Paris remains one of the great shopping cities, from the grand couture houses of the 8th arrondissement to the flea markets of the northern suburbs. You can spend €5 or €5,000 and find something worth buying either way.
Department Stores
Galeries Lafayette (40 Boulevard Haussmann) and Printemps (64 Boulevard Haussmann) stand directly opposite each other in the 9th arrondissement. Lafayette's original building has a magnificent Art Nouveau glass dome dating from 1912; the food hall in the basement is worth a visit regardless of whether you buy anything. Both stores carry everything from cosmetics to ready-to-wear to housewares. Le Bon Marché on the Left Bank (24 Rue de Sèvres) is smaller, more expensive, and more refined; its food hall, La Grande Épicerie, is the best upmarket supermarket in Paris.
Markets
The Saint-Ouen flea market (Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen), at the Porte de Clignancourt, is the largest antique market in the world — over 2,000 dealers spread across several separate markets, open Saturday through Monday. Arrive early; the best pieces are gone by mid-morning. Bargaining is expected and mostly friendly. The Marché d'Aligre (12th arrondissement) is a good all-round food and flea market, very Parisian, very unsanitised.
Fashion
The rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (8th) is the address for the luxury maisons — Chanel, Cartier, Hermès, Lanvin. The Marais has the best concentration of independent boutiques, particularly around rue de Bretagne and rue Vieille du Temple. The 2nd arrondissement around rue Réaumur and rue du Mail has become a centre for young French designers.
Specialist Shops
Paris is extraordinary for specialist food shops: fromageries, charcuteries, chocolate shops, and wine cellars of a quality rarely seen elsewhere. The area around Palais-Royal and the covered passages (Galerie Vivienne, Galerie Véro-Dodat) is good for rare books, stamps, and curiosities.