Window-shop with the best

A primer on shopping in Paris

Paris is a world shopping capital, home to haute couture, fine perfumes, and gourmet foodstuffs.

The Paris department stores

On boulevard Haussmann rise Paris's two flagships of shopping, the department stores Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. Au Printemps is a bit more modern and American-styled, and Galeries Lafayette is more Old World French, but both are very upscale and carry the ready-to-wear collections of all the major French designers and labels.

Les boutiques

If you prefer to shop boutiques, the best concentrations of stores are in the adjoining 1er and 8e. No single street offers more shops than the long rue du Faubourg St-Honoré/rue St-Honoré and its tributaries. Even if you can't afford the prices, it's fun to have a look. Big fashion houses like Hermés (no. 24) hawk ties and scarves; Au Nain Blue (no. 406) has one of the fanciest toy emporiums in the world; and the prices at La Maison du Chocolat (no. 225) are as rich as the confections. Window shop for leather at Didler Lamarthe (no. 219) or Longchamp (no. 390) or for cutting-edge fashion at Hervé Léger (no. 29) and Lolita Lempicka (no. 14).

Just off the rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, at 35 av. Matignon, 8e, women will find Anna Lowe for runway samples and slightly worn creations of the big names at a discount. Réciproque, 89-123 rue de la Pompe, 16e, has slight bargains on a remarkably wide range of the big labels and top designers.

Jewels glitter on place Vendôme, 1er, at Cartier (no. 7), Chaumet (no. 12), and Van Cleef & Arpels (no. 22). Stink like the best of them with discounts on French perfumes at Parfumerie de la Madeleine, 9 place de la Madeleine, 8e, or Michel Swiss, upstairs at 16 rue de la Paix, 2e.

Gourmet food in Paris

Some of the best food shopping is concentrated on place de la Madeleine, 8e, home to Fauchon, Paris's homage to the finest edibles money can buy (though it faces serious competition from neighbor Hediard). Don't forget your Paris outlet for caviar, truffles, foie gras, and other pâtés: Maison de la Truffe.

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