47 Best Places to Shop in France

Within walking distance of the town center and tourist office, this traditional bakery for the boat-shaped navette, an emblematic cookie of Marseille and Provence, was revived by the founder of the Provence-based cosmetics giant, L'Occitane. Delicately perfumed with orange flower water, the oblong cookie is said to represent the boat that brought saints Mary Magdalene and Martha to the coast near Marseille. Other traditional biscuits, flavored with lemon, almond, anise, or orange flower (including calissons d'Aix and macarons made from local almonds) are baked here by hand in gourmet versions updated by Paris superstar pâtissier Pierre Hermé. Though you'll also find them in gastronomic shops, all of the biscuits made here—easily transportable in tins—are sold in the Biscuiterie store at a 10% discount.

After working with Pierre Hermé and at top palace hotels, Claire Damon opened her own pastry shop that translates to "Cakes and Bread," a simple name that downplays her artistic sophistication. Descended from a long line of accomplished chefs, Damon understands that the best results are produced with the finest ingredients. Her exquisite pastries and breads, made with carefully acquired, often organic ingredients are mouthwatering works of art. The individual fruit tarts are almost too beautiful to eat, but you'll be glad you did.

Join Paris's chefs and head for G. Detou (get it, j'ai de tout—I have everything), just off the wonderful Marché Montorgeuil, for an absolutely astounding range of baking staples, nuts, chocolate, canned rarities, and other French and European delicacies. Basically, a bit of, well . . . everything.

Hams cured right on the premises hang from the ceiling at this small gourmet shop, where you can sample just about any kind of regional meat or cheese. Looking for a pot of foie gras, or perhaps a bottle of the locally made liquor called génépi? This is the place.

Known for its lush orchards, Apt excels at a technique for preserving fresh fruit that dates from Roman times and was prized by everyone from the French popes to Madame Sévigné. At this local cooperative, founded in 1962, the old techniques were updated to 20th-century standards, but the colorful local fruits preserved in all their sun-ripened glory are still a sight to behold, and you can taste things before buying. Bigarreau cherries from the Luberon are a favorite, but you'll also find Cavaillon melons; Provence apricots, figs, plums, pears; Corsican clementines; and, of course, candied ginger.

Aix's most famous purveyor of calissons offers an assortment of the delicate almond pastries in gourmet flavors and enticing colors along with the white-frosted classic. The Rue Gaston de Saporta location is the flagship, but its wonderful museum just outside the city center ( 5380 rte. d’Avignon) delves into the history and making of this sweet and is well worth a visit. The shop also sells fruit syrups, biscuits, cakes, nougats, and a variety of other beautifully packaged candies that are perfect for gifts.

This confiseur (confectioner) dates from 1866 and is in its fifth generation of family ownership on the same St-Rémy premises. It makes the famous Provençal calisson, an almond-shape marzipan confection, as well as a gorgeous array of candied fruits—from cherries and strawberries to kiwis and even whole pumpkins—using a recipe credited to Nostradamus (a native son of St-Rémy). There are also fruit syrups, jams, chocolates, and regional honey. A tour of the factory and a stop in the beautiful boutique are pleasurable ways to spend and hour or two.

Here you can purchase top-quality, AOC (controlled origin) olive oils and learn how they're made, from picking and pressing to blending and bottling. Free tours and tastings (in English) demonstrate why these regional oils—most made from green olives and some made from fermented black olives—end up on tables in some of the best restaurants in France.

This institution opened in 1730, thanks to Louis XV's Polish bride, who couldn't bear to part with her pastry chef and thus brought Nicholas Stohrer along with her to Paris. Today, it has all the to-die-for pastries that made the bakery's name, including the famous baba au rhum that originated here, as well as a tantalizing range of other sweets, breads, and savory prepared foods to go.

This shop has been at the heart of the Parisian locavore movement since 2008, when it began uniting innovative chefs with small local producers. Today, Terroirs d'Avenir also caters to individuals, with no fewer than five shops on the tiny Rue du Nil: a bakery (No. 3), butcher shop (No. 6), cheesemonger (No. 8), greengrocer (No. 7), and fishmonger (No. 8). Even if you're not planning a purchase, the picturesque cobbled street is worth a stop for a photo op.

The finest foie gras in town is found at Alby Foie Gras.

This tiny shop sells olive oil by the gallon (and other quantities), packaged in containers featuring its famous, old-fashioned, blue-and-yellow labels.

Lille-based pâtissier Frédéric Vaucamps riffed on an 18th-century cake recipe called the “merveilleux” and found himself at the helm of a Europe-wide empire. His version of the meringue-based confection replaced the traditional butter cream for an ethereal dome of whipped ganache in modern flavors like praline, speculoos, rose, and coffee feathered with white or dark chocolate shavings. The merveilleux come in four sizes—the smallest can be boxed for gifts. There are also brioches and breakfast pastries and the traditional Lille gauffres, delectable cream-filled waffles. You’ll know his boutique by the giant, glittering chandelier and lines snaking down the sidewalk.

