Shopping in Paris

Are shopping and sightseeing the two main reasons why you would go to Paris? Excellent, because there is no better excuse. Stroll along the Champs-Élysées, mix with the rich and famous while you hunt for designer brands. Browse at Louis Vuitton and if the store is within your budget, spend between €100 and €1,000 on travel trunks or bags. Shop at the House of Guerlin. Relax in the in-house Spa and stock up on Shalimar and cutting edge fashion. Look around Le 66 displaying fashion by local and international designers.

Shopping at the Champs-Élysées for the budget-minded begins in Zara, Benetton or Nike and ends in the Disney Store,  Gap or Hugo Boss. Check out the Marais quarter, Rue de Rennes and Boulevard St Germain for interesting bargains especially during the winter and summer sales.

I love Paris – Paris, je t’aime 

A mesmerizing woman gracefully steps out the House of Guerlin, toting several crisp boutique bags. Her high heels click-clack on the pavement. An Hermès scarf draped round her shoulders, she continues her way along Avenue des Champs-Élysées, la plus belle avenue du monde, the most beautiful avenue in the world. Parisians look sharp. Parisians have style.

Paris, je t’aime – sounds better than - I love Paris? Is this because of French sophistication or the beauty of the city? Wander along les grands boulevards, climb Montmartre hill or sit in a brasserie on the Champs-Élysées. Spend an evening in Opera Garnier or an afternoon in the Louvre Museum. Et voilà, your perfect week end break. 

Twisting streets lead up to Butte de Montmartre. Most visitors go straight to the basilica of Sacré Coeur whose sparkling, white dome is an essential part of the Paris skyline.

 Leafy and photogenic Place du Tertre is packed with tourists. Artists churn out oil paintings of Paris landmarks. Sit still for ten minutes and go home with your own pencil-drawn caricature.

 Stop for a moment of reflection in Notre Dame Cathedral before crossing the Seine River to Quartier Latin, the left bank. Notre Dame is the heart of Paris, and also of la belle France. A bronze star on the pavement near the west door marks point zero des routes de France, the spot from where all French main road distances are calculated.

Crowned by the Arc de Triomph on one end and Place de la Concorde at the other, two-kilometre long Avenue des Champs-Élysées brims with stylish boutiques, cafés, brasseries and cinemas. Mingle with the locals and visitors that jostle and swarm along the wide pavements. The range of good and oddities of shops will keep you browsing for hours.

Crowned by the Arc de Triomph on one end and Place de la Concorde at the other, two-kilometre long Avenue des Champs-Élysées brims with stylish boutiques, cafés, brasseries and cinemas. Mingle with the locals and visitors that jostle and swarm along the wide pavements. The range of good and oddities of shops will keep you browsing for hours.

Dazzling Opéra Garnier crowns Avenue de l’Opéra. The theatres façade is a riot of white, green and pink marble, colonnades. The busts of famous composers sparkle in the sun. This was the place where the Parisian aristocracy gathered for gossip and match-making, dwindling the opera performance to a mere side-show. Today Opéra Garnier is home to the Ballet of the Paris National Opera.

Cafés are places where Parisians come to gossip and argue, to people-watch and to be seen. Cafés are also the perfect spot to read a book. Once café crème is ordered, the waiter will leave his customer undisturbed for hours.

When in the late 1980s, François Mitterand commissioned a modern glass and steel pyramid to be built in the Louvre Museum’s main courtyard, the French were appalled. Until then the museum was a dusty place with creaking floor boards and visitors who spoke in whispers. The pyramid heralded new beginnings. The Louvre transformed itself into a modern, inspiring and above all a museum with art for every taste.