Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
The flagship stores of big luxury brands rub elbows here with independent boutiques and concept stores notable for their fashion cachet. The fabulous Rue St-Honoré—a bastion of Parisian chic—is the area’s retail spine, but the Marché St-Honoré and the Faubourg provide tempting detours. Whatever you do, don't miss the gorgeous Palais-Royal gardens, where flashy fashion stars mix with the discrete purveyors of handmade gloves.
This bookseller formerly associated with chain WHSmith has stepped out on its own with this newer, independent shop that remains a must-visit for Anglophone bibliophiles. You won't just find a multitude of travel and language guides, cookbooks, and fiction for adults and children—it also has the best selection of foreign magazines and newspapers in Paris. Upstairs, enjoy a delightful afternoon tea in George Washington's former Paris apartment.
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.
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.
