Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [113]
Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki
Puzzles Michèle Wilson
Le Bon Marché
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When it comes to shopping, Paris naturally has it all: large boulevards lined with international chains, luxury avenues with designer fashion, famous grands magasins (department stores) and fabulous marchés aux puces (flea markets; Click here. But the real charm of Parisian shopping resides in a peripatetic stroll through the side streets, where tiny speciality stores and quirky boutiques selling everything from strawberry-scented Wellington boots to stainless-steel soap holders alternate with cafés, galleries and churches. These shops are what we’ve focused on in this chapter. Key areas are around the Marais in the 3e and 4e Click here, around St-Germain des Prés in the 6e Click here, and parts of Montmartre and Pigalle in the 9e and 18e Click here.
As in many capital cities, shops are spread out across different neighbourhoods, inspiring very different styles of shopping. If what the French do best – fashion (Click here) – is what you’re after, then tread the haute couture (high fashion), luxury jewellery and designer perfume boardwalks in the Étoile and Champs-Élysées Click here. For original fashion, both street and vintage (Click here)), the addictive maze of boutique shopping in the Marais and St-Germain will keep you on your toes.
For an overview of Paris fashion, department stores such as Le Bon Marché Click here in 7e and Galeries Lafayette and Printemps in the 9e provide a gentle introduction to what can be a frustratingly intimidating scene; should you not look like a millionaire, trying to raise a smile out of frosty, poker-faced staff in some designer boutiques (or indeed attracting their attention to let you in; most require you to buzz) can be disheartening. Should it be too much for you, personalised shopping tours exist; www.chicshoppingparis.com and www.chicparisienne.com are two of many.
For a rundown on Paris’ main shopping strips and streets specialising in particular products, Click here and Click here.
Shopping in Paris for fine food, wine, tea, books, stationery, art and antiques, and other collectables is particularly rewarding. For gift ideas, Click here.
Opening Hours
Opening hours are generally 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday. Smaller shops often shut all day on Monday; on other days, their proprietors may close from noon to around 2pm for a long and lazy lunch. Many larger stores hold nocturnes (late-night shopping) on Thursday, remaining open until around 10pm. For Sunday shopping, the Champs-Élysées Click here, Montmartre, the Marais and Bastille areas are the liveliest.
Winter soldes (sales) – during which many shops extend their hours – kick off in mid-January; summer soldes start the second week of June.
Consumer Taxes & Bargaining
If you’re not an EU resident, you can get a TVA (VAT; sales tax) refund of up to 17%, provided you have spent more than €182 in any one store; Click here. Some larger department stores and ‘duty-free’ shops give discounts of 10% to foreign passport holders if asked; otherwise bargaining is reserved for flea markets.
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LOUVRE & LES HALLES
Though you’ll find any number of specialist boutiques selling everything from music boxes to kitchenware here, the 1e and 2e arrondissements are mostly about fashion. Indeed, the Sentier garment district has become a centre for fashion, while rue Étienne Marcel, place des Victoires and rue du Jour (beside the Église St-Eustache; Map) offer prominent labels and shoe shops. Nearby rue Montmartre and rue Tiquetonne are known for their streetwear and avant-garde designs. Les Halles itself, once the city’s food market, is now a vast underground shopping complex. It’s flanked to the east by the sleaze and sports stores of rue St-Denis, and to the south by the chain stores of rue de Rivoli. The easternmost part of the 1e around Palais Royal is far more conservative, with fancy period and label fashion.
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