Paris, France City Guide
For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Paris, France Travel Guide has been your connection to Paris's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Shopping
 Since Louis XIV sent dolls dressed in the latest Parisian styles to neighboring European courts, Paris has been synonymous with high fashion. The master craftsmen (and women) of “haute couture” and luxury goods are the lifeblood of Paris’s fashion industry.
The legendary houses--Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, Rochas, Yves St. Laurent--dazzle crowds along the avenue Montaigne and the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. From sophisticated and fantastic to extravagant and superb, the window displays of their boutiques celebrate beauty in luxurious fabrics, delicate scents and sparkling jewels. The stretch from the Champs Elysée to the Palais-Royal along the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore and rue Saint-Honoré is home to more than a seasoned shopper can reasonably cover in a weekend. If rue des Francs-Bourgeois, at the northern edge of the Marais is too busy for you, try the rue Vieille-du-Temple a few blocks north, once a working-class area neighborhood now populated by boutiques for all ages, vintage shops, art galleries and eateries. The Golden Triangle, encompassing avenue Montaigne, avenue George V and the Champs-Elysées is the historical heart of high-end shopping in Paris, and has welcomed the arrival of hip young labels and a fistful of concept stores. For quirky charm, head for the rue Oberkampf, the canals of the 10th and the slopes of Montmartre.
There is far more to Paris shopping than fashion. Foodies will enjoy the Marche d’Aligre, an old-fashioned food hall, and the streets around it. Book lovers can lose themselves in the Marché aux Livres Anciens in the parc Georges Brassens. Antiquarian bookshops are scattered throughout the city but tend to cluster around the Sorbonne; check out the famous bouquinistes along the banks of the river. If you are into browsing, you’ll find a good selection of new and used books, CDs and DVDs at the bookshops on boulevard St Michel. On the right bank, explore pedestrian streets around Châtelet for DVDs and old vinyl records.
On boulevard Haussmann the giants of the department store world, the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, have both undergone renovations in recent years, and attract millions of shoppers each year. Not to be outdone, Le Bon Marché, the Left Bank’s only department store, has recently unveiled a redesign.
A value-added tax (VAT) of 19.6% is included in the price of most items. If you’re visiting from outside the European Union, most major retailers will provide a tax refund receipt that you can have stamped and drop off at a designated booth at the airport on your way home.
Opening hours vary according to size and season: mid-size and smaller shops may close at lunch time (between noon and 2 pm) year-round; many family-owned businesses (shops and restaurants) close for three weeks in August. Department stores are open until 9.30 pm once a week. On Sundays, shopping is confined to major tourist areas such as the Carroussel du Louvre and the Champs-Elysees (plus flea markets).
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