Paris Shopping - Stops, Stores & Best Buys

Shopping in Paris is a dream come true for many people. The city's streets are filled with everything from upscale luxuries to incredible bargains and shops selling tasty French treats and delicacies.

Regional street markets are the core of the Parisian shopping experiences You can find more than 75 different open air markets in Paris at any  time of the year. However, some markets only take place during certain times. If you are here on a Wednesday or Sunday, try La Bastille for fresh fruit and cheese. If you are here during December, visit the Saint Lazare for the annual Christmas market. You can also visit the oldest market is Paris, which is the Marché des Enfants Rouges.

Paris is the home of some of the most famous shopping places in the world. The Champs Elysées is as much of a tourist attraction as it is a shopping area. Here is where you can find blocks of upscale shops of all kinds. Bring good walking shoes and prepare to spend some money. Another famous place to shop in Paris is Le Forum des Halles. It used to be a market, but is now a shopping center. This is the place to come if you want to get more less costly items and makes an ideal stop on a cold winter day as it is largely underground.

Another Parisian tradition is bargain hunting. The Parisians love shopping and finding something special at a great price. While you'll find lots of places to shop for discount items, the best places to go are the flea markets. There are three major flea markets in Paris: Porte de Vanves, the Porte de Montreui and Le Puces in Saint Ouen. The latter is one of the largest flea markets in the country and in Europe. Les Puces is over a hundred years old and has over two-thousand shops to browse and Porte de Vanves is known for for offering quality bric-a-brac, while Montreuil is for quality second-hand clothing.

Editor's note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about areas to shopping in Paris.