed
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Fragonard
Parisian perfume maker Fragonard has a changing litany of great things for the home, such as fabulous vases with an Eiffel Tower theme, lovely embroidered napkins with a fish or vegetable theme, great little spoons with a cake or pastry theme. Nothing is very expensive and the offerings change every few months, so you have to pounce when you find something you love. The gift wrapping in gorgeous Fragonard bags is worth it alone!
reviewed
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Tati
With its war cry of les plus bas prix (the lowest prices) – and quality to match, some would say – Tati has been Paris’ great working-class department store for more than half a century. Don’t be surprised to see trendy Parisians fighting for bargains hidden in the crammed bins and piled onto tables. There’s a smaller 3e branch ([tel] 01 48 87 72 81; 172-174 rue du Temple, 3e; [hrs] 9.30am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Sat; [metro] Temple or République) as well.
reviewed
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Merci
The landmark pink Fiat Cinquecento in the courtyard marks the entrance to this unique multistorey concept store whose rallying cry is one-stop shopping. All the proceeds go to a children’s charity in Madagascar.
reviewed
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La Vallée Village
This shopping centre within the Disneyland Resort, 30km east of Paris, contains some 75 big-name outlets (Christian Lacroix, Kenzo, Versace et al) offering discounts on last season’s clothing, accessories and tableware. From Paris, take RER line A4 (€5.60, 30 to 35 minutes) to the Val d’Europe station. Alternatively, Cityrama Tuileries) three times weekly, departing at 10.15am and returning at 4pm; book in advance.
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Les Ruchers du Roy
‘The King’s Apiaries’ sells honey and apiarian products fit for a monarch – especially its pure royal jelly, a substance secreted by worker bees and fed to future queen bees. It sells dozens of types of honey, including those made from one single type of flower (miels monofloraux), honeys made from a number of blossoms (miels polyfloraux) and various regional honeys (miels des régions).
reviewed
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Hédiard
This famous luxury food shop established in 1854 consists of two adjacent sections selling prepared dishes, teas, coffees, jams, wines, pastries, fruits, vegetables and so on, as well as a popular restaurant ([tel] 01 43 12 88 99; [hrs] 8.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, to 10pm Sat), where tea is served from 3pm to 6pm. There’s also a George V branch ([tel] 01 47 20 44 44; 31 av George V, 8e; [hrs] Sun; [metro] George V).
reviewed
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Au Vieux Campeur
This sporting-gear chain runs 26 shops in the Latin Quarter, each selling equipment for a specific outdoor activity. Find walking gear at 2-4 rue Thénard; camping gear and a fabulous range of accessories (torches, knives, flasks, folding buckets, pack showers…) at 6 rue Thénard; clothing for le froid urbain (city cold) at 50 rue des Écoles and 3 rue de Latran; and Paris’ most complete range of maps and guides at 2 rue de Latran.
reviewed
