Parisian Shopping Places and French Shopping Rules

Where to shop in Paris ?

Where should I go? Where are the best districts for shopping? These are the most routine questions from tourists.

So let’s have an overview of this !

And remember that to ease your Parisian shopping experience, you can download the Parisian Sparrow Shopping map (on the Mapstr application) : more than 600 shops and lovely boutiques are carefully selected for you!

Shopping Districts and special streets

Luxury shopping is traditionally located in the eighth district (75008) : The famous "Golden Triangle" (delimited by the Champs-Elysées Avenue - the Montaigne Avenue - the Georges V Avenue) covers the most famous Houses (Haute-Couture, jewelry). The Place de la Madeleine- the Royale Street- the Saint Honoré Street - the Cambon Street are also glamorous and upper-class Parisian locations. Without forgetting the Place Vendôme (75001) with its renowned jewelers!
Chic Parisian shopping is more located in the east of the seventh (75007) district (around Sèvres-Babylone subway station ) and in the sixth (75006) district, more specifically in the south part of the Saint Germain des Prés area ( between Saint Germain des Prés and Saint-Sulpice subway stations). This is the designer's and ready-to-wear chic brands' favorite place. The Palais-Royal (75001), its arcades and its surroundings, are also worth seeing for upscale shopping.
For more trendy shopping , Le Marais area (75003) is the perfect spot. Delimited by the Pompidou Centre (west), the Place des Vosges (east) and Rivoli Street (south), this vivid historic district brims with fashion creative shops, vintage boutiques, art galleries, coffees & bars.
If you are more in a bohemian style , you will like to shop in the Montmartre Hill area: from the south Pigalle (or So-Pi) streets ( rue des Martyrs and rue des Abbesses) until the top of the hill, you will find designer shops, vintage clothing and so on. And for DIY fans, you can not miss the Marché Saint Pierre and its surrounding fabric stores, located in the southeast of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica's gardens; this is a paradise for clothes makers and decorators!
You can go Gypset or Bo-ho style shopping in the Canal Saint Martin (75010) area and the Sentier district (75002). In the north of the bustling Place de la République, the lower part of the Canal Saint-Martin, its Quai de Valmy, and the surrounding streets offer new trendy shops. Meanwhile Le Sentier (the past Parisian wholesale textile trade area), located between the Grands Boulevards subway station-the Réaumur street-the Boulevard Sébastopol, is under transformation: new trendy shops pop up along the rue du Mail - rue de Cléry - rue d'Aboukir streets. You can also extend your shopping ride to the Montorgueil area (75002), a well-known pedestrian zone (delimited by the rue de Réaumur (north), the rue Etienne Marcel and the Les Halles Mall (south)).
Last but not least... It would not be fair not to mention the Parisian historical shopping area located in the south of the Saint-Lazare train station (75009): the Opera' surroundings and more specifically the Boulevard Haussmann (where are located Le Printemps and Les Galeries Lafayette Main Department stores) were one of the Belle Epoque iconic spots.
Few other streets could be interesting for shopping : for instance, the sixteenth (75016) and its elegant & classical Rue de Passy, the seventeenth (75017) with its trendy Rue de Lévis, Rue des Dames, Rue des Batignolles, Rue Legendre and Rue de Courcelles , the fourteenth (75014) with the bustling Rue D'Alesia (and its fashion stocks) and the pedestrian Rue Daguerre , the third (75003) with its busy Rue de Rivoli and its international brand's shops, and the twelfth (75012) with its Viaduc des Arts (an old railway line viaduc housing now French arts and crafts workshops under its arcades).

Main Department Stores

The Parisian Departments Stores are not-to-be-missed places. Not only for some of their beautiful Art Nouveau architecture but also for their wide product ranges and their nice rooftop view! They are the perfect alternative if you have a little time for your Parisian shopping walk. The Main Department Stores are Le Printemps (Paris Haussmann & Louvre), Les Galeries Lafayette (Paris Haussmann & Paris Champs Elysées), Le BHV Marais, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, and re-opened in 2022 the renovated Samaritaine. Some of them have an excellent gourmet food department (either in the main building or in another extension building not far away, such as Les Galeries Lafayette Gourmet or La Grande Epicerie de Paris from Le Bon Marché). Selections of touristic products are also displayed, mostly closed to the library or stationary departments. The Main Department Stores can also have smaller representation boutiques in other regular malls.

