Image by Pierre BISMUTH

There is a walk I like the most in Paris, it is the one from Bastille, the site of the former prison took by the people of Paris in 1789, to the City Hall (Hotel de Ville of Paris) by passing through the quarter of Le Marais. This quarter is called the marsh because it was a real swamp at the beginning of the IXth century before being used as pasture in the XIIth century.

So, from Bastille, you can easily walk on the Beaumarchais Boulevard, and then turn left on the Rue du Pas de la Mule and arrive at the Place des Vosges, the most beautiful place in Paris. Passing by the art galleries, you reach on your left the Rue de Turenne, where you will find lots of clothes shops, with prices you never imagine in Paris. Indeed, there are lots of manufacturers in this district of Paris.

At number 41 in the same street, there is the Bernard Garbo Shop, that you have to know if you are looking for suits at €150 or very trendy shirts at €95 for 3. The prices are quite low because they are manufactured and they sell the same merchandise to other shops.

On sale, you can take €50 off on every suits or jackets (but not on shirts or ties). Go there if you want to mix a wonderful promenade with fashionable shopping!

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Bernard Garbo | Relaxing, Shopping
41, rue de Turenne | Marais/Bastille | +33142720967
10:00 – 19:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

Between Porte d’orléans and Denfert Rochereau, you can walk on the Avenue du General Leclerc, named after the famous General who enters Paris and freed the city from the occupation on the 25th of august 1944.

And, on this very shopping street, you’ll get to very famous shops like Sephora or Zara, but you will also find one clothing shop where men can finally find some good stuff at honest prices: Father and Sons. At the beginning, this brand made only shirts and ties, but now, you can find lots of very nice 100% wool suits for prices which can vary from €245 to €345.

Ok, in my kind of profession we like these types of clothes, as we are obliged to wear them for work, but you will also discover a whole sportswear department, with really nice and up-to-date leather jacket or very comfortable sweaters.

There are several possibilities to pay less than the clothes are worth: you can wait for the summer, winter or floating sales, or register in the files, and received invitation for private sales, which begin before the sales and provide you right away with 30% discount. Don’t hesitate to visit the website to see if it can suit you !

By the way, the sales in Paris lasts till Valentine’s Days, and you can profit from very good bargains in shops or on internet.

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Father & Sons | Shopping
51, Avenue du General Leclerc | Chinatown/Denfert | +33143272086
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 19:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

When you are in rue de Turenne (where you can find the shop Bernard Garbo), and you are heading towards the Seine, you will arrive at a crossroad where, on your left, there is the Place des Vosges and its Art Galleries (see the Art galleries article) and on your right, there is the Rue des Francs Bourgeois, one of the best streets in Paris for lots of reasons.

This street, located in the middle of the Gay and the Jewish quarter and marking the limits between the 3rd and the 4th districts of Paris, offers a number of amazing shops.

You can practically find most of the most fashionable clothes brands, like PePe Jeans, Camper, Aridza Bross, and a lot more. Besides, you can enter in a real nice shop, Kiehl’s, in case of you need some cream for anywhere on your body!

You can also visit the antiquarians in this street or in the adjacent ones, or the bookshops and other stores which sells goods for your home.

And if you are bored with shopping, you can go and visit the Carnavalet Museum (check the Carnavalet Museum article). This museum is dedicated to the history of Paris, from its origins (a prehistoric canoe is from 4600 years before JC) to today, and presents lots of works linked to Paris.

Rue des Francs Bourgeois quarter is a place in Paris where you can stay all day long to explorate the adjacents streets of the Marais District.

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Rue des Francs Bourgeois | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping
Rue des francs bourgeois | Marais/Bastille
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

If you visit the Grands Boulevards Quarters, you can start from the Place de la Concorde, and then take the Rue Royale to the Madeleine Church to arrive at the Pinacothèque Museum.

But, just behind Madeleine Church, there is a shopping street called Rue Tronchet, which leads to the Printemps Department store. And, on this street, between “Comptoir des Cotonniers”, classy clothes for women, and “La Carpe”, where you can find anything for your kitchen, there is a shop you have to know if you want to buy wallets, bags or suitcases at a discount. This store is La Maroquinerie Parisienne.

