With 17,500 shops and four big department stores, Paris
satisfies the most varied tastes. The fact that Parisians are generally
fiercely attached to their local traders has kept alive a wonderful
diversity of small shops, and you can find very specialised boutiques
selling everything from tin soldiers and old medals to hand-sewn
strings and stuffed lions.
Twice a year the French capital is on
sale – Soldes. Five weeks of non-stop reductions, with discounts of 30,
40 and 50 % of the initial price. During the sales in January and July,
the event has its own website
www.shoppingbyparis.comFood
markets in Paris are extraordinary spectacular; an experience you
shouldn’t miss, even though you are not out for either truffles or a
leg of lamb. These markets are high-valued meeting places for
Parisians, and you’ll find them all over town. The organic market at
boulevard Raspail on Sundays is largely recommended, just as the market
in Belleville; less fancy but more ethnic and colourful.
Paris is full of second-hand markets and antique dealers. In the Marais district (
www.village-saint-paul.com) and in the Latin Quarter (
www.carrerivegauche.com) there
are whole clusters of antique dealers. As for the brocantes or
second-hand markets, they liven up different parts of the city every
weekend, and you can find a diverse selection of goods: rare books,
paintings, vintage clothing, old toys and silverware. To have the
latest information on the second-hand markets, you should buy Pariscope
or L’Officiel des Spectacles
The French capital is hosting several flee markets, among which the Porte Saint-Ouen market (
www.parispuces.com)
is probably the biggest in the world. These markets are great fun and
full of antiques and curios. But do not expect to find real cheap
stuff, and beware of pickpockets!
