I love the food markets in the European dept. stores. We grocery shopped in Corte Ingles in Barcelona for our apartment.

Unfortunate about the Samaritaine. I have been following the news, what little there is. I will probably never step foot in it again.

The KaDeWe, especially when decorated for Christmas and in Tokyo..the Mitsukoshi with it's "old fashioned" service and a food hall that's even more extensive than the ones in Harrod's or the KaDeWe

It won't be Samaritaine any more, I thought it already had some chain shops down at the bottom, although they may not be permanent. It's prime real estate, I don't see why it's any greater as a dept store which no one needs than a hotel or office building if the outside architecture is what is iconic.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aBwfCvvscOm4

At least half of the Samaritaine buildings on the Rivoli side have been taken over for years by various shops, not forgetting Séphora of course, one of the principal Louis Vuitton brands.

I can't remember the name, but there's a lovely old department store in Hamburg that has a wonderful food hall, complete with a champagne bar. The store is where I bought my much-loved heavy woolen coat in loden green, the envy of everyone on my Danube cruise a few years ago. I also bought a sweet little set of 12 gold-washed pastry forks that I cherish.

In Paris there's the Bazaar de l'Hôtel de Ville, which has a dandy hardware area in the basement.

What I loved most about the Samaritaine was the free Observation Rooftop and the outdoor café one flight below. That will never happen again, I wouldn't think.

One would think that whoever re-opens the former Samaritaine store may re-open the scenic observation restaurants - one of which overlooked the Seine.