Shopping in Paris and Shopping
around France - you'll
find an alphabetical list of some of the major Couturiers,
Fashion Designers, Jewelers, Leather Goods [shoes et bags],
Major Department Store retailers in Paris and around France
[type of store is noted]. You'll even find the famous flea
market where you may locate your 'treasure or trash' find of a
lifetime.
Paris fashion boutiques are plentiful and can be found on Rue du
Faubourg Saint-Honore area and Avenue Montaigne in the 8th.
Some of the noted Haute Couturiers and Designers boutiques are
-- Hermes, Cartier, Chanel, Chaumet, Christian Dior, Christian
Lacroix, Chloe whose sites you can check out below. Other noted
couturiers in the 16th are - Piaget, Yves Saint Laurent,
Fauchon and
Hediard are both on Place de la Madeleine. Leather goods such as
shoes and handbags can be found
on Rue du Cherche-Midi and rue de Grenelle in the 6th.
The Champs-Elysees has always been the favorite mile for 'Haute
Couture' to shop on, but bistros and small glitzy boutiques have
taken their place. The trend setting areas for high fashion are
Rue Etienne Marcel and Place des Victoires that border on the
1st and 2nd arrondissements.
For districts otherwise called
arrondissements and their locations from a great Paris 'what's
happening' newsletter >
click
here for a Paris map.
Please note that some department stores have a grocery store in
their basements [for example -- Monoprix [owned by
Galleries
Lafayette] has general
merchandise, clothing and grocery store all combined]. Please
note that all stores may or may not be in all of the French
regions, please check each region for local shopping.
Store hours: generally are from 10:00 am until 7 or 8 pm Monday
- Saturday. Grocers [or as noted stores like Monoprix] however
may open earlier than that. Times may be different in France
Regions, than they are in Paris. Please
note: Many stores also keep similar hours to the
banks, they will close for two hours for lunch, sometimes it's
longer, and then sometimes they will stay open later at night.
It's not rigid or standard hours, each shop owner does their own
thing.
Please
remember that the French are more formal than we Americans. Upon
entering a shop, the owner will great you with a bonjour madam,
mademoiselle or monsieur. Be sure to return the greeting or
initiate it with the owner. A simple ‘bonjour’ and then if you
do not speak French at all, ask if she [he] speaks English. Do
not touch merchandise in store displays, it is highly frowned
upon, and please ask the owner or clerk for assistance by saying
“s’il vous plait [see-voo-plait] and then what item
you're looking for”.
Banking hours: 9:00am - Noon, then 2:00 - 4:00 pm. You must
know the banking hours if you're paying in cash and not with a
credit card [carte de credite]. ATMs are best for currency
conversion rates, and easy to access. Travelers checks are not
accepted everywhere while shopping or even in a restaurant.
Also, you'll find that Amex is not available in ATMs around
France.
The
Flea Market noted above is the Marche aux Puces [Market of
Fleas] in Porte de Saint-Ouen. A huge market [noted to be the
world's largest flea market] for the avid antique buff to visit,
with more than 3,000 sidewalk stands and permanent stalls. It
is open every weekend, where thousands of Parisians browse,
bargain and buy. You may possibly find a really great find here!
For words and phrases related to shopping [store types, etc.]
click here. For grocery store - super market terms
click here.
Go to Other Type Stores
Couturiers and
Fashion Designers, Jewelers & Perfumeries
Adeline André - haute couture collection - her
atelier-boutique in the Marais, with her ready-to-wear
collections, and Couture collection.
A.F.Vandevorst by An Vandevorst & Filip Arickx,
the design team in which the friction between two
creative minds throws off sparks of ingenuity.
Agnès
B. is the sole designer
for her collections for women, men, children, sport b.,
and traveling, as well as a cosmetics line.
Alexander McQueen - born in the East End of
London in 1970, the son of a taxi driver, fast rose
through the fashion ranks of international design.
Angelo Tarlazzi - 52 Rue du Faubourg
Poissonniere - Paris
Georgio Armani
Balmain - Pierre Balmain - haute couture, ready
to wear, accessories and fragrances. For watches
click here.
Balenciaga - Cristobal Balenciaga is from the
Spainish Basque country, specializing in men's fashions,
women's ready to wear and accessories.
Barbara Bui - haute couture, parfum, boutiques
and cafe.
Bruno Pieters
has a desire for technique and craftmanship, his work
reflect-ing the contrast between romanticism and
realism, replicated by life et art.
Cartier - over 1200 pieces in the Cartier
collection including exceptional jewelry sets,
magnificent tiaras, classical and precious watches and
more.
Celine - for the past five decades, this luxury
brand name represents patrimonial values of quality,
elegance and know how around the world.
Coco
Chanel - discover the world of Chanel,
audacious, perfectionists, uniqueness, passionate of the
visionary. Whether a fragrance or skin care -- visit
Chanel.
Chaumet - the prestigious address where
international clientele come to acquire the 'French
taste' and purchase jewels exemplifying the timeless
creativity andsavoie-faire continued since 1780.
Christian
Dior
Christian Lacroix
Hubert de
Givenchy
Emanuel Ungaro
Jean-Louis Scherrer
Jean Paul Gaultier
John Galliano
Karl
Lagerfeld
Louis Féraud
Oscar de la Renta
Piaget
Stella McCartney
Valentino
Versace
Vivienne Westwood
Yves Saint
Laurent |
Store
Kinds - Appliance, Department Store, Home
Furnishing, Grocery, Home Improvement, Hardware, Sport & Telecom
Appliance Stores
Darty
for
small or major appliances, computer & software, cameras, telephones, televisions
and more.
Department Stores and
Couturiers
Du Pareil au Méme children’s & infants clothing
Galeries Lafayette
Department Store [the capital of fashion]
Le Bon Marche Department Store
Le Printemps the trendy place Department Store
Hardware & Home Improvement Stores
BHV (Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville) Hardware/Home Improvement
Bricolage
France (like Home Depot & Lowe’s) home improvement
Bricorama France's answer to our Home Depot & Lowe's type stores
Castorama
(like our Home Depot & Lowe’s) home improvement
Home Furnishings
Habitat inexpensive furniture and furnishings for your home
IKEA reasonably priced furniture & other home furnishings
Grocery Mega Stores
Carrefour super grocery stores and hypermarché stores (similar to our Target & Walmart super stores, but
larger) is the largest retailer in Europe and consists of the following stores: Carrefour,
Champion, Contact GB, Dia, Di per di, Docks Market, Ed, 8 à Huit, GS, Promocash, Prodirest, Proxi, Shopi Marche M Plus, Norte, Ooshop, Puntocash,
Other Services
Cora Hyper Marches around France [Groupe Louis Delhaize]
in Northeast France.
Monoprix department & grocery store chain that includes: BHV, Galeries Lafayette,
Inno, Nouvelle Galeries & Prisunic
Sports Stores
Sport 2000 France (brand names for sports)
Twinner /
Groupe S.E.D mountain & skiing specialists
Telecom - Bookstores and More
FNAC Department Store for books, computers & software, dvd & video, music, mobile
phones and more.
France Loisirs
for cds, dvds, music and more
Virgin on line catalog of the cds, dvds, music & more
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