Paris Weekend Break

Shopping in Paris

Along with New York, Paris is the best city in the world in which to shop or browse. It has some of the world’s most exclusive shopping areas like the districts around the Champs Elysees and a myriad of boutiques and designer labels, many of which have their origin, designers and fashion houses in Paris.

To see a list (with addresses) of the main department, specialist and designer label stores in Paris, click this Paris shops and stores link.

Boutiques, haute couture, perfume and internationally recognisable labels are not the only reason to shop or browse in Paris. The city has some of the most interesting and diverse markets (including flea markets) and specialist areas where you can find books, records, antiques and just about anything else you can think of. It really is a shopping Mecca for both sexes and all ages and many visitors use their weekend break in Paris to do some serious designer label shopping.

Exclusive Paris shopping

If you only have a short weekend break in Paris, your time will be valuable and you will no doubt want to see the top stores and the big names, particularly if your trip centres around sightseeing.

If that is the case, then it is the famous streets like Avenue Montaigne, where you will find Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, and Faubourg Saint Honore, where Hermès and Gucci are located.

Once you have seen these you can continue by wondering around the areas close to la place de la Madeleine, Saint-Sulpice and Sevres Babylone, followed by the district that is bounded by the streets of rue de Grenelle, rue du Cherche Midi, and rue des Saints Peres, the latter of which has both Versace and Sonia Rykiel.

These areas have the most exclusive Parisian boutiques and most tourists choose to window shop rather than to buy, but Paris also has some fantastic department stores and you will also see familiar names like M & S and Virgin.

Every kind of shop for a Paris weekend break

Along with the designer outlets, and massive department stores like Galeries Lafayette, you will also see a myriad of smaller and more traditional shop types. Paris is full of florists, grocers, butchers, little art galleries and every other consumer product based theme that you can think of.

Those with an interest in art (in all its forms) will find Paris a haven when it comes to buying paintings, sculptures, drawings and any kind of music recording. Anything that is creative or connected with the arts is on display and usually for sale in this city.

Paris Markets

Paris is famous for its vast array of markets that now number over seventy. Some of these markets date back to an origin in medieval times and even today Parisians could not exist without them.

Some of the markets are near permanent, but others only appear on specific days of the week and many stall holders commute from all over Europe to offers their wares for sale.

Whilst Paris's market are liberally dotted across the city, the area adjacent to the Seine and the Eiffel Tower has some of the larger and more tourist appealing markets and stalls. Rue Cler market is open every day of the week although, in keeping with Parisian tradition, most stalls close after lunch on Mondays. Marche de Grenelle is another market in this district and is open from Wednesday to Sunday.

Please use the blue boxes to the left and below to search for specific information about shops, travel, tickets, tours and other weekend break planning resources that may help you in you preparation for a vacation in Paris.