Shopping in France

Booksellers
A Parisian speciality, with their stalls along the banks of the Seine around the Saint-Michel quarter. Antique books, all sorts of second-hand books, comic strips, post cards, you will find everything here, all at various prices. It is well worth having a look.

Clothes, Perfumes etc
In the regions, hypermarkets are usually situated outside of towns, in retail parks. Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world. Go window shopping at the great couturiers along the Avenue Montaigne (Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior etc), the Faubourg Saint-Honoré (Hermès, Gucci), the Place de la Madeleine, the Saint-Sulpice quarter or Sèvres-Babylone, between the Rues de Grenelle, du Cherche-Midi and des Saints-Pères (Versace, Sonia Ryckiel). 

The department stores: Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, Bon Marché, Samaritaine BHV, are Parisian institutions, some of which have branches in the regions. They provide numerous brand names and offer every sort of merchandise.

In the regions, the town centre often has a number of clothes shops which are just as good as those in Paris. Some towns have second-hand clothes shops with keen prices as well as very trendy shops.

Flea Markets
For bargain hunters, two large flea markets are held outside central Paris: Porte de Vanves and Porte de Saint-Ouen (the largest).

Food
In large towns, bakers and food shops open very early in the morning and close around 7.00pm or 8.00pm (even later in Paris). They are usually closed on Sunday afternoons, the afternoons of Public Holidays and one day in the week.

In the regions, they often close between 1.00pm and 2.00pm. They are usually open from Tuesday to Saturday (except public holidays). Large supermarkets are usually open until 9.00pm or 10.00pm.

Markets
You will find going to the markets is a real pleasure. There is always a happy mix of colours and smells. Paris has various markets: the flower market on the Ile de la Cité, bird markets, organic markets and food markets in every quarter. A great outing in a good natured and typical Parisian atmosphere.

Every town or village in the regions also have their weekly market.  Here you will find loads of regional products, whilst making the most of a completely different atmosphere to that of the capital.