Full on glamour and Bobo treats
This is Paris. Pretty much everywhere you go fits the bill! From the rue du Fauborg-st-Honore, one of the oldest shopping streets in the city to the Champs-Elysées, the Oxford street of Paris, to tiny side streets and exquisite Belle Epoque covered shopping galleries, like Gallerie Vivienne (2nd Arr, near the Louvre).
Try Lubin for lovely perfumes and you can tell the person you give the gift to that it came from the store were Josephine Bonaparte shopped for her seductive scents.
At Buly 1803 you’ll find fabulous soaps, candles, luxury hair brushes, creams and even scented matches with real wow factor wrapping. Or how about an adorable umbrella, you’ll find them in shops and department stores and Paris has a reputation for beautiful parapluies (did you know that the folding umbrella was invented in France?).
For a spot of bohemian chic, head to the Pigalle area, not the rather seedy bit but So-Pi as the locals call it, south Pigalle. It’s an upcoming area for shopping with a village-vibe, bobo (bohemian bourgeois) spirit and vintage boutiques to suit the most discerning shopper. It's also home to one of the best sweet shops in France (see next page).
The popular rue des Martyrs links the 9th arrondissement and Montmartre and is packed with vintage and traditional shops and cafés. This half mile long street has old-fashioned charm and a long history. It’s here that Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was decapitated under the Roman Empire. Legend says he picked up his head to travel the length of this famous street, dying a few kilometres north of where the Basilica of Saint-Denis was later founded and inspiring the name Montmartre.
Above: Gallerie Vivienne sheer luxury; below Ladurée for macarons!
Credit: Lynn Healy Brunneau