Do boutiques and department stores have later hours in the summer when it gets dark late? What are typical shopping hours on weekdays in Paris in June?

thanks,
Dina

Hi Dina
Shops usually opens from 10am to 7pm but some of them can open at 9am and other close at 8pm. A few can close between 12 and 2pm (what a shame! ;-) )
coco

Large stores are open from roughly 10 AM to 7 PM. Smaller stores may close for lunch. Virtually all stores close on Sunday (by law), except for some in specific places with special ordinances, such as the Champs-Élysées.

Some stores stay open late one day a week. Small stores that are open on Saturday may close on Monday (or sometimes Tuesday).

During and immediately after the Christmas season, many stores stay open on several Sundays in a row (the law permits them to open for a few Sundays each year).

BHV is not a prime shopping spot, I know, but that department store by the Hotel de Ville Metro is open late on Thursday evenings.

Dave--I've heard a lot , actually, about the BHV on this forum. But have no idea what / where it is...
Can you fill me in?

Coco-Thanks for the info (once again!)

Anthony--great details. thanks.

http://www.bhv.fr/index.php?id=450 for the address with a map with metro and buses (thanks google!)

Thanks, Coco!
What kind of store is BHV? (That website was perfect for hours and map, but I can't read French.) I promised my teenage daughter that we would fit in lots of shopping time in Paris. I 've researched the passages and nice shopping streets with boutiques on right and left banks, but I'm not sure which dept store to visit... Samartaine (sorry about the spelling), Bon Marche, or BHV... (I don't think I can handle more than one.)
Dina

Samartaine (sp)is closed now. I would suggest Galleries Layfayette and Pringtemps. They are next to each other. GL has a free fashion show on Friday at 3:00..reservations needed. Pringtemps has one on Tuesday at 10:00AM. No reservations needed. It is on the 6th floor under a beautiful huge stained glass dome. Lots of other stores in the area. It is near Opera.

this website in English then...
http://parisvoice.com/02/sept/html/shopping.cfm

BHV stands for Bazaar du Hotel de Ville (or something like that), and is appropriately very near the Hotel de Ville.

It's just a large general dept. store. It is supposed to be known for its basement for hardware etc stuff, but I don't shop in that section, and the rest is just a regular dept. store. I like it just as well as any of the other ones, and it does have a good central location, so I usually happen to pop into it at least once while I'm in Paris. It has about everything as other dept. stores that I can think of (clothes, cosmetics, accessories, etc.).

The basement of BHV is filled with an astonishing assortment of hardware, and the cafe in the basement is cleverly decorated as an old hardware store with stuff on the walls that looks as though it could have been there for the past sixty years (and maybe it has). I sat there for quite a while while my husband got lost happily amongst the plumbing fixtures.

Nikki,

Let me know the next time you guys are headed for the BHV. Can keep your husband company. I've spent a major portion of my life in the hardware basement. Dina, I assume you've researched the Marais? Lots of trendy clothing stores. Also, your daughter might like a tour of the cutting edge in some of the shops of the now trendy 11th arrondissement:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...0400570_2.html

The BHV is a true department store, complete with home-improvement and hardware sections, small appliances, etc.

Other department stores in Paris are generally upscale establishments that specialize in products with handsome margins, such as clothing, perfume, and the like. These include Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, and Le Bon March&eacute; (which isn't <i>bon march&eacute;</i>, despite the name).

La Samaritaine used to be a general department store like BHV. Then it was bought by a luxury company that wanted to make it into another overpriced, under-inventoried Printemps, and that failed, and now by a happy coincidence the need to bring the building up to code (never noticed previously) has provided a reason to close the store until people forget about it and it can be converted into something else.

Dave, we'll be there in February. And it would be fun to have a local
guide in that maze.

I actually do like Bon Marche a lot, and it is very chic and has some nice stuff and atmosphere. I have found a few bargains there, but during the sales periods. Just to make sure you understande BHV isn't some low-class discount place without good choices, they have plenty of designer and name-brand clothes, cosmetics, luggage, bags, etc. there.

Thanks, everyone, for all the great shopping tips! I really appreciate it.
BHV sounds great.
I will check out that W Post article, Dave. Thanks!