Le Bon Marché, founded in 1852, has emerged as the city's chicest department store. Long a hunting ground for linens, table settings, and other home items, a face-lift has brought fashion to the fore. The ground floor sets out makeup, perfume, and accessories; here's where celebs duck in for essentials while everyone pretends not to recognize them. Upstairs, do laps through labels chichi (Burberry, Dries van Noten, Sonia Rykiel) and überhip (Martin Margiela, Comme des Garçons). Menswear, under the moniker Balthazar, keeps pace with designers like Zegna, Yves Saint Laurent, and Paul Smith. Zip across the second floor walkway to the mode section, above the next-door epicerie, home to streetwise designers and edgy diffusion lines (and a funky café). French favorites include Athé by Vanessa Bruno, Mont St. Michel, Zadig & Voltaire, Manoush, Isabel Marant's Etoile line and Madame à Paris. Best of all, this department store nearly isn't as crowded as those near the Opéra. Don't miss La Grande Epicerie right next door; it's the haute couture of grocery stores. Artisanal jams, nougats, olive oils and much more make great gifts, and the lustrous pastries and fruit beg to be chosen for a snack.
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