Malls

About 10 malls are located within the Paris city area. According to the mall's size, many shops,restaurants and even movie theaters can be located inside. You will mostly find there usual international fashion brands (C&A, Mango, Zara, H&M, Sephora...etc.). French brands are also available, but remember, a French brand does not necessarily mean Made in France...!
The biggest Parisian malls are the Westfield Les 4 temps in La Défense (92) and the renovated Westfield Forum des Halles (75001). You will also be able to shop in the Italie 2 mall (75013), the Beaugrenelle mall (75015), the Bercy Village mall (75012), the Carrousel du Louvre mall ( 75001 - Under the Louvre' Pyramide), the Passage du Havre mall (75009) and in the Palais des congrès mall (75016).
And last but not least, most of train stations have their own commercial area : gare Saint Lazare station , gare de l'Est station, gare du Nord station, or gare Montparnasse station for example.

Outlets and Fashion brands' stocks

Shopping outlets and fashion brands' stocks ("magasin d'usine" or "surplus" in French) sell products of previous seasons' collections, with discounts (from -30% to -70%).
Outside of Paris (within a 30/40 mins distance by dedicated shuttles services), 2 chic shopping outlets are well-known : the open-air Vallée Village outlet (120 brands) and the One Nation outlet (400 brands).
Inside Paris, dedicated stocks of fashion brands are available (and no....not all brands have a stock and if they have, they do not specifically mention it on their website 🙂 ). Some stocks are: Ba&Sh (rue du jour outlet), Maje (92 rue des martyrs, 75018), Sandro (26 rue de Sévigné, 75004), Zadig & Voltaire (22 rue du Bourg-Tibourg, 75014), Claudie Pierlot (26 rue de sévigné, 75004), Chloé (8, rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud - 75011), APC (20 rue André del Sarte, 75018), Caroll (30 rue saint Placide, 75006) , Bonpoint (Bonpoint Vintage, 42 rue de l'université, 75007), Weill (102 rue saint Charles, 75015), René Derhy (62 avenue du Général Leclerc, 75014) Azzedine Alaïa (18 rue de la verrerie, 75004) for fashion, Simone Pérèle (62 rue d'Alésia, 75014), Rodier ( 82 rue d'Alésia, 75014 & 67 rue de Lévi, 75017), Figaret (67 avenue Victor Hugo, 75016) // Jonak (44 boulevard de sébastopol, 75003) for shoes.

Flea markets, Antique dealers and Auction rooms

Les Puces de Saint Ouen (a group of more than 10 different second-hand markets, opened from Friday to Monday, ) and Les Puces de Vanves (Saturday & Sunday) are the traditional Parisian flea markets.
Chic antique dealers are located or gathered together in other historical areas: you can visit Le Carré Rive Gauche (75007), Le Village Saint-Paul (75004), Le Village Suisse (75015), Le Passage Verdeau (75009) or the very chic Rue du faubourg Saint Honoré (75008) with its art galleries.
Classical auction rooms (such as Drouot, Tajan, Artcurial, Millon, Ader, Aguttes, Christie's and Sotheby's among others) are also available. Without forgetting the Crédit Municipal de Paris, the direct descendant of the pawn shop (Mont de piété in French) since 1637 !
But if you are more interested in occasional streets flea markets ("brocante" or "vide-grenier" in French), just check out the dedicated website vide-greniers.org which will inform you with the event's exact date & location!

Souvenirs Shops

In a tourist city like Paris, it will be easy to find many souvenir shops. They will be located alongside the monuments and on the most tourist streets. You will spot them easily, with their international flags and their similar products. But of course, you are already aware that the fridge sticker and the "I love Paris" mug or shirt are not manufactured in France, aren't they ?
Fortunately, some shopkeepers are committed to the Made in France values and try their best to offer authentic French souvenirs to travelers, such as "Bring France Home" 🙂

Museums and Public Institutions' shops

I suggest you stop by the Museums' shops: even if it is not always 100% made in France, some of them are worth the visit with the quality and the variety of their products. Most of the time, you do not even need to visit the museum to have an access to its shop! And if you can not visit Paris but can not wait to buy some Parisian Museums products, just have a look at the official merchant website Boutiques de musées (just check first if your country is eligible for delivery).
Public institutions also sell their own branded products : L'Elysée (the French Presidential Palace) , L'Assemblée Nationale (the France National Assembly), la Mairie de Paris (the Paris City Hall, with its Made in Paris dedicated boutique Paris Rendez-vous), la Comédie Française (the French Theater Institution), l'Opéra de Paris, la Monnaie de Paris (the French Minting Institution), La Poste (the French mail).
All these places are perfect for finding different styles of Parisian souvenir products!
P.S : the French transport institutions ( RATP and SNCF ) also sell their products but online only.

