Nice
Fruit and vegetables, olives, cheeses, breads, herbs and spices – no market is a finer reflection of local Niçois life.
Must-see shopping in France
Le Bugue
One of Dordogne’s best wine shops is in Le Bugue, just south of the town centre. Check the website for other branches.
Southern Corsica
This workshop-cum-shop, in the village centre, sells gorgeous hand-forged traditional knives, costing from €100.
Paris
Founded by friends Hélène and Magali, So We Are specialises in hard-to-find French and European women's fashion labels. Look out for embroidered T-shirts…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
All of the quality items in this terrific little shop are made in France: jewellery, perfume, cards, tea towels, plates, posters, board games, pétanque…
Marseille
This artisanal beer shop sells a top notch selection of ales, IPAs, lagers, stouts and the like from across France as well as Canada, Italy, the UK, the…
Cannes
For local culture, head to Cannes' busy food market, a couple of blocks back from the port. In the biz since 1934, it is one of the most important markets…
Marseille
Quirky and stylish homewares, kids' toys, patisseries, fine chocolate and even a small contemporary art gallery: there's a surprising variety of delights…
Marseille
Owned by a designer and an architect, Unity has plenty of suitcase-fillers for the modern aesthete. Painted skateboards by Boom-Art, Pantone coffee mugs,…
Paris
It might be tiny but this charming shop stocks a trove of vintage homewares – globes, clocks, mirrors, vases, sculptures, lamps, light fittings and…
Marseille
Not your ordinary hair salon, Cut & Mix multitasks as a record store, bookshop and event space. Sociable owners Floriane and Christophe even host…
Marseille
Another of Marseille’s fine soap sellers, selling unusual perfumes like chocolate, verveine and aniseed.
Paris
Ultragourmet food shops garland place de la Madeleine; many have in-house dining options. Notable names include truffle dealers La Maison de la Truffe;…
Lyon
With more than 400 exhibitors showcasing their wares in the northeastern suburb of Villeurbanne, France's second-biggest flea market is a fun place to…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Beneath a giant crystal chandelier, Aux Merveilleux' cakes are as decadent and rebellious as the 18th-century Merveilleuse and Incroyables (brazen post…
Bordeaux
This upmarket fromagerie and affineur (cheesemonger and ripener), open since 1983, stocks over 150 raw-milk and farm cheeses. Check the blackboard for the…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Chocolate-making moulds cover the walls at this prize-winning chocolatier, which sells seasonal speciality creations (Easter eggs et al), pralines,…
Latin Quarter
Music might be more accessible than ever before in the digital age, but for many, digital recordings will never replace rummaging through racks for…
Marseille
Soap-making in Marseille has been traced by some to the 14th century, but much of the stuff for sale at the city’s markets is made elsewhere. That’s not…
Latin Quarter
This outdoor store has colonised the Latin Quarter, with some two dozen different boutiques scattered around its original shop that opened on rue St…
Bordeaux
Duck into the city's flagship department store, at home in an elegant Art Nouveau building from the 1900s, for a one-stop shop for women and children's…
Bordeaux
A lifestyle space dedicated to l'art de vivre (the art of living well) is the essence of this beautiful concept store and casual eatery in St-Michel. Its…
Paris
This unusual space specialises in four-day sales of overstock from contemporary designers, such as Lancel, Claudie Pierlot, Tara Jarmon, Vanessa Bruno and…
Lyon
Housed in an arcaded courtyard on the Croix Rousse slopes, this innovative cluster of workshop-boutiques showcases the artwork of a dozen up-and-coming…
Bordeaux
Rev up taste buds in this gourmet boutique selling local and regional food and drink specialities. Be tempted by local cheese, canalés (sandcastle-shaped…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
BHV (pronounced bay-ash-vay) is a vast, straightforward department store in Le Marais where you can buy everything from guidebooks on Paris to men's,…
Paris
If you like the bouquiniste stalls along the Seine, you'll adore this enormous secondhand and antiquarian book market adjacent to beautiful Parc Georges…
Paris
Wedged beneath quai de la Mégisserie in a stone archway, this little boutique is perfect for picking up Parisian gifts, such as children's colouring maps…
Latin Quarter
Established in Paris in 1986 by esteemed parfumeuse Patricia de Nicolaï, whose great-grandfather Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain founded Guerlain 150…
Mayette la Boutique de la Magie
Latin Quarter
One of a kind, this 1808-established magic shop is said to be the world’s oldest. Since 1991 it’s been in the hands of world-famous magic pro Dominique…
Paris
If you want to create the ‘Jardin du Luxembourg look’ in your own garden, head for Fermob. It makes French-park-style benches and folding chairs in a…
Paris
Located beneath the red-brick arches of the Promenade Plantée elevated park, the Viaduc des Arts' 1.5km-long line-up of traditional artisans and…
St-Émilion
Local artists and artisans quietly showcase their arts and crafts in a handful of galleries in La Cour des Arts, a fountain-pierced courtyard studded with…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Shop for secondhand designer pieces of women's casual wear at this beautifully presented boutique. It has several other shops scattered along the same…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Independent English-language bookshop the Red Wheelbarrow, an institution in Le Marais from 2001 to 2012, delighted its customers when it reopened near…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
The most extraordinary cakes, far too beautiful to eat, are showcased beneath glass domes at this contemporary ‘patisserie of dreams’ founded by big-name…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Luxury gloves and hats, for men and women, are the keystone of this chic, haute-couture boutique across the street from the Le Bon Marché department store…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
For quality local gifts, browse the shelves of this tiny concept store stocking only made-in-France items. Designers include La Note Parisienne (scented…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
A stunning art deco swimming pool (originally belonging to neighbouring Hôtel Lutetia) now houses luxury label Hermès’ inaugural concept store. Retaining…
Reims
You either love or hate biscuits roses de Reims, (pink ladyfinger sponge biscuits), which have been doing the rounds since Maison Fossier perfected them…
