The best shopping in Paris
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"Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant," wrote the novelist Honoré de Balzac in 1830, and today it is still hard to argue with the sentiment. The city has been a centre of fashion since Louis XIV first donned a pair of white stockings.
From the opulence of the Golden Triangle, between avenues Montaigne, George V and Champs-Élysées to the shimmering boutiques of Rue Saint-Honoré and Place Vendôme, the city's concentration of exquisite couture and jewellery is unparalleled. But it's not just old-fashioned sophistication on offer – the city is also the birthplace of the 'concept store' and home to myriad vintage shops, hip designer boutiques and – of course – some of the best food emporiums in the world. Telegraph Travel expert Hannah Meltzer shares her pick of the best.
2nd arrondissement
Christophe Robin
You may think that the effortless yet groomed French woman style is unattainable – not so: the truth is it comes in a bottle which you can buy at Christophe Robin's salon on the hip Rue Bachaumont in the 2nd arrondissement. This coveted Pais hairdresser, previously based in palace hotel Le Meurice, is also coiffeur to the international and Paris glitterati, including Catherine Deneuve. Visitors may try out his signature natural masks for free over the wonderfully over-the-top Boticelli-inspired shell basin that adorns the front of the salon: the regenerating prickly pear seed oil is a best-seller.
Contact: 00 33 140 20 02 83; christophe-robin.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
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Kiliwatch
Put on your best vintage dungarees and cutest limited-edition Nikes for your trip to this cool purveyor of second-hand garments and curated designer gear, located on the increasingly cool Rue Tiquetonne in the 2nd arrondissement. And if you don't already own a pair, this is the store to visit. Brands on offer span the more established – Levis, Wrangler, Ralph Lauren – to small-batch French creators. There is a large vintage section with rows of well-selected pieces: think tailored tea dresses, denim jackets and retro Doc Martins. Accessories – hats, eye-wear – and arty magazines are also available for purchase.
Contact: 00 33 142 21 17 37; kiliwatch.paris
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 10.30am-7.30pm; Mon, 10.30am-7pm; closed Sun
Prices: ££
Nose
Pick your next perfume the Parisian way in this concept store, located on the fashionable Rue Bachaumont (just next door to Christophe Robin). In this elegant space – retro pharmacy meets design showroom – 50 carefully selected scent brands are on offer, including Comme des Garcons and Dyptique, and Nose's own creations. Each customer is offered an 'olfactory diagnosis' with one of the shop's attentive advisers, which consists of questions designed to identify your perfume history and what kind of smells you prefer. After being offered a shortlist of scents and, customers pick one to buy if they want.
Contact: 00 33 1 40 26 46 03; nose.fr
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10.30am-7.30pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
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La Fermette
A trip to La Fermette ('the little farm') is a fantastic excuse to visit the bustling food-heavy seam that is Rue Montorgueil in central Paris, next to the former market district Les Halles. The fromagerie is run by the Rigattieri family, originally Italian but established in this spot for some decades. The indecently wide selection – spanning goats to 36-month-aged Comtés – could almost seem overwhelming but the Rigattieris are there to guide you through with cheer and savoir-faire. Tastings may be arranged and cheeses and saucisson can be vacuum-packed for easy travel.
Contact: 00 33 142 36 70 96; la-fermette-paris.com
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 7.30am-8pm; Sun, 7.30am-2pm; Mon, 4-8pm
Prices: ££
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Stohrer
Founded by the personal pastry chef of Louis XV's wife Marie Leszczyńska, and the oldest patisserie in Paris, this place still holds its own against fierce modern competition. Inside, you'll find pastries galore – rows upon rows of tubby eclairs, generously layered mille-feuilles, flaky almond croissants – as well as handmade chocolates, marzipan fruits and macarons among savoury delicacies such a duck terrine and ham and veal pâté. Treats can be gift-wrapped to take home, and the romantic décor – all frescoes and ceiling mouldings – is a treat all of its own.
Contact:00 33 142 33 38 20; stohrer.fr
Opening times: Open seven days a week, 7.30am-8.30pm
Prices: £/££
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Maison Sarah Lavoine
Parisian interior design Sarah Lavoine, responsible for the stylings at Le Roch Hotel & Spa, has made her own addition to the concept store offering with this interiors boutique-cum-showroom on the grand Place des Victoires by the Palais Royal. Across two exquisitely laid-out floors you'll find curated lines of contemporary furnishings, crisp linens, chic kitchenware and kitsch curios, as well as lifestyle books, some written by the patron herself. Get lost browsing fabric swatches or stop for a coffee in the cute café located on the ground floor.
