Know of any bargain shopping in Paris?
Mar 13th, 2001, 12:45 PM
#4
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Jill, I found Les Printemps or Galleries Lafayette had loads of items that could be gifts: perfumes, sachets, scarves, gold bracelet (oh, no wait, that was for me), with prices that weren't out of this world. Those are two big department stores. For those items that were divinely Parisienne, you'll have to shop the little shops and hope to find some interesting unusual items. At one place - who remembers where - I found etchings of Paris streets made from old plates, signed, with certificates of authenticity for a reasonable price - who remembers how much. Hmmmm . . . I'm beginning to think I might just buy whatever I want, rather than look at price. But what I want is never too expensive - $10 - $100. Although the bracelet started at $390 but I had a 25% off coupon, and charged it - amount on credit card was $170! Use your charge card to improve the value. Stay away from designer stores, unless you are interested in scarves. Even those can be pricey. I like to buy small original watercolors or sketches. Sometimes those can be found at markets. The Right Bank costs are higher - you might see if the Left Bank is cheaper. I always enjoyed the flea market at the Clingancourt metro stop - go way back into the area past the usual rabble and find all kinds of unusual items. You can find more about that by querying "flea market" on this site. Have fun - shopping each day keeps the blues away!
Mar 13th, 2001, 12:57 PM
#5
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Jill: You might do some shopping in Rue St.-Placide, close to "Le Bon Marché" where you should go anyway. Less tourists that at the Right Bank Dept. Stores.
Get off the métro at Sèvres-Babylone. Have a look through LBM, opposite its Grande Epicerie is Rue St.-Placide. Walk down until to get to Rue du Cherche-Midi (my facourite)and go back to let's say St.-Germain by the latter.
You find nice and tiny places around Rue du Four, off Rue du Four and around St.-Sulpice.
Very typical shops also in Montparnasse. Rue Vavin, Bréa, Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Rue de Rennes is not bad but extremely crowded.
Have a good shopping!
Get off the métro at Sèvres-Babylone. Have a look through LBM, opposite its Grande Epicerie is Rue St.-Placide. Walk down until to get to Rue du Cherche-Midi (my facourite)and go back to let's say St.-Germain by the latter.
You find nice and tiny places around Rue du Four, off Rue du Four and around St.-Sulpice.
Very typical shops also in Montparnasse. Rue Vavin, Bréa, Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Rue de Rennes is not bad but extremely crowded.
Have a good shopping!
Mar 14th, 2001, 03:09 AM
#6
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This won't help with jewelry bu if you're looking for other souvenirs and gifts, I will make the following suggestions.
First there are chain stores like Prisunic, Monoprix, and Tati with multiple locations.
Prisunic and Monoprix are like Woolworth stores used to be in the US, everything from
inexpensive clothing items to housewares. Monoprix also have very nice grocery departments. You can pick up bread, butter, cheeses, produce, wine, jellies, and other items for a picnic or packaged items to take home as souvenirs. Tati also has several locations, has low prices, and has a flea-market atmosphere, with everything jumbled around and very busy. There are Tatis at 13 place de la Republique (3rd), 140 rue de Rennes (6th),11 bis rue Scribe (9th), and 106 rue du Faubourg du Temple (11th).
For fancier gifts like gourmet jams, teas, oils, mustards, and biscuits, go to Hediard at 21 pl de la Madeleine or Fauchon at 26 pl de la Madeleine. You will pay high prices, but the items are beautifully packaged.
There are very unusual jams and pates de fruits at Le Furet-Tanrade. 63 rue de Chabrol in the 10th, 01 47 70 48 34.
Someone on the Fodor's forum had given me a lead on a bakery that makes bread in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. If the bread will be for display rather than eating, they put some sort of permanent glaze on it. Anyway, it's called Boulangerie Saint -Ouen, 111 boul Haussman, metro Madeleine. Currently it costs under $10. Location puts it quite near the Monoprix flagship store.
Cookware: Dehillerin, 18 rue Coquillere, 1st, metro Etienne-Marcel. 01 42 36 53 13
Some say it's the best cookware supply house in the world. Will ship.
