THE DEPARTMENT STORES
KEY POINTS:
Galeries Lafayette may not have invented retail therapy but the famous store has turned it into an art form. The art noveau store (40 bld Haussmann) is jaw-droppingly beautiful and, supposedly, the second most-visited attraction in Paris after the Louvre. It is 68,000 square metres of shopping nirvana with more than 260 fashion labels, a staggering array of cosmetics and a brilliant gourmet section.
When you're not shopping there are spas to visit, an art gallery, a Maxim's tea salon (just one of the 15 restaurants), Champagne bars, even a McDonald's. It's all totally overwhelming. Perhaps the best place to start is the roof, which has a 360 degree view of Paris, including one of the best spots to see the Sacre Coeur.
The Left Bank's Le Bon Marche (24 rue de Sevres) isn't too shabby either. It's often considered the first department store in the world. The translation means good market or deal, but not as in cheap. In-store boutiques include Louis Vuitton and Prada, so it's hardly bargain central. Again, this is like a self-contained city complete with a bridal service, valet parking, personal stylists and a culture department.
THE CHANEL BOUTIQUE
Possibly fashion's most famous address (29-31 rue Cambon), this is just along from the original site of Coco Chanel's first atelier at number 21. Step inside and the lovely staff (who outnumber customers four to one this particular morning) are all ready with a cheery "Bonjour madame" as you work your way through the rooms over different levels. I got a thrill stroking the current season's stars and stripes dress and blindingly neon orange totes. I didn't embarrass myself looking for a price. It's that old drill: if you have to ask ...
For those of lesser means, myself included, you can walk away with a bottle of No. 5, a pair of sunglasses or even a far more economic lipstick. Essential viewing and you can tell the staff are used to people who just want to come and breathe in the Chanel-scented air.
THE FOOD HALLS & DELICATESSENS
If you're used to popping into the local 4 Square, La Grande Epicerie (38 rue de Sevres) is a mind-blowing food sanctuary. Everything you never knew you needed in the gourmet world is here from three-coloured, striped, sombrero-shaped pasta shapes to a dozen variations of pink lemonade. There's an incredible selection of cheeses (at least 200), choice of wines, breads, pastries, fresh produce and row-upon-row of food delights from all corners of the world. Glamorous French people who look like they hardly eat are busy pushing teeny trolleys around the store.
To worship at the altar of high-end delis, you need to get to Fauchon, if only for its history. It all started in 1886 with Auguste Fauchon. Branches have popped up since but the flagship is 26 Place de la Madeleine. Not for nothing is this dubbed "Paris on your lips". It's easily spotted by its bright pink signage. Behind the glass cases is total sensory overload.
SEPHORA
For beauty junkies, this is the best fix - ever. Sephora (70-72 avenue des Champs Elysees) started life as a single fragrance store in Limoges in 1969 but when LVMH bought it, it quickly became one of the seven wonders of the beauty world, with branches all over France and top international cities. This flagship store is 1500 square metres of wall-to-wall fragrance and cosmetics. It's beauty's equivalent to Charlie's Chocolate Factory.
Men are well catered for, too. Most of the left wall is given over to male grooming. Almost every brand is represented here from big names Estee Lauder, Lancome and Clarins through to the smaller boutique ones such as Tom Ford's fragrance, Stella McCartney's skincare and Iman's cosmetics to mention a few.
JOHN GALLIANO
Galliano may have been born in Gibraltar and raised in London but France has claimed him. He's lived in Paris since 1991 and been the insanely talented designer for Dior for a decade now. Visit his eponymous label's store (384 rue St Honore) for the window alone. The day we visit, it is a testament to his brilliant imagination - an eccentric mix of swordfish, silver mannequins in newspaper-print knickerbockers and bright orange life jackets, a miniature carousel installation, fragments of a beach scene with marram grass and rustic picket fences partially covered in foil. It's the theory of beautiful chaos. And that's only the outside. Inside are Galliano's stunning fluid, draped gowns.
BAR HEMINGWAY
This bar at Hotel Ritz (15 place Vendome) is where acclaimed drinker (and writer) Ernest Hemingway ordered a drink during the liberation of Paris in 1944 to the sound of gunfire from the retreating German soldiers in the streets. Sit back in a leather armchair, admire the wood panelling and order a single malt whisky, just like man himself used to.
Before the hotel became famous as the scene where Princess Diana's fatal car ride began it was most often referred to as the home of Coco Chanel, who lived in a room from the 1930s.