LMP, created in 1947, has the particularity to offer a discount between 10% and 20% depending on the brands, just because the main shop is at the second floor, and there is no lift. But you can already try the first shop on the street level and ask if it is necessary for you to go up. The shop contains more than 20.000 articles and sells the most known French and international brands. It’s a fantastic place to find presents or to change your style. 

I have to be perfectly honest with you, the saleswomen are typical from Paris, that is to say that are sometimes not very nice to people, as they are in hurry. But this little inconvenience is largely compensated by the prices they offer! 

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La Maroquinerie Parisienne | Shopping
30, rue Tronchet | Grands Boulevards | +33147428340
Mon 13:00 – 19:00, Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

As we redid our apartment, because we were preparing for our third child on the 22nd of September 2011, we created a new room for us. This way, everyone in the house will have their own room. And of course, we have to redecorate some rooms, and find some objects nobody has.

And I think what we found, on the advice of a friend of us, will amuse you. Indeed, you can want some very nice lamps, or you can want the absolute lamp, and Mat&Jewski is here for you.

Located in the 12th district of Paris, you’ll find this showroom under the Arts Viaduc, not too far away from the Lyon Station. Under this Viaduc, there are lots of workshops which present their manufactures.

Mat&Jewski is at the 83, avenue Daumesnil and propose some incredible lamps made out of real feathers. You can have either suspensions, bed lamp or floor lamp in several colors such as white, purple, red or yellow. Of course, it is not cheap and the lamps are priced from 545 euros, but even if you can’t afford them, it is worth to see them and wander around the quarter, Bastille is just close !

Finally, my wife loves the shop so much that we have now a magnificent ceiling lamp made with feathers just above our bed.

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Mat&Jewski | Shopping | Lamps from € 490
83, avenue Daumesnil | Marais/Bastille | +33142003765
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:30, Sat 11:00 – 19:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

As you probably know, I’m a father for the third time. And, if you’re a parent like me, you should have the same problem as all parents: find nice clothes, not to expensive and “childproof” for children from 3 months to 10 years old.

So I decided to make you discover the French brand “Alice à Paris”. You are going to love it! There are three Alice à Paris shops located in Paris, but we chose this time to go to the one located in the 6th district, near the Luxembourg and The Odeon Theater of Europe, in which you can find lots of plays in any European language (other than French of course)! We Parisians, love this district, as the heart of the Capital, and I’m sure you will enjoy it the same.

But let’s talk about our subject: in this shop, you will find shirts for less than €20 (or €11 when it’s part of the previous collections), tee-shirts for €11 (€8 on sale) and trousers or skirts for €28 (or €15 on sale).

And of course, the design of these clothes is quite original. It is just the opposite of what you can find in H&M for example. The colors are sober, but really smart, and the shapes of the clothes are very trendy. We are very fond of slim trousers for kids.

You can also try the shop located at rue Condorcet, in the 9th district if you live in the right bank of the Seine.

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Alice à Paris | Shopping
9, rue de l’Odéon | Quartier Latin | +33142225389
Mon 14:00 – 19:00, Tue – Sat 11:00 – 19:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

Between Palais-Royal and Gare de l’Est, there are about 20 covered passages that testify to a certain era of Parisian history, when upper classes looked for elegant “streets” to walk, to shop and at the same time to be sheltered from bad weather and muddy streets without sidewalks. Mostly built in the early 19th century, these passages were the ancestors of our modern shopping centres.

Passage Brady is one of these, and probably the most exotic. Connecting Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis with Turkish restaurants to Boulevard de Strasbourg, with its theatres and African hairdressers, it’s mostly occupied by cheap Indian and Pakistani restaurants, the firsts of which were founded in the 1970′s by immigrants from Pondicherry, a former French territory in India.

Fragrances of spices and incense escape from exotic food stores and make this lively and colourful place very attractive to visitors, especially on weekdays (on Sundays, only restaurants are open and the rest of the area is less lively).

