A boutique is a small store devoted to retail or both the manufacture and sale of goods. More specifically, it can refer to a small store that sells clothing, jewelry or other luxury goods, usually of a well-known brand. Beyond chic clothing boutiques, you’ll find art galleries, home furnishing emporiums, books of all vintages, antiques, jewelry, and everything else you might desire.

Paris is the best city in Europe for shopping, with hundreds of boutiques offering so many items that it could take days to discover all of them. The vast majority of boutiques are located in the city’s upscale business districts and bustling shopping streets, but there are also some specialty boutiques far from tourist attractions. Enjoy the experience of discovery, explore a lesser-known Paris boutique, specialty shop, or jewelry maker’s atelier and their surrounding neighborhoods.

Since Antiquity, the boutique has been a room located on the ground floor and open to the street; it is used for the storage and display of the goods sold there. The shop often had a back room reserved for related operations. Paris still retains a small number of historic boutiques, which are more than 100 years old and usually operate in addresses that have been classified as historic sites. Merchants of the same type of business are often found on the same street. This connection leads to street names such as La Tannerie or La Huchette, designating the commercial activity that takes place there.

Some multi-outlet businesses (Chain stores) can be referred to as boutiques if they target small, upscale niche markets. Although some boutiques specialize in hand-made items and other unique products, others simply produce T-shirts, stickers, and other fashion accessories in artificially small runs and sell them at high prices. Nowaday, a boutique is often associated with that of stylist or designer to refer (with nuanced approaches) to products and services relating to luxury goods that are supposed to justify a very high price, itself called boutique price.

In the late 1990s, some European retail traders developed the idea of tailoring a shop towards a lifestyle theme, in what they called “concept stores,” which specialized in cross-selling without using separate departments. Upscale luxury brands with stores in Paris tend to make their stores more boutique-style, often selling limited-edition items or designer collaborations. There is a premium on prices in boutiques, so shopping areas such as the Champs Elysees are often more expensive than elsewhere.

Since 2017, the City of Paris has launched the “Made in Paris” label to promote Parisian know-how. This label aims to highlight all the richness of local production and the dynamism of Parisian craftsmanship. The Paris brand aims to convey the elegance, refinement and prestige of Paris and promises to make vistors rediscover the Parisian art of living and to offer quality products.

Boutique in historical monument
The historical monuments Boutique shops, are listed as historical monuments and bear witness to trade from the 19th and early 20th centuries. All monuments are listed by the Ministry of Culture on an open platform. A historical monument is a building which has been classified or registered in order to protect it, because of its historical or artistic interest. Its temporal field extends from the prehistoric period to the 20th century.

Paris Rendez-Vous boutique (4th arrondissement)
Paris Rendez-Vous located in part of the historic building of the Hôtel de Ville, laid out in a friendly, bright and design space, is a shop offering for sale exclusive products for lovers of Paris. Paris Rendez-Vous promotes local know-how, creations labeled “Made in Paris”, products from the Ville de Paris or Nuit Blanche brand. The City of Paris is in fact the first local authority in France to have embarked on the approach of a strategy of derivative products under license.

The Ville de Paris brand is a brand that carries many values. For Parisians and visitors, Paris is the capital of French gastronomy, of fashion, of innovation, of culture, of romanticism and this can be transcribed into sought-after, quality products. The shop thus offers products that revolve around the Parisian art of living, with earthenware or delicatessen products: organic teas or herbal teas with colorful packaging under the name of emblematic places of the city; stationery with elegant notebooks in the colors of our famous monuments, Paris nature with bicycle accessories in the movement of our Parisian streets…

Paris Rendez-Vous opens its doors to young designers who represent nearly 140 different products: elegant household objects in concrete, Plexiglas or unique pieces in natural materials, jewelry made from second-hand objects, comforter kits, bibs, recycled fabric cushions, 100% natural soaps, clothes, vases, candles. We love the Ville de Paris stationery collection, inspired by a young Parisian designer. The notebooks are entirely made in Paris and its metropolis.

