404 Best Places to Shop in France

Higher-end antiques are in plentiful supply at Xavier Nicod, which "pays tribute to eclecticism" in art and architecture.

Zadig & Voltaire rocks the young fashionistas by offering street wear at its best: racy camisoles, cashmere sweaters in gorgeous colors, cropped leather jackets, and form-fitting pants to cosset those tiny French derrieres. Branches abound in every chic corner of Paris.

Here you'll find new unsold stock from last season. There's a great selection of beautiful cashmere sweaters, silk slip dresses, rocker jeans, and leather jackets, all in their signature luscious colors, for 33%–60% off.

This French high-fashion chain features Bohemian-chic separates in luxurious fabrics—silk, velour, leather, and cashmere—all in dreamy colors.

Have you always wanted to imitate the grand homes of Paris? Here's your chance. Zuber has operated nonstop for more than two centuries as the world's oldest producer of prestige hand-printed wallpapers, renowned for their magnificent panoramic scenes. Warning: with only one scene produced per year, the wait can be nearly a decade long. Opulent Restoration-era wallpapers (including metallics, silks, velvets, and pressed leather) make modern statements and can be purchased in 32-foot rolls for slightly less than a king's ransom.

A retail institution, Au Printemps is made up of three major stores: Printemps Maison (with home furnishings on four refurbished floors), Printemps Homme (featuring six levels of menswear plus two levels for the gourmet shopping area, Printemps du Goût, which opened in January 2018), and fashion-focused Printemps Mode (which has everything à la mode, from couture to teen trends). While in the Printemps Mode building, be sure to check out the newly enlarged beauty area—the largest in Paris—with the Nuxe spa, hair salons, and seemingly every beauty product known to woman under one roof. The luxurious Printemps du Louvre—in the Carrousel du Louvre, at the underground entrance to the museum, across from I.M. Pei's inverted pyramid—carries fine leather goods, accessories, watches, and beauty products; fittingly, it also hosts revolving art exhibitions.

Built in 1826, this beautifully restored, glass-ceilinged gallery has painted medallions and copper pillars, plus boutiques selling antiques, contemporary art, accessories, and more. Christian Louboutin is an anchor tenant. At what is now the Café de l'Époque, just at the gallery's entrance, mentally troubled French writer Gérard de Nerval took his last drink before heading to Châtelet to hang himself.

This mammoth department store is one of those places that you wander into unawares, leaving hours later a poorer and humbler person. Inside its flagship building at 40 boulevard Haussmann, a Belle Époque stained-glass dome caps the world's largest perfumery. The store bulges with thousands of designers, and 25-minute fashion shows are held Friday at 3 pm in the upstairs café to showcase their wares (reservations are a must: email [email protected]; admission €12). Another big draw is the comestibles department, stocked with everything from herbed goat cheese to Iranian caviar. Just across the street at 35 boulevard Haussmann is Galeries Lafayette Maison, which focuses on goods for the fashionable home. The Montparnasse branch is a pale shadow of the Boulevard Haussmann behemoths.

This midrange department store anchors a corner that's one block from the port and the tourist office.

This permanent covered market is at the heart of the city and puts on a mouthwatering show of olives, fresh fish, cheeses, and produce.

This museum and crystal store was once the home of Marie-Laure de Noailles, known as the Countess of Bizarre. Philippe Starck revamped the space with his signature cleverness—yes, that's a chandelier floating in an aquarium and, yes, that crystal arm sprouting from the wall alludes to Jean Cocteau (a friend of Noailles). Follow the red carpet to the jewelry room, where crystal baubles hang from bronze figurines, and to the immense table stacked with crystal items for the home, and don't miss the drop-dead gorgeous Crystal Room restaurant, recently reopened after a colorful redesign by interiors star Jacques Grange and a new menu by two-star chef Guy Martin of Le Grand Véfour.

If your home is your castle you'll flip at the sheer magnitude of housewares here. Since 1827 this picturesque shop has gathered the best in everything for the home, from French (and other European) kitchenware to hardware—including hard-to-find reproductions of classic French door pulls, handles, and light fixtures—Staub pots, handmade brushes, savon de Marseille, even artisanal perfumes, chic scarves and an excellent selection of old-fashioned toys.

Opened in 1825, this pretty passage couvert has regained the interest of Parisians. La Parisette, a small boudoir-pink space at No. 1, sells fun accessories, and Marci Noum, at No. 4, riffs on street fashion. Silk bracelets, crystals, and charms can be nabbed at Eric & Lydie and Satellite.

This sentimental Rive Gauche favorite is named after the bookstore whose American owner, Sylvia Beach, first published James Joyce's Ulysses. Nowadays it specializes in expat literature. Although the eccentric and beloved owner, George Whitman, passed away in 2011, his daughter Sylvia has taken up the torch and made huge changes, including opening an on-site café. You can still count on a couple of characters lurking in the stacks, a sometimes spacey staff, the latest titles from British presses, and hidden secondhand treasures in the odd corners and crannies. Check the website for readings and workshops throughout the week.