A. Simon, 48-52 rue Montmartre,1st. 01 42 33 71 65 Appliances, pottery, cutlery, metalware,
nice selection of unusual cookie-cutters.
The museum shops have some nice gift and souvenir ideas. Books are available in English, or you could simply buy a magnet with the Mona Lisa on it, postcards, note cards, etc.
First there are chain stores like Prisunic, Monoprix, and Tati with multiple locations.
Prisunic and Monoprix are like Woolworth stores used to be in the US, everything from
inexpensive clothing items to housewares. Monoprix also have very nice grocery departments. You can pick up bread, butter, cheeses, produce, wine, jellies, and other items for a picnic or packaged items to take home as souvenirs. Tati also has several locations, has low prices, and has a flea-market atmosphere, with everything jumbled around and very busy. There are Tatis at 13 place de la Republique (3rd), 140 rue de Rennes (6th),11 bis rue Scribe (9th), and 106 rue du Faubourg du Temple (11th).
For fancier gifts like gourmet jams, teas, oils, mustards, and biscuits, go to Hediard at 21 pl de la Madeleine or Fauchon at 26 pl de la Madeleine. You will pay high prices, but the items are beautifully packaged.
There are very unusual jams and pates de fruits at Le Furet-Tanrade. 63 rue de Chabrol in the 10th, 01 47 70 48 34.
Someone on the Fodor's forum had given me a lead on a bakery that makes bread in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. If the bread will be for display rather than eating, they put some sort of permanent glaze on it. Anyway, it's called Boulangerie Saint -Ouen, 111 boul Haussman, metro Madeleine. Currently it costs under $10. Location puts it quite near the Monoprix flagship store.
Cookware: Dehillerin, 18 rue Coquillere, 1st, metro Etienne-Marcel. 01 42 36 53 13
Some say it's the best cookware supply house in the world. Will ship.
A. Simon, 48-52 rue Montmartre,1st. 01 42 33 71 65 Appliances, pottery, cutlery, metalware,
nice selection of unusual cookie-cutters.
The museum shops have some nice gift and souvenir ideas. Books are available in English, or you could simply buy a magnet with the Mona Lisa on it, postcards, note cards, etc.
Mar 14th, 2001, 03:45 AM
#7
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Here are a few tips from a local shopping maven: Ursula's advice, esp. re: the little streets around Sevres Babylone, is good. Rue de Rennes has all the big chains (not very interesting). Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are more like the dept. stores you can find in the US. Bon Marche and Samaritaine are much more French. Most of the stuff sold on the streets, esp. in front of the dept. stores, is junk, IMHO. The markets in Porte de Vanves and Clignancourt (THE flea market) are good for interesting old things; bargains are few, though. There are some good outlets in the Sentier area and around rue d'Alesia. The book Born To Shop Paris has some very good advice on these and other stores.
Mar 14th, 2001, 01:25 PM
#9
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Jill, a little away from the subject, but I have to put in my two cents: don't spend all your time looking for gifts. I watched one of our traveling companions spend several hours in Venice (when we only had about 1 1/2 days altogether) hunting for gifts for a dozen relatives. She missed out on a lot of sights in her quest to fill her shopping list.
Mar 14th, 2001, 01:59 PM
#10
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Dear Jill,
Heed Elvira's advice in this (as in all things). It's fun to do a little shopping on vacation - if you're a shopping kind of person. (the gene passed me by, thank heavens) But try to temper the feeling that you need to bring back lots of gifts - if possible, talk seriously to your friends and family about what their expectations/requirements are, and don't spend a lot of time on shopping for them unless they're going to guilt the living daylights out of you, or unless you love it. It does cut into your time, your spending money, and of course it clogs up your luggage something fierce!
Heed Elvira's advice in this (as in all things). It's fun to do a little shopping on vacation - if you're a shopping kind of person. (the gene passed me by, thank heavens) But try to temper the feeling that you need to bring back lots of gifts - if possible, talk seriously to your friends and family about what their expectations/requirements are, and don't spend a lot of time on shopping for them unless they're going to guilt the living daylights out of you, or unless you love it. It does cut into your time, your spending money, and of course it clogs up your luggage something fierce!