Paris Rendez-Vous offers workshops, exhibitions and events. It hosted, for example, an exhibition by Japanese manga artist Naoki Urasawa or brought to life animations around Kapla or Lego games…

Feathers (to write a word) (14th arrondissement)
The ground floor of this building still has the front of an old bookstore, installed at the end of the 19th century, around 1880. On the pediment, above the left door, a bearded man with a hat seemed to welcome customers. At the bottom of the pediment, you can see two feathers, ancestors of our pens. Approach the bottom of the storefront: it says “manuscript books”. This storefront was listed as a Historic Monument by decree of May 23, 1984. For the record, the neighbor of this bookshop was for a long time the sculptor César (1921-1998) who had his Parisian studio at 10, rue Roger.

Bees and mosaics (1st arrondissement)
The traditional straw hive, skilfully carved in stone from which a few bees emerge. The building dates from the end of the 19th century. On the ground floor of the building, the superb mosaics in shades of blue are more recent. They date from 1940. The sign and the storefront are both listed as Historic Monuments by decree of May 23, 1984.

The Belle Epoque pharmacy (7th arrondissement)
A pharmacy that has been standing here since 1900. With the golden writing on a black background, typical of the Belle Epoque (end of the 19th century until 1914). The storefront is adorned with painted canvases fixed under glass. The interior decor includes carved woodwork representing poppy flowers… and a magnificent old tiled floor is to be admired. A few streets away, at 23, avenue Rapp, still in the 7th arrondissement, another pharmacy, also listed as a historical monument, can be admired.

The Aux Tortues store (8th arrondissement)
At the corner of 55 boulevard Haussmann and 35-37 rue Tronchet in the classic and chic 8 th, stands an astonishing storefront whose former trade is now prohibited. The store, founded in 1864 by Léonidas Garland, was indeed specialized in the sale of objects in tortoiseshell and ivory, brought back from the French colonies. The marble decoration of the current facade, of Louis XVI inspiration, dates from 1910 and includes two elephant heads and two turtles, made in bronze.

Boutique in different areas
Long known as the fashion capital of the world, Paris offers something for every shopper, regardless of your style, budget, and interests. Paris is all opulent department stores and upscale boutiques dotting the grand avenues.

Easily spend your time and money at the most famous Paris shopping districts and emporiums: the legendary department stores known as the grands magasins, the flagship showrooms along Avenue Montaigne and the “Golden Triangle” of luxury couture such as Hermès, Saint Laurent, and Louis Vuitton, the global brands up and down Champs-Élysées. Spend a day or more in the immense glass-domed Galeries Lafayette department store browsing the Valentino, Chloé, Gucci, and countless designer boutiques, picking out the perfect Longchamp or Chanel bag, and choosing a captivating Guerlain or Dior fragrance.

Beyond these iconic Paris clothing stores and boutiques, the city offers plenty more areas where you can indulge your passion for Parisian style while seeking out chic French labels such as Maje, Sandro, Louboutin, and Zadig & Voltaire, trendy but unknown indie designers, fun and affordable European brands such as Camaïeu and Zara, and even discount and cheap prices on coveted items.

Champs Élysées
Located between the Arc de Triomphe and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Metro Station, the commercial portion of Champs Élysées stretches for almost a mile through the swanky 8th arrondissement and is the most famous shopping avenue in Paris – a must-see destination for visitors from around the world. There also some surprisingly large Paris shopping malls, Arcades des Champs Elysees (at #78) is particularly splendid with an Art Nouveau-style glass roof and 40 boutiques.

With its broad sidewalks punctuated by outdoor cafes and rows of tall horse chestnut trees, Champs Elysees easily accommodates the masses of shoppers who flock here for the excellent selection of global brands: Tiffany, Abercrombie & Fitch, the always-packed Disney Store, Cartier, Gap, Sephora, the Adidas Paris flagship store, French electronics store Fnac, Zara, Petit Bateau baby clothing boutique, and at the corner of Avenue George V, the spectacular Louis Vuitton flagship store…

Golden Triangle
For the crème de la crème of couture, turn onto Avenue Montaigne, part of the “Golden Triangle” along with Avenue George V and Rue Francois 1er, this affluent section of the 8th arrondissement could easily be considered the city’s luxury hub, rarefied territory among the world’s most famous fashion houses.

Hermès, Saint Laurent, Ferragamo, Courrèges, Givenchy, Kenyo, Balmain, Prada, Gucci, Bulgari, Dior, Chanel, Valentine, and many, many more Grands Couturiers have created their flagship stores, haute couture showrooms, and by-invitation-only salons along shaded streets and pale marble mansions.

