Of course the Paris Grands Magasins – the Galeries Lafayette, the terrace of which we visited last Summer, and the Printemps department store – are only minutes away from your Hotel Louvre Marsollier, but if you are willing to cross the Seine river, we would like to take you on a no-less prestigious Left Bank shopping adventure.
The narrow streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés offer an ever-changing variety of shopping options. Between the river and the Boulevard, art galleries occupy every nook and corner around the Paris Beaux-Arts school. Nestled among them is also the Mariage Frères tea parlor, with its exquisite collection of tea blends, and an outlet of the Ladurée pastry shop, the internationally renowned macaron crafter.
Around the Saint-Germain church stands a wooden Christmas market, enticing you with the delicious smells of grilled chestnuts, crèpes and hot wine. On the Boulevard and beyond, all major luxury designers have opened a store, alongside many intimate, exclusive boutiques. Max Mara, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Maje… the Saint-Sulpice block holds an answer to every fashion crave as well as two pastry artisans, Pierre Hermé and Gérard Mulot, who, according to many, outshine Ladurée.
Whenever you get hungry, or cold, or need a rest from the shopping excitement, have a chocolat chaud at the Café de Flore, where Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir used to spend hours in conversation and contemplation, or sit down for a hearty lunch at the Brasserie Lipp, another legendary Saint-Germain landmark.
And to resume your shopping, Le Bon Marché, the oldest department store in Paris, is only one street away…
