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SHOPPING |
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Even if you don't plan - or can't afford - to buy, browsing in
Paris's shops and markets is one of the city's chief delights. Flair for
style and design is as evident here asit is in other aspects of Paris
life. Parisians' epicurean tendencies and fierce attachment to their
small local traders have kept alive a wonderful variety of speciality
shops, despite the pressures to concentrate consumption in gargantuan
underground and multistorey complexes. One of the best shopping areas is
the square kilometre around place St-Germain-des-Prés , packed with
books, antiques, gorgeous garments, artworks and playthings. But in
every quartier you'll find enticing displays of all manner of
consumables.
Opening hours
Most businesses open Monday to Saturday, often with two hours off at
midday, and generally close at around 7pm. In addition, the larger
department stores tend to stay open until 9pm or 10pm on Thursday nights.
Almost all shops close on Sunday and some stay closed on Monday as well,
though there is often a corner shop open in each neighbourhood to fill
in the gap.
Bookshops
The best areas for books are the narrow streets of the quartier Latin
and along the Seine, where rows of stalls are perched against the river
parapet. Here we've listed a few specialists and favourites. For books
in English, head for Abbey Bookshop, Shakespeare & Co or W H Smith.
Abbey Bookshop/La Librairie Canadienne 29 rue de la Parcheminerie, 5e.
Mº St-Michel. Mon-Sat 10am-7pm.
A Canadian bookshop round the corner from Shakespeare & Co, with lots of
secondhand British and North American fiction, good social science
sections, plus knowledgeable and helpful staff - and free coffee.
Artcurial 9 av Matignon, 8e. Mº Franklin-D-Roosevelt. Tues-Sun
10am-7.15pm; closed two weeks in Aug.
The best art bookshop in Paris.
FNAC Forum des Halles, niveau 2, Porte Pierre-Lescot, 1er. Mº/RER
Châtelet-Les Halles. Mon-Sat 10am-7.30pm.
Not the most congenial of bookshops, but it's the biggest and covers
everything; there are numerous other branches throughout the city.
Galerie Maeght 42 rue du Bac, 7e. Mº Rue-du-Bac. Tues-Sat 9.30am-7pm.
Famous art gallery which makes its own beautifully printed art books.
Présence Africaine 25bis rue des Écoles, 5e. Mº Maubert-Mutualité. Mon-Sat
10am-7pm.
Specialist black African bookshop, with titles ranging from literature
to economics and philosophy by Caribbean and North American, as well as
African writers.
Parallèles 47 rue St-Honoré, 1er. Mº Châtelet-Les Halles. Mon-Sat
10am-7pm.
An alternative bookshop, with everything from anarchism to New Age. Good
for info on current events and gigs.
Shakespeare & Co 37 rue de la Bûcherie, 5e. Mº Maubert-Mutualité. Daily
noon-midnight.
A cosy, famous literary haunt, American-run, with the biggest selection
of secondhand English books intown. Also poetry readings and the like.
W H Smith 248 rue de Rivoli, 1er. Mº Concorde. Mon-Sat 9.30am-7pm.
Paris outlet of the British chain. Wide range of books and newspapers.
Clothes
The haute couture shows may be well out-of-bounds, but there's nothing
to prevent you trying on fabulously expensive creations by famous
couturiers in rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, avenue François-1er and avenue
Victor-Hugo - apart from the intimidating air of the assistants and the
awesome chill of the marble portals. Likewise, you can treat the younger
designers round place des Victoires and in the Marais and St-Germain
areas as stops on your sightseeing itinerary. The long-time darlings of
the glitterati are Jean-Paul Gaultier and Azzedine Alaïa, who, in 1991,
were prevailed upon to design some gear for the city's cheapest
department store - Tati (whose main branch is at 13 place de la
République, 11e; Mº République). Of the more recent star designers three
are British - John Galliano at Dior, Stella McCartney at Chloé and the
controversial Alexander McQueen at Givenchy. For smart clothes without
the fancy labels the best areas are rue St-Placide and rue St-Dominique
in the 6e and 7e. The department stores Galeries Lafayette and Au
Printemps have good selections of designer prêt-à-porter; and the Forum
des Halles is choc-a-bloc with clothes shops at less competitive prices.
The sales take place in January and July, with reductions of up to forty
percent on designer clothes. Designer ends of lines andold stock are
sold year-round in discount shops concentrated in rue d'Alésia in the
14e and rue St-Placide in the 6e. For shoes , take a wander down rue
Meslay in the 3e.
Department stores
Au Bon Marché 38 rue de Sèvres, 7e. Mº Sèvres-Babylone. Mon-Fri
9.30am-7pm, Sat till 8pm.
Paris's oldest department store, founded in 1852. Prices are lower on
average than at the more upmarket Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.