This upscale neighborhood is worth a visit, with window displays of different brands along the way. Advance reservations are required to enter the boutiques of these high-end brands, and in these most expensive stores in the world, the principle of what is rare is more expensive. Some product are just for display, and sometimes buyers have to wait for a while to be eligible to buy.

Saint-Honoré
Long considered the epicenter of French luxury design on the Right Bank, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré boasts over 40 designer boutiques and showrooms. Some overlap between Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (or FSH, as many Parisians call it) and the Golden Triangle – for example, Hermès and Chanel have boutiques in both places – others such as Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin, Louboutin, and Jun Ashida can be found only in FSH.

Walk up Rue Royale past even more boutiques including another Chanel, Massimo Dutti, Ralph Lauren to Place de la Madeleine, dominated by the majestic Madeleine Church and its elaborate Corinthian Greek columns, filled with magnificent art, the church hosts popular classical music concerts several times a week.

Once you cross Rue Royale, you’re just one block away from the 1st arrondissement, the historic center of Paris, where the street name changes to Rue Saint Honoré. Look for jewelry stores, upper-drawer home decor displays, and gourmet chocolates mixed in with enough designer showrooms to make fashionistas swoon. Detour at Rue Cambon to see Coco Chanel’s original boutique and couture salon (#31) and her apartment above. The Zadig & Voltaire’s new flagship store, part fashion and part art, at 2 Rue Cambon.

Place Vendôme is a large open square surrounded by stately 18th century arcaded mansions with showrooms for many of the world’s most famous jewelers on their ground floors. Amid all the splendor of Place Vendôme, the dazzling 5-star palace hotel Ritz Paris offers 21st century luxury. Rue Saint Honoré continues east with more designer boutiques including Max Mara, Michael Kors, Longchamp, Fendi, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, and Theory until finally ending at Avenue de l’Opéra.

Le Marais
Forever the flâneur’s destination, this pocket of Paris has also shaped up to be a must-stop on any shopping itinerary. Meander up and down the neighborhood’s warren of narrow streets and you’ll find sanctuaries to hand-crafted goods and natural beauty products, and a design-focused concept store that never ceases to reinvent itself.

Filled with the boutiques of famous French and other European trend-setters such as Isabel Marant, Maje, Sandro, Zadig & Voltaire, Antoine & Lili, Claudie Pierlot, Lemaire, the small shops of up-and-coming designers, master chocolatiers and gourmet food purveyors, concept stores, and “stock” (discount) outlets, the Marais’ small cobbled streets and lanes are a magnet for fashionistas, home decor connoisseurs, and gourmands from around the world.

As a generalization, better known brands and fashion houses cluster in the 4th, while younger French designers, smaller design studios and art galleries dot the 3rd, although you’ll find plenty of exceptions such as Jean-Paul Gaultier’s fashion atelier (325 Rue Saint-Martin) near the top of the Upper Marais.

Don’t miss the antique, design, and luxury fashion shops under the arcades surrounding Place des Vosges, or the highly esteemed concept store Merci (111 Boulevard Beaumarchais) where you’ll find a beautifully curated selection from home goods to fashion to books displayed on multiple floors.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Lining the the narrow warrens of this beloved left bank neighborhood are antique shops, art galleries, high-end retailers and historic cafés, oft frequented by the city’s illustrious artists and intellectuals. But it’s also home to the most iconic department store, Le Bon Marché, the temple of taxidermy, Deyrolle, and the late Karl Lagerfeld’s bookstore, all worth exploring on a leisurely afternoon in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Almost the entire Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood in Paris’s 6th arrondissement presents tantalizing shopping opportunities, especially high end of the price spectrum. Visiting all the chic fashion boutiques around Saint-Sulpice Church, along Rue Bonaparte/Rue des Rennes, and Rue de Saint-Père where Vanessa Bruno, Barbara Bui, Saint Laurent, and numerous gourmet chocolate boutiques compete for shoppers’ attention.

The area hugging the Seine River between École des Beaux Arts (School of Fine Arts) and Rue des Grands Augustins where dozens, possibly hundreds of antique stores, art galleries, rare book dealers, and design studios cluster along narrow streets lined with 16th and 17th century buildings. Near Beaux Arts and along the quai next to the Seine there is the bins of unframed prints by unknown artists in Saint Germain art galleries.

