Shopping in Paris

Shopping in Paris is a sensual pleasure. Whether you’re trying on clothes behind the velvet curtains of Lanvin or tasting cheeses at an open-air market, the joy is in experiencing the pursuit of perfection for which the French are famous.

Where we have window-shopping, Parisians have window-licking (lèche-vitrine). Big departments stores and global chains have their roles to play, but there are also plenty of small independent boutiques, which combine to make shopping here a unique experience.

Where to shop

Different areas have different specialities. There are clusters of antiques shops in the seventh arrondissement, and second-hand and rare book outlets in the fifth; crystal and porcelain manufacturers still dot rue de Paradis in the tenth; furniture craftsmen as well as children’s clothes shops inhabit rue du Fbg-St-Antoine; and bikes and cameras are clustered on boulevard Beaumarchais. The world’s top jewellers can be found on place Vendôme, while the arty Marais is home to a number of fashion and costume jewellery boutiques.

The historic covered passages in the second and ninth are also fun places in which to shop, with chic stores such as cosmetics line By Terry mixed in with philatelists and booksellers.

Family-run food shops have thankfully not been eroded by supermarket culture, and tend to cluster in ‘market streets’ such as rue des Martyrs and rue Mouffetard, as well as around the many covered and open-air food markets. Here everything from a vintage bottle of armagnac to a single praline chocolate is lovingly presented, served and wrapped. Informed discussion is still very much part of the purchasing process, and beautiful, old-style shops, unchanged for decades, add to the pleasure.

Fashion

On the fashion front, French prêt-à-porter is enjoying a renaissance, with a host of young brands pushing the old names to the sidelines. Manoush, Iro, ba&sh, Les Prairies de Paris and April 77 are among the affordable labels to have opened own-name stores this year; others can be found in the tendance (trend) sections of Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marché.

In addition, an increasing number of multi-brand boutiques have sprung up, presenting a cherry-picked selection of the season’s offerings. Dolls, Les Belles Images and genre pioneer Shine are ones to watch, as well as the clothing concept store LE33 which has injected street style into the Champs-Elysées.

High-street

All the world’s big-name designers have their own-label stores in Paris. In addition to international fashion juggernauts Mango, H&M and Zara, the high street has its fair share of Gallic cheapies: think Etam, Jennyfer and Pimkie. The highest density is in the Forum des Halles, on nearby rue de Rivoli, between the métro stations of Châtelet and Louvre Rivoli, and around Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

While revamped department stores (grands magasins) have brought in trendy designers and luxury spaces in a concerted attempt to lure shoppers away from independent boutiques.

Designer

In the designer league, French creators are also cresting a wave, with Robert Normand and Lefranc.ferrant two of the most original labels to open their own boutiques in the past year. Meanwhile, Martine Sitbon has made a comeback with her new brand Rue du Mail. Last winter also saw an obscene number of facelifts among the luxury labels. Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin, Givenchy and renowned label boutique Colette all launched refitted or new stores in the luxury heartlands of rue du Fbg-St-Honoré, the ‘golden triangle’ (avenues Montaigne, George V and the Champs-Elysées), and St-Germain-des-Prés.

For avant-garde and ‘intelligent’ (read: Belgian) designers, Maria Louisa and L’Eclaireur still come up trumps.

Vintage

The vintage scene also goes from strength to strength. Gabrielle Geppert and Marie Louise de Monterey are two of our favourite new discoveries, both with a very distinct style.

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Markets

If designer labels and homogenous high street shops turn you off, there are still plenty of independent traders in the city’s markets. Paris’s flea markets are truly epic, in size and in the variety of curiosities on offer. The sprawling Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt is the daddy of them all with an unrivalled abundance of junk and genuine design classics; the tree-lined Marché de Vanves and contemporary design market Les Puces du Design are more modest in scale. Traditional antiques can be found in the Louvre des Antiquaires, while you’ll find art deco in the market next to St-Germain-des-Prés.

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Opening hours

Shops are generally open from 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, with specialist boutiques closing for an hour at lunch. Some are closed on Monday mornings. Sunday opening is found in the Marais, on the Champs-Elysées, at Bercy Village and in the Carrousel du Louvre. Many shops on the Champs-Elysées stay open until midnight, and Thursday is late closing at department stores. Small corner grocery stores open late for essentials.

The city council has made markets more accessible to working people by extending their opening hours. There are now more than 70 markets – including a handful of the covered variety – in Paris. The city council’s website (www.paris.fr) has full details of each one.

Top tips

Hitting the sales: twice a year, in January and July, boutiques sell off seasonal stock at reduced prices to make way for incoming collections. The nationwide dates for the soldes (sales) are imposed by the state-run consumer office; call 01.40.27.16.00 for more details.

Staying the right side of customs: coming back to Britain from a Paris shopping trip, customs declarations are not usually necessary. You are allowed to carry back reasonable amounts of legal goods for personal use. More than this and you may have to explain your personal habits to a customs officer. The amounts given below are guidelines only: 800 cigarettes, 400 small cigars, 200 cigars or 1kg loose tobacco; 10 litres of spirits (more than 22% alcohol), 90 litres of wine (less than 22% alcohol) or 110 litres of beer.

Tax back: non-EU residents can claim a refund or détaxe (around 12 per cent) on VAT if they spend over €175 in any one day in one shop, and if they live outside the EU for more than six months in the year.

Our listings

While every effort and care has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this guide, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors it may contain. Before you go out of your way, we strongly advise you to phone ahead and check the particulars.

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