A high-class restaurant on the world's most famous avenue, Ladurée (founded in 1862) also boasts a bakery. You can try the famous “macarons” (moist jam-filled cookies), a specialty of this establishment, or enjoy the raw and cooked vegetable salad along with a variable of other dishes served for lunch and dinner.
Despite the invasion of big name stores such as Gap, Zara, and H&M, the flagship branch of Galeries Lafayette, along with nearby Printemps, has remained one of the last bastions of Parisian chic. Built in 1894, this shoppers' paradise has continually reinvented itself and kept customers coming back. The resplendent main hall has an impressive array of perfumes, accessories and other products. The department store stocks all the best designer labels and also has its own deluxe grocery counter, restaurants, a travel agency, fashion shows, Internet access and more. Its incredible Christmas window displays are a Parisian institution.
Com dois quilômetros de extensão e repleta de árvores, a Champs-Elysees tornou-se como o centro oficial de festividades e desfiles oficiais. É uma espécie de imã para turistas e multidões que gostam de passar suas noites percorrendo a pitoresca avenida. Os diversos cinemas, cafés e restaurantes convidam os visitantes a descansar suas pernas por algumas horas, depois de ser muito cansado por ter andado entre as lojas de marca, os bancos e embaixadas situadas em suas redondezas. A avenida foi originalmente criada em 1667 pelo jardineiro de Luís XIV, com a intenção de melhorar a vista do Jardin des Tuileries A avenida foi implementada no final do século 18 para ligar o Place de la Concorde ao Arco do Triunfo.
The world's biggest flea market welcomes 200,000 visitors each weekend. You name it and this place will have it: furniture, pictures, new and second-hand clothes, all at rock-bottom prices (especially if you're a dab hand at haggling). There's a jovial fairground atmosphere with the aroma of food wafting around and people crowding round the stalls, hoping to pick up a 1970s leather jacket or a rare Louis XV chest of drawers. Make sure you have cash on you, as stallholders seldom accept credit cards and the nearest available cash machine is always lined out.
With baking in his genes and a lifetime of experience, it's no surprise that Pierre Hermé's eponymous venture has won him many accolades. From French Pastry Chef Of The Year to Presidential honors, the patisserie is at the forefront of 21st Century pastry making. He is most famous for his colorful macarons, which must be tried when in the city. Cakes, cookies, candied dried fruits and other sweets are sold in inventive flavors like balsamic vinegar, olives and cheese. A designer of all things sweet, indulge in his line of seasonal confectionery at this shop.
Esta loja de departamento fica no interior de um monumento histórico, e as senhoras vão enloquecer com a colecção de roupa, jóias e outros acessórios em exibição. As marcas mais famosas e modernas têm um canto na Printemps, entre elas são: Chanel, Dior, Gucci, YSL, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney e Louis Vuitton. O quarto andar é dedicado à promoção de novos desenhadores como Zadig & Voltaire, Isabelle Marrant e Vanessa Bruno. Para os homens, há uma secção separada no sexto andar. Para a casa, vai encontrar artigos domésticos, porcelana, talheres e qualquer outra coisa que poderia pensar em colocar na sua lista de casamento. Falando dos casamentos, visite o salão para provar seu futuro vestido de noiva. Se cuidar-se depois de fazer essas compras, o Printemps tem seus próprios salões de beleza e spa. Que mais poderia eventualmente oferecer o Printemps? Uma mostra de moda todas as quintas feiras. Os fãs da gastronomia também têm a oportunidade de preencher as suas cestas com delícias na Printemps Gourmet. Faça uma pausa no restaurante ou num café antes de embarcar e apanhar o seu próximo vício da moda parisiense.
Petrossian is a historic gourmet food shop that specializes in caviar. Since 1920, the proprietors have helped gastronomes select the caviar variety that best suits their tastes. This shop also sells exotic Russian and French seafood specialties and high-quality liquors. Watch as the staff delicately slices smoked salmon before your eyes and sample foie gras, smoked eel, or smoked toothfish before making your purchase. The luxury shop's magnificent interiors feature golden chandeliers with candle holders, vintage wood panels, and wooden racks filled with vodka bottles. For a fine dining experience, head to the adjacent Restaurant Petrossian 'Le 144', managed by the same company.
Those who are rioting, fussing, running and playing the whole day need clothes that can take it! Shirts, dresses and underwear by Petit Bateau do. Additionally they have what it takes to be a favourite: blue and white striped or in bright uni colours they suit every child. Parents love the selection of high-quality clothing and underwear for their babies and kids.
Part prepared-foods store, part restaurant, Truffes Folies concentrates, as its name suggests, on the French favorite: the truffle. The menu highlights this most revered of ingredients, with classics like a simple truffle-studded omelet as well as more adventurous dishes like scallops and shrimp with melted truffled leeks. Even desserts have a truffled hue, with black truffle ice cream and truffled crème brulée. After eating, you'll want to stop by the épicerie (prepared food section), with many items to buy and bring home with you. Truffle-infused specialty oils, foie gras, and even a specialty infused apéritif beverage with truffle are only some of what's available. Of course, you can also purchase truffles in the store. Whether you're in Paris during black, white or summer truffle season, any fans of the truffle are sure to enjoy a meal here.
If you are a fan of cheese, this place will leave you breathless. This iconic store is a cheese connoisseur's heaven. In business since 1950, the staff's expertise will help you learn about the different qualities and types of cheese. Attend one of their tastings and understand truly the world of cheese gastronomy, from the production process to presenting and eating to preserving.
You may be marveling at Paris proudest monument (the Eiffel Tower) when you have a craving for a distinctly non-Parisian food (peanut butter). What to do? A 10-minute walk away on rue de Grenelle stands a tiny American grocery store. Real McCoy is chock-full of Americas favorite brand foods, such as Newman s Own, Quaker Oats, and Hellman s products. The candy shelf is tactfully placed at kid-eye level and is piled with Gobstoppers, Starburst, Reese s and more. As an added bonus, customers can browse and buy kitschy toys and games from the American childhood of yesteryear: rubber band balls, those straws you can bend into glasses, and snap bracelets. - Betsy Mikel