I am stopping over in Paris for a very short visit, a Saturday afternoon to Monday morning. I have heard for much about markets, street fairs, and general shopping and was wondering what kind of hours shops, markets, and larger stores have on Sundays in July. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hi Liz,

I have this in my notes:

Lafayette Galleries: 40, boulevard Haussmann, 9th Arrondissement.
Métro stop: Havre-Caumartin, Opéra.
9h30 - 18h45 Monday - Saturday (until 21h Thursday)

Au Printemps, 64, boulevard Haussmann, 8th Arrondissement.
Métro stop: Havre-Caumartin, Opéra. 9h35 - 19h Monday - Saturday
It's 6th floor tea salon - Brasserie Flo - is beneath a belle époque stained glass rotunda.

Le Bon Marche 24 rue de Sevres. MO: Sevres-Babylone. Near the hotel
Founded in 1852, the world's first department store covers 32,000 sq meters on 5 levels.Large grocery store called "la Grande Epicerie." Open ?til 7:00, 8:00 on Sat, 9:00 on Thurs

Department stores will be closed on Sundays. In fact, a lot of stores will be closed on Sundays. On Saturdays shops tend to stay open until 7, possibly later. Some shops don't open until late Monday morning, but the department stores should be open around 9 or 10.

If there're stores that you'd like to visit, I'd call ahead to make sure that they're open.

Don't know about the markets, I'm afraid.

For shopping on Sunday, the most fun would be the Flea Market (Marché aux Puces) just at the northern edge of Paris (metro: Porte de Clignancourt). You'll find acres of shops and stands selling antiques (some freshly made), clothes, trinkets, and pretty much anything you could imagine. Some of the merchandiase is junk and some not so bad at all, but the whole scene is really a lot of fun. It's also an exceptionally good place to people-watch. The market can be crowded, so take the same precautions that you'd take in any crowded place in a city.

More info at www.les-puces.com (in both English and French).

A better market on Sunday would be the flea market at Vanves. Also there is an excellent food market with some other things at Pl. Monge from 7AM-2. The Clignacourt market mentioned is a large area of antique shops--very permanent. There are also "antique malls"--large buildings with many booths of sellers. The junky area mentioned is on the outskirts of this very well known Marche aux Puces and is generally to be avoided--it is really junky.