Paris Pages

Department Stores in Paris

Galaries Lafayette, 40 Blvd. Haussmann, 75009. Metro Chausée d'Antin.

Printemps, 64 Blvd. Haussmann, 75009. Metro Havre Caumartin. Both Printemps and Galeries Lafayette offer a 10% discout if you show your passport, or have a discout card from an association, e.g. BCWA.

Le Bon Marché, 22 rue de Sèvres, 75007. Metro Sèvres-Babylone. Also has a very good international food section.

Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV), 52 rue de Rivoli, 75004. Metro Hôtel de Ville. Has an extensive DIY dept. in the basement, also a good pet dept. Enter straight from the metro.

Bookshops with English books in Paris

W. H. Smith, 248 rue de Rivoli, 75001. Metro Concorde. Ask for a discout card (carte de fidélité).

Gaglinani, 224 rue de Rivoli, 75001. Metro Tuileries. Great for books for presents; it has one of the best collections of photograph books.

The Village Voice, 6 rue Princesse, 75006.

Brentano's, 37 av de l'Opera, 75002.

Gilbert Jeune, 5 place St. Michel, 75006.

Secondhand bookshops in Paris

The San Francisco Book Company, 17 rue Monsieur le Prince, 75006. Metro Odeon. Tel: 01 43 29 15 70.

Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, 75005. Famous, but I go to the one above.

Tea & Tattered Pages, 24 rue Meyet, 75006. Metro Duroc. Apparently it used to be good. One of the few bookshops I can come out of without buying anything.

Furniture and appliances shops in Pairs

As well as the dept. stores above the following are also good.

Ikea. 5 stores outside Paris. Sells everything at reasonable prices. Delivery can be pricey though.

Habitat, 35 av de Wagram, 75017, and other locations, Montparnasse, etc.

Castorama. Numerous locations, good for DIY.

Darty. Numerous locations. Electrical appliances. Will deliver, service and repair their goods.

FNAC. Numerous locations. Computers, CDs, audio, video, cameras.

Tati. Numerous locations. Inexpensive household stuff.

Pier Imports. Numerous locations. A cross between Tati and Ikea.

Supermarkets in Paris

Flea Markets in Paris

Marché aux puces d'Aligre, Place d'Aligre, 75012. Open every day 9:00 am - noon. Metro Ledru-Rollin.

Marché aux puces de Vanves Av. Georges Lafenestre and Av. Marc-Sangrier, 75014. Open Sat & Sun 7:30 am - 1 pm. Metro Porte de Vanves.

Marché aux puces de Montreuil, Montreuil-sous-bois. 93100. Open Sat, Sun & Mon 7:30 am - 7 pm. Metro Porte de Montreuil.

Puces de Saintouen (Clignancourt), Rue de Rosiers and Rue de Jules-Vallèes, 75018. Open Sat, Sun & Mon 7:00 am - 7 pm. Metro Porte de Clignancourt.

Kitchenware shops in Paris

E. Dehillerin, 18 & 20 rue Coquilliere, 75001. Metro Les Halles. This shop supplies the restraunt and hotel trade with kitchenware, but the general public can also shop here. It is the very best place I have found for knives, pots, pans and anything else for use in the kitchen. You will find stuff here that cannot be found anywhere else. It is a really old-fashioned, overcrowded, confusing place, but don't let that put you off. The staff know their business very well, and one or two can speak a bit of English. Prices are not written on the goods. Each item has a code and you must go to one of the two books to look up the price. There are two prices, one with and another without tax.

A. Simon, 48 & 52 rue Montmartre, 75001. Metro Les Halles. Closed on Monday mornings. This shop is similar to Dehillerin, and is just a few hundred metres away, but is prettier and has a greater emphsis on tableware. The prices displayed do not usually include tax, so remember to add on about 20% to get the final price.