Excellent kids' department and a legendary food hall.
Galeries Lafayette 40 bd Haussmann, 9e. Mº Havre-Caumartin. Mon-Sat
9.30am-6.45pm, Thurs till 9pm.
The store's forte is, above all, high fashion. Two complete floors are
given over to the latest creations by leading designers for men, women
and children. Then there's household stuff, tableware, furniture, a huge
parfumerie , and much else - all under a superb 1900 dome.
Au Printemps 64 bd Haussmann, 9e. Mº Havre-Caumartin. Mon-Sat
9.30am-7pm, Thurs till 10pm.
Books, records, a parfumerie even bigger than that of rival Galeries
Lafayette, excellent fashion for women - less so for men.
La Samaritaine 75 rue de Rivoli, 1er. Mº Louvre-Rivoli, Mº Châtelet & Mº
Pont-Neuf. Mon-Sat 9.30am-7pm, Thurs till 10pm.
The largest of the department stores, spread over three buildings,
boasts that it can provide anything you could possibly want. You get a
superb view of Paris from the eleventh-floor rooftop, and from the
inexpensive tenth-floor terrace café (closed Oct-March).
Food and drink
Sumptuous food stores are to be found all over Paris: the listings below
are for the specialist places , many of them palaces of gluttony, with
prices to match. Everyday food shopping is best done at the street
markets or supermarkets , though save your bread-buying at least for the
local boulangerie . The cheapest supermarket chain is Ed Discount.
Le Baron Aligre 1 rue Théophile-Roussel, 12e. Mº Ledru-Rollin. Tues-Fri
10am-2pm & 5-9.30pm, Sat 10am-9.30pm, Sun 10.30am-1pm.
Stocks a good selection of dependable lower-range French wines; ¬1.07
for a small tasting glass. Very drinkable Merlot at ¬2.44 a litre, if
you bring your own containers.
Barthélémy 51 rue de Grenelle, 7e. Mº Bac. Tues-Sat 8.30am-1pm &
4-7.30pm; closed Aug.
Purveyors of cheeses to the rich and powerful.
Carmès et Fils 24 rue de Lévis, 17e. Mº Villiers. Tues-Sat 8.30am-1pm &
4-7.30pm, Sun am; closed Aug.
Run by a family of experts who mature many of the cheeses sold here in
their own cellars.
Caves Michel Renaud 12 place de la Nation, 12e. Mº Nation. 9.30am-1pm &
2-8.30pm; closed Sun pm and Mon am.
Established in 1870, this wine shop purveys superb-value French and
Spanish wines, champagnes and Armagnac.
Comptoir du Saumon 60 rue François-Miron, 4e. Mº St-Paul. Mon-Sat
10am-10pm.
Specializes in salmon, but sells eels, trout and all things fishy as
well - there's also a delightful little restaurant in which to taste the
fare.
Debauve and Gallais 30 rue des Sts-Pères, 6e. Mº St-Germain-des-Prés.
Mon-Sat 9am-7pm; closed Aug.
A beautiful, ancient shop specializing in chocolate and elaborate sweets.
Diététique DJ Fayer 45 rue St-Paul, 4e. Mº St-Paul. Mon-Sat
9.30am-1.30pm & 2.30-8.45pm.
One of the city's oldest specialists in dietary, macrobiotic and
vegetarian fare.
Divay 4 rue Bayen, 17e. Mº Ternes. Tues-Sun 8am-1.30pm & 3.30-7.30pm;
closed Wed pm, Sun pm & Aug.
Purveyor of foie gras , choucroute, saucisson and such.
Fauchon 26 place de la Madeleine, 8e. Mº Madeleine. Mon-Sat 9.40am-7pm.
Carries an amazing range of super-plus groceries and wine, all at
exorbitant prices; there's a self-service counter for pâtisseries and
plats du jour , and a traiteur which stays open a little later, until
8.30pm.
Goldenberg's 7 rue des Rosiers, 4e. Mº St-Paul. Daily 9am-2am.
Superlative Jewish deli and restaurant, specializing in charcuterie.
Hédiard 21 place de la Madeleine, 8e. Mº Madeleine. Mon-Sat 8am-10pm.
Since 1850 the aristocrat's grocer.
Several other branches throughout the city.
La Maison de l'Escargot 79 rue Fondary, 15e. Mº Dupleix. Tues-Sat
9am-7.30pm, Sun 9am-1pm; closed mid-July to Sept.
As the name suggests, this place specializes in snails: they even sauce
them and re-shell them while you wait.
Mariage Frères 30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg, 4e. Mº Hôtel de Ville. Daily
10.30am-7.30pm.
Hundreds of teas, neatly packed in tins, line the floor-to-ceiling
shelves of this 100-year-old tea emporium. There is a salon de thé in
the back with exquisite pastries (daily noon-7pm).