Contact: 00 33 1 40 13 75 75; maisonsarahlavoine.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
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Rue Saint-Honoré and Place Vendôme
Charvet
For French tailoring par excellence visit Charvet on the iconic Place Vendôme, an historical shirt seller founded by the son of Napoleon Bonaparte's personal 'wardrobe curator'. The Historic clients include Baudelaire, Manet, Hemingway Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill. Customers have the pick of 500 shades of white, while suits, pyjamas and bow ties are also on offer. The store, housed in an aristocratic hôtel particulier is laid out over seven floors, with men's custom tailoring on the sixth floor. The bespoke shirts take 30 days to finish and require 28 different measurements.
Contact: 00 33 142 60 30 70; charvet.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
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Left Bank
Petrossian
Caviar may be synonymous with French fine dining now but Armenian refugees, the Petrossian brothers, are credited with bringing the sturgeon delicacy to France in 1920. Today, the luxury food brand is still family-run and the boutique in the upmarket 7th arrondissement is a veritable treasure trove of fine fish-themed flavours. Allow the dedicated and passionate staff – or perhaps the formidable Madame Petrossian herself – to guide you on a tasting of caviar varieties, ranging from €60 (£53) to almost €400 (£352) per tin. Smoked fish, vodka and 'caviar salt' (that's right) are also on offer.
Contact: 00 33 144 11 32 32; petrossian.fr
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9.30am-8pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
La Grande Epicerie de Paris
You could quite easily lose an afternoon wandering the mouth-watering aisles of La Grande Epicerie, the food hall of Paris's legendary department store, Le Bon Marché. There are fresh meat and fish counters and a patisserie and baker as well as all manner of dried goods – Italian pasta, French speciality teas, chocolate from South America. This is a prime spot for gift-buying, with ample pre-packaged selections of macarons, madeleines and other French delights. You'll also spot some ridiculously expensive refreshments, such as a €50 (£44) bottle of mineral water, emblazoned with bling.
Contact:lagrandeepicerie.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 8.30am-9pm; Sunday, 10am-8pm
Prices: ££
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La Maison Deyrolle
This veritable institution is as much a museum as a shop. Inside this taxidermy and entomology emporium you'll find a curious menagerie of stuffed animals, including lions, bears and zebras, as well as carefully catalogued display cases of butterflies and insects. The stuffed animals are not killed to be mounted but come from zoos where they die of old age, according to the Washington Convention. After a fire a decade ago, Deyrolles was supported in its reopening by a host of influential personalities and its fantastical environs are a favourite with arts and filmmakers.
Contact: 00 33 142 22 30 07; deyrolle.com
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 10am-7pm; Monday 10am-1pm, 2pm-7pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
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Shakespeare and Company
The historic bookshop was originally established by intellectual Sylvia Beach in St-Germain and frequented by Hemingway and James Joyce, before being reopened across the river from Notre-Dame by American bohemian George Whitman in 1951. It is now run by his daughter Sylvia (named after the first proprietor), under whose direction it has become a hub of Anglophone life in Paris, with an expertly picked offering of fiction and non-fiction literature, and a regular roster of talks and signings. From the start, the shop's doors have been open to 'tumbleweeds' – penniless writers in need of lodgings and inspiration.
Contact: 01 43 25 40 93; shakespeareandcompany.com
Opening times: Open seven days a week, 10am-10pm
Prices: ££
Canal Saint-Martin and the Marais
Monsieur
It may have a male name, but this charming independent jewellery-maker is entirely female-run and staffed. Located on the hip Rue Charlot in the buzzy Upper Marais district, neighbouring independent galleries and lively eateries, the Monsieur HQ is a workshop-cum-showroom and you will often see the team working away on intricate designs using all sorts of fancy tools. Designs are tasteful and elegant yet modern, featuring light chains, thin bands and simple motifs such as cameos, hands and hearts. An excellent gift alternative if the bling of Place Vendôme is a bit too much.
Contact: 00 33 142 71 12 65; monsieur-paris.com
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 11am-7pm; Sat, 12pm-8pm; closed Sun
Prices: ££
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Bleu de Cocagne
Blue is the warmest colour in this friendly and atypical independent clothing boutique. The owner employs traditional woad flower French dyeing techniques, dating back to the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras. The cotton and linen garments, for women and men – think loose-fitting tunics, draping scarves, loose-fit shirts – are made sustainably and 'slowly', with French materials used wherever possible. Oils and soaps made from woad seeds are also on offer. Interiors are an Instagrammer’s dream: rails of sparsely hung blue garments surround signature pieces laid out on a table, with ripples of blue fabric billowing from the ceiling.