Second-hand books and stamps

If you are looking for second-hand books, you will find them at the dedicated Parc Georges Brassens market (from Saturday to Sunday), at the "Bouquinistes" (the famous Seine riverside booksellers with their green boxes in the center of Paris), or in dedicated stores (such as Guibert Joseph, Book Off, Boulinier for example).
For second-hand stamps and postcards aficionados, the dedicated flea market will be the right place (every Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday / location: Carré Marigny (in front of the theater), avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris, métro station: Champs-Elysées Clémenceau).

Vintage Fashion & Sustainable Fashion

You can buy basic second-hand clothes at flea markets, in consignment shops ("Dépôt-Vente" in French), or in dedicated shops ("Friperie" in French) with more or less hard discounts such as Kilo-shop, Hippy Market, Guerrisol, Bis Boutique Solidaire, Free'P'Star, Kiliwatch , Emmaus network.
Whereas authentic vintage and/or luxury second-hand clothes & accessories will be found in specific boutiques, each dedicated to a specific range or Fashion era: Thanx God I'am a VIP, Les merveilles de Babellou... or Cornerluxe , MonogramParis, CollectorSquare for the accessories (bags-jewelry-shoes) are few examples.
For more addresses, you can have a look at the dedicated website The Vintedge or at the collaborative maps on the Mapstr application (e.g. the "vos meilleures friperies" map, the "la carte des friperies by Konbini" map, the "Paris Good Fashion"- a sustainable fashion map)

French shopping rules !

Prices & payment

Prices are in Euro (Eur or € symbols). Payments can be made in € cash (coins and banknotes) or by bank cards (VISA, Mastercard, American Express...). NB: Shops less and less accept French cheques, due to non-sufficient funds or cheque forgery.
A seller has the legal right to :
* refuse payment with high-value banknotes (100/200/500€)
* refuse payment with damaged coins or banknotes
* require a minimal amount of purchase (e.g. 5 €) for a payment by card.
* refuse a payment by cheque (or request a maximum purchase amount to be paid by cheque, e.g 20 €)
In these 2 last cases, according to French Law, this must be clearly mentioned with a written informative statement (either on the shop window or the checkout desk)!

Legal Sales

The legal sales periods ("soldes" in French) are during the winter and summer. They last 4 weeks. The winter sales start the second Wednesday of January, whereas the summer sales start the last Wednesday of June. Out of those times, retailers can only have special offers. During the sales periods, the items on sales benefit from the same commercial warranty (e.g. reimbursement in the event of latent defect). Also, retailers must clearly state which items are on deals, their initial prices, and the discount rates.

VAT & Tax refund

In mainland France, the standard VAT (value added tax) rate is 20%. 2 other reduced VAT rates are also available (10% for people transportation, property rental, renovation work, catering, cultural events tickets... and 5,5% for books sales, performing arts...). You can obtain a VAT refund for your personal purchases, subject to the following conditions: living outside European Union (UE), staying in France for less than 6 months and being at least 16 years old. Some purchases are unavailable for a VAT refund (manufactured tobacco products and some high-value cultural products...among others). The retailer is responsible for the VAT refund, not the French customs, even if you have to go through French customs stamp validation (through the official PABLO application and kiosks). Reminder: not all retailers offer the VAT exemption service ! And when a retailer does, the total amount of your purchases, inclusive of all taxes, must be greater than €100 (ATI) and done on the same day. So if you buy small purchases, in different shops on different days, the only way to obtain a VAT refund is to use dedicated mobile applications of licensed refund tax operators such as Zapptax or Skiptax.

Origin & Quality logos

So many logos are available... But some of them are important to know for your shopping session. The C.E. logo indicates the compliance of the non-food products with the technical rules in force in the European Community (so you can be sure that the toy or electronic device you are going to buy is of safe use). The Origine France Garantie (OFG) logo is, since 2010, the unique French Origine Certification for a product. The OFG certification process is constraining, whereas a "Fabriqué en France /Made In France" logo is more a self-declaration by the manufacturer (provided it complies with the relevant UE customs laws). No official "Made in France "logo was defined, so you could find various styles! Finally, France Industries (the French industries professional association) initiated a new design. Created in 2005, the EPV (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant) is a Living Heritage Company label. The French State awards the recognition for 5 years: it emphasizes the traditional craft-work or/and very technical know-how of a French company. Only high-quality work can be awarded !