Viator Paris

For shopaholics, Paris’s marché aux puces (flea markets) are at the top of the must-do list when visiting. But even those who have no interest in shopping shouldn’t discount the flea markets entirely; they can be a fascinating look into the quotidian life of Parisians throughout history, and a fine walk outside on a nice weekend morning!

You may have forsaken the printed word for your iPad screen; perhaps the books in your home now serve as doorstops. But spend even a short amount of time in Paris, and you’ll see that reading books in cafes is a Parisian stereotype for a reason. If all those gorgeous people with their noses buried in books has inspired you, then you should find what you’re looking for in one of these fantastic bookshops in Paris.

Do you love Paris, but hate the long lines? Would you like to explore the City of Light without bumping into families from back home at every turn? Then you want to come in the winter, when the steamy windows of warm cafes beckon and you have the city’s sites pretty much to yourself.

Living history and written history, the famous Parisian bookshop Galignani has both. With family roots going back to the first printing presses in Venice in the 16th century when Simone Galignani published a Latin grammar book, Galignani has been an important name for books since they became mass produced.

Paris is a city where you want to shop. Perhaps it’s the fashionable French people you see passing the café window as you sip your café au lait. Or perhaps it’s all those Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Tautou movies which make us want to be equally stylish. But after those first few forays into the department stores and boutiques, it all begins to seem a bit of a burden on the credit card. So here are my top four tips for bargain shopping in Paris.

Even if you know very little about fashion, you are probably aware that Paris is kind of the epicenter for it. Labels such as Hermes call Paris their home, and these bastions of haute couture are sought after by fashionistas the world over. If you’re visiting Paris and have an eye for luxury apparel, you’ll want to spend part of your stay window shopping at the very least.

104 Centquatre in Paris is an artists’ studio and exhibition space that’s reenergizing artistic life in Montmartre. Once home to visionaries such as Picasso, Dali, Monet, van Gogh, Montmartre inevitably became trendy and gentrified and too expensive for artists to inhabit.

The Shakespeare and Co. Bookshop place is one of my favorite haunts in Paris. It has a wonderful location on a small street, Rue Bucherie, beside the Seine, within eyeballing distance of Notre Dame, and close to the crepes and red wines of the Latin Quarter.