CLIGNANCOURT
If you're partial to antiques and flea market-shopping, then the Clignancourt markets (also known as the Puces de Saint-Ouen) are paradise on Earth. You get off the metro and stumble through a market that could be in Brixton - or anywhere else in the world for that matter - full of vegetables, cheap tat and a lot of Converse sneakers. It's best to ask for directions.
Turn left after the bridge and you're down a street that doesn't show much more promise, until you start ducking down the lanes and alleys and then the enormous scale of what you're witnessing hits you. There are purpose-built lock-ups that open from Saturday to Monday. Some feel like Arthur Daley's den while others look like tiny rooms at Versailles. People will say "Oh, Clignancourt, there are no bargains any more, it's for the tourists". That's fine. There may be 21,000 euro ($44,000) chandeliers that are mainly shipped off to Russia and Arab states, but it still seems comparable to prices in Auckland. And the choice!
A vintage Cacharel mini for 39 euro? How about a Burberry trench for 150 euro? Or there's the place that specialises in taxidermy and skeletons from animals that have died naturally, the woman assures me. She points to the lion. From a circus. Died of a heart attack. This may sound a bit Generation Game but other notables include: a 19th-century mahogany bateau bed for 500 euro (the owner reckons it would cost 100 euro or so to ship), a 17th-century lemonwood secretaire for 2000 euro, Sonia Rykiel espadrilles for 45 euro, a full matador's outfit for 300 euro, a carousel horse, early 20th-century nightwear. Whatever you want, it's here.
PIERRE HERME'S MACAROONS
In Paris, macaroons matter. Serious debate rages over whether the world famous chain Laduree's are better than Pierre Herme's (72 rue Bonaparte). I'm in the Herme camp, as is most of the city, judging from the queue outside the St Germain store. They are ecstasy - definitely last dinner material. Be prepared to buy a lot because no one should have to choose between the rose, framboise and letchi, pistache and framboise, Americano pamplemousse, peche au safran et abricot, rose or jasmin.
Monsieur Herme hasn't been dubbed the Picasso of Pastry for nothing and was awarded the Legion of Honour last year alongside a renowned French journalist, a cancer specialist and singer Enrico Macias. Of course, Laduree's macaroons are pretty good as well and his magnificent Champs Elysees site is credited as being the birthplace of the double-decker version of the egg white and almond confection. Taking tea there is recommended. Think of it as macaroon comparison research.
CHOCOLATIERS
You'll lust after French chocolate after a guided gourmet tour with Muguet Becharat of Saint Germain's best chocolate shops. Becharat runs the tours through www.parissweetparis.com and is a passionate foodie. It doesn't take long to discover that French chocolate is dark and has a thin, easily penetrated exterior, a ganache interior and is magnificent. Good chocolatiers treat each chocolate if it were a work of art. The temperature in the shops is a steady 15-16C and the assistants have a ritual for getting the chocolate to you in one well-presented piece.
La Maison du Chocolat (225 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore), A la Reine Astrid (24 rue du Cherche-Midi) and the Belgian Pierre Marcolini (89 rue de Seine) are all fantastic, but if you like your chocolatier with a bit of rock-star glamour, go directly to Patrick Roger (108 bld St-Germain). He won the best chocolate award in 2007 and is practically a god to the French for his "chocolate as sculpture" works.
In the window this particular day is a metre-high chocolate teddy bear and what appear to be square grey paving stones. No. They're praline chocolates resembling the stones that were thrown at police during the 1968 riots. What's more, Roger has "enfant terrible" written all over him.
When the cool chocolatier isn't creating his intellectual works, he's off riding motorbikes and posing for his website in tennis gear. A quick trip to Angelina (226 rue de Rivoli) is also in order for passionate chocolate-goers. The famous tearooms, with an extravagant decor that harks back to gentler times, has a reputation for hot chocolate.
POILANE
The phenomenal bread made using only stone-ground flour, water and sea salt and the died-and-gone-to-heaven apple tarts of this legendary bakery (8 rue de Cherche-Midi) are all made in the ancient basement below the store. The day we visit, senior baker Pierre Lory is sliding one of the famous sourdough country miches into the old wood-fired oven. It's stifling.
In summer it can reach up to 45C. But Monsieur Lory doesn't break a sweat. Pierre Poilane started baking the business in 1932 and forced his son Lionel into the business in 1970. He overhauled the method with "retro innovation", meaning everything was done the traditional way except the hours of kneading, which is now done by machine.
Lionel Poilane died in a helicopter accident in 2002, not before opening an industrial bakery using identical methods to the ones at the two Paris sites, turning out 15,000 loaves a day, which can be couriered anywhere in the world. Daughter Apollonia runs the business now. Best souvenir: a cushion that bears a striking resemblance to the round sourdough.
THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE
There's a legendary area that runs from the avenues Montaigne and George V to the rue Royale, rue du Faubourg St-Honore and rue St-Honore. It's the Holy Grail of posh shopping. Hermes, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Chloe, Givenchy, Gucci, Longchamp, Yves Saint Laurent, Etro - you get the idea. Whip into Lanvin (22 rue du Faubourg St-Honore) to pay tribute to the genius of designer Alber Elbaz and finger some of his impeccable garments - a near-religious experience. But the one you shouldn't leave Paris without seeing is Balenciaga (10 avenue George V).
It hardly matters that Nicolas Ghesquiere has reinvented the house, making it one of the most influential labels going when you gaze in wonder at the interior that incorporates sparkling coloured lights and a cave animated by asteroids. Such things really do make shopping one of the seven wonders of the world.
TEMPLES OF FRAGRANCE
Admittedly, Diptyque (34 bld Saint-Germain) candles are easy enough to get in Auckland but it's still worth a trip to the Left Bank to see where it all began in 1961, when three friends opened for business. The interior's lime-painted walls, dark wood and oriental rugs now house 55 fragrances. You're in good company too, since Karl Lagerfeld and the royal family are devotees.
Even the exterior of Annick Goutal (14 rue de Castiglione) is enchanting. Pretty pictures of elephants take over a large part of the window. Poke your head inside and the smell is equally good. Goutal, a former model discovered by David Bailey, may have died in 1999 but her business is in daughter Camille's capable hands. There are more than 35 fragrances today, including one of the earliest Eau de Camille.
And for sight-seeing, the redesigned Guerlain store (68 avenue des Champs-Elysees) is almost as good as a day-trip to Versailles. Famed interior designer Andree Putman had a hand in the three floors of glittering gold leaf-tiled mosaics and chandeliers. It takes buying a bottle of Shalimar to a whole different level. But, if you have a spare 30,000 euro and up to six months to wait, you could get a bespoke Guerlain fragrance.
REPETTO
The Rue de la Paix is the most expensive piece of real estate on the French Monopoly board. It's been the home of many jewellers and Repetto (22 rue de la Paix), the brilliant dance shoemakers founded by Rose Repetto in 1956. They're the last word in ballet flats for women wanting time out from their heels. On Saturday the store is full of pretty French girls buying their slippers for ballet class. And there's even a ballet barre in-situ for them to put the shoes through their steps.
SONIA RYKIEL
An institution in Paris. She may be 78 but the flame-haired Queen of Knitwear, as she's often called, is still going strong. Her store (175 boulevard Saint-Germain) is two floors of her clothing, makeup, glasses, fragrance, shoes and underwear. Never fear, you won't have to look far for some of her bold signature stripe knits.
STEALTH
What the Left Bank store Stealth (42 rue du Dragon) doesn't have in proportions it makes up for in cool. Jade Jagger has her own label, and her jewellery and clothes are worth putting your nose through the door for.
CHANTAL THOMASS
(211 rue St-Honore). If you care about smalls, step this way. The Parisian designer Chantal Thomass has made her knickers shop a complete fantasy of grown-up pink padded walls and changing rooms to showcase the tasteful lingerie that runs the gamut from pretty through to deeply sexy.
LOUBOUTIN
Christian Louboutin, king of the red-soled shoes, is a Parisian revered by both the French and global shoe-adoring crowd. Madonna and Angelina Jolie are among his fervent fans. This store (38-40 rue de Grenelle) is the second one in Paris but the one with red-arched alcoves for each pair of shoes to be exhibited. The shoes-as-art are certainly worthy of being displayed this way.
DISCOUNT STORES
Finally, you're in Paris. You're surrounded by your favourite designer stores. It stands to reason you're going to abuse the credit card. You're only human. So, after a couple of full-price purchases, I recommend you seek out the discount stores while the going's good. Anna Lowe (104 rue du Faubourg St-Honore) has couture and ready-to-wear brands such as Chanel and Dior at up to 40-60 per cent less. At Annexe Des Createurs (19 rue Godot de Mauroy) you will find up to 70 per cent off men's and women's Chanel, Dior, Hermes, Versace, Gucci and Prada.
A half-hour train ride away you'll find La Valle Village, a "village-like outlet mall" on the city outskirts. Not far from Euro Disney it is, by all accounts, an enchanted land of shopping with 100 luxury labels offering up to 60 per cent discount. Tragically, I didn't make it and will always wonder "what if?"
Fiona Hawtin flew to Paris with Cathay Pacific (www.cathaypacific.co.nz), and was assisted by Paris Office du Tourisme (www.parisinfo.com).