Montmartre
Since the 19th century, Montmartre has served as the bohemian hub of Paris’ creative and nightlife communities. Montmartre is also home to some of the best shopping in Paris. West of Sacre Coeur: merging designers, small boutiques with featuring mostly French clothing and accessories, antique shops, art galleries, vintage stores. East of Sacre Coeur: Marché Saint-Pierre District for dozens of shops offering discount fabrics, linens, boots, clothing

Far from the big box luxury brands you’ll find on the Champs Élysées, the shops here fall are of the quirky and curio varieties, with vintage clothing and antique shops in spades. Walk the length of Rue des Abbesses, starting near Cimetière des Montmartre, and you’ll pass any number of interesting small shops selling everything from clothing to jewelry to leather, along with probably an even larger number of small cafes, bistros, and food markets.

Along with established Paris designers such as Sandro and Claudie Pierlot, explore the trendy fashion by new designers. To find the latest newcomers to the Paris fashion scene, continue down Rue des Abbesses (which turns into Rue d’Orsel) and be sure to detour along the way – Rue Houdon, Rue des Trois Frères, Rue des Martyrs (which extends all the way down to the SoPi, or South of Pigalle, neighborhood in the 9th and is one of the most popular market streets in this part of Paris).

Once you reach Rue Briquet and Rue Seveste, you’re in the Saint-Pierre Market district and will begin to see fabric stores. Dreyfus – Marché Saint-Pierre, a huge 5-floor fabric emporium, where professional stylists and designers shop. Look for Hawaiian fabrics and specialty velvets on the ground floor, linen towels, table runners, and napkins on the 1st floor, delicate laces and drapery fabrics on the 2nd, Jouy toiles on the 3rd floor,, and designer fabrics by Pierre Frey, Lacrois, Canovas, and more on the 4th floor.

Canal Saint Martin
One of the best places right now in Paris to shop for emerging trends and new designers is along Canal Saint Martin in a swath between Place de la République and Gare de l’Ést and bordered by Boulevard de Magenta. As in-the-know locals have shifted their attention east in the last five years toward the bohemian Canal Saint-Martin neighborhood and its booming restaurant and art scenes, small brands in everything from fashion to homewares have followed suit. That has turned the area into the city’s next great shopping destination.

This rapidly gentrifying, rapidly changing area in the 11th arrondissement offers relatively cheap rents (which doesn’t mean they’re actually cheap, just more affordable than the 1st, 8th, or even the 18th), lots of youthful energy, and a creative spirit you’ll see reflected in the street art, small cafes and bars, and tiny boutiques, galleries, pop-ups, and concept stores showcasing emerging designers and artists.

Good streets to explore include Rue des Vinaigriers, Rue de Lancy, Rue Beaurepaire – although with The Kooples, Maje, agnès b., Les Petites boutiques popping up along Rue de Marseille, the neighborhood is no longer off the radar of established designers.

Saint-Ouen
At the northern edge of Paris, between Montmartre and the Stade de France you’ll find the most robust collection of antique treasures you’ll likely ever come upon. Les Puces Paris Flea Market at Saint-Ouen is more like a large sprawling village where over 3,000 boutiques, shops, and stalls offer literally everything you can imagine plus a lot more. It’s the biggest flea market in the world.

Discover an immense selection of mostly French and European furniture from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, antique crystal chandeliers and brass candelabras, vintage clothing and jewelry, sculpture and architectural pieces such as fireplace mantles and entire staircases, larger-than-life-size statuary, vintage plumbing fixtures including brass and porcelain faucets, paintings and posters, knives, frames, silver and kitchenware, books, musical instruments, prints, maps, Asian art objects, porcelain, antique and vintage toys, antique linens and rugs…

La Vallée Village
La Vallée Village is a sprawling discount designer fashion outlet mall just beyond the city. You can usually find a few items with discounts on top of the regular marked down prices. With more than 110 shops filled with other sought-after French, European, and American designers – Givenchy, Isabel Marant, Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors, The Kooples, Burberry, Valentine, Ferragamo, Armani…

Haussmann Boulevard
Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps Haussmann, two legendary 19th century Belle Epoch Paris department stores or grands magasins, sit next to each other on Boulevard Haussmann and cover several city blocks just north of the Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. Both stores are packed with in-store boutiques featuring most of the same luxury designers you’ll see in the Golden Triangle and along FSH/Rue Saint-Honoré, plus more affordable mid-range designers.