With 16 stores in central Bordeaux alone (plus three at the airport), Baillardran is going to be hard to walk by without at least looking in its windows at those sweet delights, canelés de Bordeaux. Much like a Doric column in miniature, the small indented, caramelized cakes, made with vanilla and a dash of rum, are a delicious regional specialty.

For five generations, this family-run outfit has produced some of the country's finest olive oils. You can buy several varieties at the centrally located boutique—which also has a tantalizing array of tapenades, sauces, condiments, and jams—or visit the mill a mile out of town to see firsthand how the oil is made.

The best tea shop in Lyon, Cha Yuan stocks more than 300 varieties from all over the world. You can also buy candies, gourmet goodies, and everything you need to brew the perfect cup of tea.

Open every day except Christmas, this shop is a good source for candied fruit (a Nice specialty). It's on the west side of the port, near the Marché aux Puces.

Customers swoon over the 50-some wildly delicious jam flavors at this artisan shop specializing in homemade confitures (jams) that change with the seasons: black currant–jasmine or apricot-lavender in summer; in winter, chestnut-pear-tonka bean or carrot–passion fruit; and spring strawberry–cherry blossom or raspberry-violet. You’ll also find jellies to accompany cheeses (champagne-rosé; port wine), and sublime caramel, nut, and chocolate spreads. Design-your-own gift boxes are the perfect way to bestow these beautifully packaged gourmet, oh-so-Parisian flavors. All products are made on the premises in the Viaduc des Arts, and you can watch the chefs in action in the glassed-in kitchens.

An institution in Carpentras, this fromagers-affineurs specializes in the finest, most perfectly aged cheeses from the area and all of France. You'll find varieties made with local truffles and herbs, as well as Provence’s exceptional goat cheeses. Wines and other regional delicacies are also on sale.

This is Paris’s one-stop-shop for all things Italian—cheeses, charcuterie, fresh and dried pasta, olive oil, sauces, pastries, wines—you name it, it’s here. There’s also a restaurant, café, and two wine bars on the premises. On weekends it’s teeming with neighborhood foodies, so best to go in the morning or linger at apéro hour over specialty olives and a glass of wine.

Monsieur Roellinger's newest addition to his culinary empire, Les Entrepôts Épices-Roellinger is dedicated to the exotic spices he personally searches the world to find. In addition to individual spices, it stocks exotic peppers, fleur de sel, choice vanillas, and the acclaimed owner’s signature spice blends—such as Poudre Curry Corsaire (for mussels and shellfish) and Poudre du Vent (for squab or cream sauces). There's now a branch in St-Malo and another in Paris.

To sample a sensational tartiflette, the Savoie casserole made with potatoes, diced bits of salt pork, and locally produced Reblochon cheese, head to this tiny gourmet shop in Méribel Mottaret. It's made by hand in the spotless open kitchen, along with piles of diots (sausages) and other delicacies.

This famous bakery, up the street from Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, has made orange-spice, shuttle-shape navettes in the same oven since it opened in 1781. These cookies are modeled on the little boat that, it is said, carried Lazarus and the Three Marys (Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome, and Mary Jacobe) to the nearby shore.

For a grand selection of cheeses—along with raw milk, smoked-sea-salt butter, bulk honey, and all things creamy and tasty—stop in at Elodie Deruelle's shop, Fromagerie Deruelle.

Sublime tastes of Brittany—salted butter caramels, fruity sorbets, rare honeys, and heirloom breads—are sold in upper Cancale at the Roellingers' Grain de Vanille. Tables beckon, so why not sit a spell and enjoy a cup of Mariage Frères tea and—Brittany in a bite—some cinnamon-orange-flavored malouine cookies?

This place isn't called the épicerie du monde for nothing. Izraël is a one-stop shop for any spice under the sun, plus those hard-to-find items you'd otherwise spend days tracking down. Bins overflowing with every variety of candied fruit, nuts, beans, olives, pickles, and preserved fish give this tiny shop the air of an exotic bazaar. You'll also find all manner of canned goods, candies, rare spirits, and baking necessities.

Want Bordeaux's best bread to go with your cheese? Get in line. Apparently, the word's out about La Fabrique Pains et Bricoles because the queue is out the door at this fine bakery—and that's always a good sign.

Cheese fans will fall in love with this little shop steps from Les Cave du Louvre, a wine cellar run by the same team. The open plan of the fromagerie allows shoppers to get up close and personal with a wide range of cheeses, from time-tested favorites like Comté and Brie to house specialties like peat whiskey–aged tomme de Savoie. And unlike many other Parisian cheese shops, it's open on Monday. The shop also offers customizable picnic boxes for one to four people that feature a selection of cheeses and charcuterie.

Head here for the best breads in town, particularly rustic sourdough and traditional Provençal loafs, as well as delicious pastries.

You can watch the talented baker at work in the kitchen of this bakery–boutique filled with glass jars of enticing and original cookie creations, as well as traditional biscuits perfumed with orange flower and other irresistible spices. There are plenty of gluten-free versions, in addition to a range of Provençal specialty foods.