Search the travel guide:

City Guide

• Overview
• The Basics
• Contacts
• Attractions
• Kids Attractions
• City Tours
• Excursions
• Events
• Restaurants
• Nightlife
• Shopping
• Airports
• Transport
• Climate
• Photos
• Hotels in Paris
• Flights to Paris
• Expat guide to Paris

Maps

• 

Directory

• Hostels
• Tour Operators
• Cheap Airfares

Time

Shopping

Paris is a shopper's paradise. Jet-setters will feel at home in famous names of the haute couture boutiques found on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré: Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and others; while trend-setting fashions will be found in Rue Etienne Marcel shops. Sadly, the Champs-Elysées is not what it used to be with banks, fast-food chains and malls strategically placed to trap tourists. However some good stores still remain - perfume from Guerlain Parfumerie is a classic Paris souvenir.

Les Halles is a subterranean shopping mall with over 180 stores where bargain hunters will be able to find cheap knockoffs and other trendy clothes. Mainstream department stores offer some great finds such as La Samaritaine, which prides itself as being the one where on trouve tout (one finds everything). Just outside the city, La Vallée Village offers designer goods at steep discounts... you may even spot a celebrity or two!

Bargains closer to town are in abundance at the three main flea markets situated around the old gates of the city. They are, however, teeming with pickpockets and shoppers should be on their guard. Les Bouquinistes, which consists of rows of bookstalls perched against the walls of the Seine River, is a great place for bookworms to browse and barter.

If you are determined to buy a plastic Eiffel Tower or other kitschy souvenir, then the rue de Rivoli is the place to go; if you are looking for something a bit different, however, visit the La Plaque Emaillées in Filles-du-Calvaire for a taste of turn-of-the-century Parisian Art Nouveau, or

Traditional Parisians buy most of their food from specialty stores such as bakeries and butcheries with pastries, cheeses or pâtés to die for. The open-air markets are a fantastic place to find flowers, produce and clothing and are frequented by most of the locals. Paris also offers a wealth of window-shopping opportunities, making it the ultimate destination for the discerning consumer.

Most shops open between 9 and 10am, and close at 7 or 8pm. France levies a sales tax of between 5-17%, depending on what you are buying. There is a refund scheme for non-EU residents if you spend €176 or more in one shop.