À la Mère de Famille 35 rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, 9e. Mº Le Peletier.
Tues-Sat 8.30am-1.30pm & 3-7pm.
An eighteenth-century confiserie serving marrons glacés , prunes from
Agen, dried fruit, sweets, chocolates and even some wines.
Poilâne 8 rue du Cherche-Midi, 6e. Mº Sèvres-Babylone. Mon-Sat
7.15am-8.15pm.
Bakes bread to ancient and secret family recipes; there is always a
queue.
Rendez-Vous de la Nature 96 rue Mouffetard, 5e. Mº Cardinal Lemoine.
Tues-Sat 9.30am-7.30pm, Sun 9.30am-noon.
One of the city's most comprehensive health-food stores, with everything
from organic produce to herbal teas.
Music
New cassettes and CDs are not particularly cheap in Paris, but there are
plenty of secondhand bargains, and you may come across selections that
are novel enough to tempt you. Like the live music scene, there are
albums of Brazilian, Caribbean, Antillais, African and Arab sounds that
would be specialist rarities in London or the States, and there's every
kind of jazz.
Afric' Music 3 rue des Plantes, 14e. Mº Mouton-Duvernet. Mon-Sat
10am-7pm.
A small shop with an original selection of African, Caribbean and reggae
discs.
BPM Records 1 rue Keller, 11e. Mº Bastille. Mon-Sat noon-8pm.
Specialists in house, including acid, hip-hop, rap, techno and dub. A
good place to pick up club flyers.
Camara 45 rue Marcadet, 18e. Mº Marcadet-Poissonnière. Mon-Sat noon-8pm.
The best selection of West African music on cassette and video in town.
Crocodisc 40-42 rue des Écoles, 5e. Mº Maubert-Mutualité. Tues-Sat
11am-7pm.
Folk, Oriental, Afro-Antillais, funk, reggae, salsa, rap, soul, country,
new and secondhand. Some of the best prices in town.
Crocojazz 64 rue de la Montagne-Ste-Geneviève, 5e; 40 & 42 rue des
Ecoles, 5e (all Mº Maubert-Mutualité).
Tues-Sat 11am-1pm & 2-7pm. Mainly new imports: jazz, blues, gospel and
country.
Dream Store 4 place St-Michel, 6e. Mº St-Michel. Mon 1.30pm-7.15pm,
Tues-Sat 9.30am-7.15pm.
Good discounts on jazz and classical in particular but also rock and
folk.
FNAC Musique 4 place de la Bastille, 12e, next to opera house. Mº
Bastille. Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Wed till 10pm.
Extremely stylish shop in black, grey and chrome, with computerized
catalogues, books, every variety of music, and a concert booking agency.
The other many branches of FNAC also sell music and hi-fi; the branch at
24 bd des Italiens, 9e, has a greater emphasis on rock and popular
music, and stays open till midnight.
Paul Beuscher 15-29 bd Beaumarchais, 4e. Mº Bastille. Mon-Fri
9.45am-12.30pm & 2-7pm, Sat 9.45am-7pm.
A music department store that's been going strong for over a hundred
years. Instruments, scores, books, recording equipment, etc.
Virgin Megastore 56-60 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e (Mº
Franklin-D-Roosevelt); and Carrousel du Louvre, 1er (Mº Louvre-Rivoli).
Mon-Sat 10am-midnight, Sun noon-midnight.
The biggest and trendiest of all Paris's music shops. Concert booking
agency and expensive internet connection.
Sport and outdoor pursuits
Le Ciel Est à Tout le Monde 10 rue Gay-Lussac, 5e. RER Luxembourg.
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm; closed Mon in Aug.
The best kite shop in Europe. It also sells frisbees, boomerangs, etc,
plus books and traditional toys.
Nomades 37 bd Bourdon, 4e. Mº Bastille. Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat & Sun
10am-7pm.
The place to buy and rent rollerblades and equipment, with its own bar
out back where you can find out about the scene.
Au Vieux Campeur 48 rue des Écoles, 5e. Mº Maubert-Mutualité. Mon-Fri
10.30am-7.30pm, Wed till 9pm, Sat 9.30am-8pm.
Maps, guides, climbing, hiking, camping, ski gear, plus a kids' climbing
wall.
Markets
Paris's markets , like its shops, are grand spectacles. Mouthwatering
arrays of food from half the countries of the globe, captivating in
colour, shape and smell, assail the senses in even the drabbest parts of
town. In addition, there are street markets of secondhand goods (the
flea markets, or marchés aux puces ), clothes and textiles , flowers ,
birds , books and stamps . Though all have semi-official opening and
closing hours, many begin business in advance and drag on till dusk.
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