More stores and boutiques line the broad avenues and smaller streets surrounding the department stores. Avenue de l’Opéra offers an especially rich selection of shoes, bags, books, clothing, fashion accessories, chocolates, tea, bakeries, and gourmet foods on offer. Although price ranges vary, many of the stores are surprisingly affordable.

Palais Royal Arcades
Across Rue de Rivoli from the Louvre but hidden from sight behind a 17th century palace, now office space for the Ministry of Culture, is an almost secret oasis missed by most Paris visitors: an inner courtyard filled with a whimsical sculpture display by Daniel Buren, a central passage with a large fountain filled with huge shiny chrome balls, rows of carefully shaped trees, and the serenely elegant Palais Royal Garden (Jardin Palais Royal) surrounded by covered arcades. Tucked away behind the arcades are boutiques, restaurants (including 3-Michelin star Le Grand Véfour), and theaters frequented by stylish Parisians since the early 18th century.

Aside from a couple of designers such as Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs, most of the 40 or so boutiques focus on specialty items: antique silk kimonos, vintage Chanel and other clothing at Didier Ludot, antique coins and medals, perfume, hand-carved canes, exquisite jewelry, beautifully crafted handmade leather bags. This is where you’ll find some of the most exclusive shops in Paris for one-of-a-kind treasures.

Les Halles
Although the large centuries-old wholesale food market at Les Halles in the eastern end of the 1st arrondissement was demolished in 1971 to make way for an underground shopping mall, remnants of the area’s food culture remain. Here you can find kitchenware in its many forms – copper pots, fancy cake baking tins, wooden spoons, Opinel knives, French wine openers, authentic macaroon baking pans, Le Creuset and Staub enameled cookware…

Bastille
Behind Place de la Bastille in the 11th arrondissement lies a section of Paris favored by furniture makers and woodworkers since the 12th century. Relatively cheap rents (for Paris) have continued to make this area attractive to artisans and craftspeople, independent fashion designers and quirky shops, although rising rents are changing the retail mix.

Rue de Faubourg Saint-Antoine provides the main access to this increasingly trendy area from Place de la Bastille. The maze of ancient passages, back alleys, and interior courtyards, which house as many traditional workshops and ateliers, and maintain their status as centers of creativity and commerce. Discover new and emerging fashion trends, designers, and concepts, and perhaps even seeing artisans at work. Start by walking east on Rue de Faubourg Saint-Antoine. In between all the jeans stores, you may spot a few interesting places, including furniture stores and design studios.

Village Saint-Paul
Over 80 artisans, galleries, boutiques, antique shops, and bistros make Village Saint-Paul one of the most charming places to shop for specialty items in Paris. This thriving enclave of independent artisans and boutique owners is tucked away in a quiet corner of the 4th arrondissement’s Saint Paul Quartier, originally the site of a women’s monastery founded in 630. Like the rest of the Marais, the Village has protected heritage status which helps preserve its medieval atmosphere.

Village Saint Paul is actually a maze of interconnected courtyards and passages, so quiet once you’re inside that you will forget you’re in Paris. Each boutique, workshop, and gallery is unique and while prices for the most precious objects and art reflect the quality, other items are surprisingly affordable.

Rue Saint-Dominique
Between Avenue Bosquet and Blvd de la Tour-Maubourg, 7th arr, metro: La Tour-Maubourg – Nice selection of boutiques featuring mostly French designer labels, ranging from affordable to very expensive.

Place des Victoires
Between 1st and 2nd arrondissement, with elegant luxury and high-end designer boutiques, with interesting small shops on the side streets, especially those north of the square.

Île Saint Louis
Interesting and eclectic mix of art galleries, gift shops, chocolate and gourmet food shops, clothing boutiques, and antique dealers along this tiny island’s main street, Rue Saint-Louis en Île.

Rue de Rivoli
Between the Place de la Concorde and Louvre-Rivoli metro stations – Everything from souvenirs to global chains to high-end fashion and art.

Bercy Village
Former wine market, with 42 storehouses re-purposed as boutiques, restaurants, and cinemas. Next to the Seine River in the 12th arrondissement.