Contact: 00 33 981 95 46 13; bleudecocagne.fr
Opening times: Varies
Prices: ££
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Maison Plisson
This relatively recent high-end 'alimentation générale', or general food store, and restaurant, is already something of a Paris institution. Guarantee yourself a delectable picnic with outstanding charcuterie, cheese and Bourdier butter from the delicatessen. Downstairs you'll find chocolates, biscuits and teas as well as an excellent selection of olive oils and spreads. There is also a small wine 'cave' with a great range of wines and spirits, including their own house wines: 'X Maison Plisson'. Round off your visit with apéro in the restaurant – try the 'plus belles références' cheese board featuring truffle-laced pecorino and Roquefort.
Contact: 00 33 171 18 19 09; lamaisonplisson.com
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 9.30am-8pm; closed Sun-Mon
Prices: ££
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Merci
Colette, the queen and original of Paris's 'concept stores' has closed its doors, but fortunately there are now many more of its genre ready to welcome fashion-forward shoppers after something off-the-beaten-track. Merci in the Marais is located in a former wallpaper factory allowing plenty of room for elaborate installations as well as their stock of clothing, stylish homewares and design furniture. After your visit, scope out the charming 'cantine' overlooking a pretty garden space or Le Used Book Café, lined – as the name suggests – with 10,000 old tomes which customers are invited to peruse.
Contact:00 33 142 77 00 33; merci-merci.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-7.30pm; closed Sun
Prices: £££
Maison Georges Larnicol
Meet your weekly butter and sugar intake in one fell swoop by stopping into Larnicol for a 'Koiugnette', the sweet vendor's trademark retake on the Breton Kouign-amann (think layers of butter and pastry, in flavours like rum and raisin or salted caramel). Georges Larnicol, the man behind the creation, was awarded the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France tricolour seal, given only to uniquely talented craftsmen and women in the early Nineties and has continued to enjoy the highest of reputations among the sweet of tooth since. Make sure you stop to ogle the elaborate chocolate display.
Contact: 00 33 142 71 20 51; larnicol.com
Opening times: Sun-Thur, 10am-10pm; Friday, 10am-11pm; Sat, 10am-12am
Prices: ££
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BHV
If you're short on time and looking for a (very stylish) one-stop shop BHV, or Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville, is sure to meet your shopping goals. Across six floors you’ll find a huge range of womenswear from high-end high street (The Kooples, Maje, Sandro), and designer names, to London favourites such as Anthropologie, Topshop and Urban Outfitters (and price mark-up). But BHV also surprises with the well-selected vintage section, where you'll find stereotypical staples such as berets and stripy Ts, as well as denims, bags and dresses. The DIY department, legendary for its size, is well worth a peruse.
Contact:00 33 77 40 14 00; bhv.fr
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 9.30am-8pm; Sun, 11am-7pm
Prices: ££
Pierre Hermé
Stimulate your Instagram followers and tastebuds at once with a visit to one of 'avant-garde pastry chef' Pierre Hermé's boutiques – the coolest macaron vendor in town. Here, in slick environs you will find classic flavours such as pistachio and chocolate, as well as signature creations such as the Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit) Ispahan (rose petals and lychee) and more unusual seasonal specials such as pea and mint or caviar. For the adventurous, blind macaron tastings are on offer. An inviting selection of chocolate, teas and ice cream are available.
Contact: 00 33 143 54 47 77; pierreherme.com
Opening times: Open seven days a week; 11am-8pm
Prices: ££
Atelier Green Factory
The trend-conscious city dweller is nothing these days until she or he has purchased a terrarium – and this dinky spot in the trendy Canal Saint-Martin district is just the place to get one. Founder Noam Levy creates self-sufficient gardens ensconced in glass jars that need only to be placed by a window and watered a few times a year to thrive. Even if you don't have room in your suitcase for a tiny garden, it's a great spot to soak up the atmosphere of the quartier and play at being a Parisian 'bobo' (bourgeois bohemian) for the day.
Contact: 00 33 174 64 56 15; greenfactory.fr
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 11.30am-7pm; Sun, 11.30am-6pm; closed Mon
Prices: ££
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Flea markets of St-Ouen and Port de Vanves
You don't need to spend anything to enjoy the vast flea market ('les puces') at St-Ouen in the north of Paris: stalls are eclectic, spanning vintage clothing, antique furniture, mid century décor, lace and linen, children's toys, old postcards, artwork and more – and it's an excellent sociological and historical snapshot. For a smaller, less expensive offering, check out the less tourist-trodden market in the south of the city at Port de Vanves. Follow your visit to the latter with a stroll around nearby Parc Montsouris, an elegant green space built at the same time as Buttes-Chaumont.
Contact:marcheauxpuces-saintouen.com/pucesdevanves.fr
Opening times: St-Ouen: Sat, Sun and Mon, 10am-1pm and 2pm-5.30pm; Port de Vanves: Sat, Sun, 7am-1pm
Price: £