Going South on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, near the arch (Porte Saint-Denis), you will find another example of such passages. Passage du Prado, an L shape, less exotic and preserved, still has a certain charm, and is a good place if you need cheap clothes, to rent Bollywood DVDs, a cheap haircut or if you want to mix with the local crowd and try Mauritian cuisine in one of the numerous fast-food outlets of the passage.

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Passage Brady (& Prado) | Relaxing, Shopping, Restaurants (Indian) | Haircut € 6
Passage Brady | Grands Boulevards
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Adam Roberts

I’m far from being a chocoholic, and normally have no problems resisting the temptations of the exuberant window displays of the traditional Paris chocolatier. My tastes are more geared towards the simple and natural, and I find the pralines and ganaches offered by most establishments to be over-rich and slightly sickly.

Via Chocolat is a different kind of establishment though, being a showroom (or Cho’room as they describe themselves) for a constantly changing selection of the best independent chocolate producers in the country. The showroom is simple and slick, with photos of the producers being more visible than the chocolates themselves which are hidden secretly away in sliding drawers.

The chocolates are sold in a wide range of box sizes, with staff making a selection according to your personal preferences. Some are infused with teas, fruits or flowers, some have a slight kick of chilli or ginger whilst others offer a twist of the truly original, such as a warm aroma of honey or a crunch of salt. They feel homemade when you bite into them, the thin crust cracking and giving way to smooth, whipped centres.

As well as the individual chocolates, bars are also available ranging from classic strong dark chocolate to the astonishing ‘aperitif’ bar which is packed with popcorn, nuts and dried tomatoes!

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Via Chocolat | Shopping, Snacks | Tablet € 3.00
5 Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle | Montmartre/Clichy | +33145261273
Tue – Fri 13:00 – 19:30, Sat 10:30 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Meg Zimbeck

Le Marché des Enfants Rouges is reputedly the oldest food market in Paris, built under the rule of Louis XIII around 1615. The name, which literally means the Market of the Red Children, refers to the red uniform worn by the children of the orphanage that was located nearby.

Still marked out by a small iron gate off the rue de Bretagne in the now rather chic upper Marais district, today the market is alive with the rich, vibrant colours and smells of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers and the sounds of market clatter and chatter. Olive oil, charcuterie, wine, cheese and other such wholesome delights are also available.

The market is an ideal spot for lunch too. Freshly cooked dishes can be bought from the various stalls (Moroccan, French, Italian, sushi, cheeses, meats and so on) and eaten at the communal trestle tables at either end of the market.

There are also a couple of small restaurants, such as L’estaminet which serves simple, homely French food such as Parmentier (shepherd’s pie). A plentiful Brunch is available on Sunday for € 20.00 too.

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Marché des Enfants Rouges | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Varied)
39 rue de Bretagne | Marais/Bastille
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 14:00 & 16:00 – 20:00, Sun 09:00 – 14:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Harriet O'Brien

I love a second-hand book shop. I’m not sure whether it’s the musty smell, the odd-looking man lurking as if he has nowhere else to go (and more than likely he doesn’t), or the weird and very wonderful things you can pick up on the cheap (cookery book where everything looks as if its coated in slime, DIY book in which every piece of advice is now illegal or extremely dangerous, calendar from 1990… to name just some of the treats I’ve come across).

Also, these places always make me feel (smugly) like I’m cheating the system somehow. Like when you find exactly what you want and its on sale, but not like a normal shop sale, more like 90 per cent off. And it’s a book, so somehow just a little bit better. Glorious.

Anyway, in Paris, second-hand book shops are both better and worse than the ones at home (mine’s the UK). Better as there are so few of them and English/US literature is such a treat when you live abroad, worse because the books can be so shockingly expensive and the selection is often poor.

Hurrah then for Tea and Tattered Pages which has both a wide and varied selection of stock, all at reasonable prices.

Its a little off the usual tourist track out in residential Montparnasse but well worth the journey. What’s more, the lovely American lady who runs the shop will serve you English tea, scones and carrot cake in the tiny tea-room at the back. Fab.

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Tea and Tattered Pages | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks
24 rue Mayet | Montparnasse | +33140659435
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 19:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris