Paris Shopping: 5 Best Boutiques in Paris

Paris is home to world-renowned shopping that people travel extensive distances to experience. While there are some wonderful known stores from Paris, such as Dior and Louis Vuitton, some of the most amazing shopping around the city are in the little boutiques that are hidden in nooks in crannies. So without further ado, here are the top five boutiques you cannot miss while shopping in Paris!

Ma Demoiselle Pierre, Paul & Jacques

If you are in the market for jewelry and accessories this is the boutique for you! Located in the 11^th arrondissement Stephanie Allerme has proudly owned this store since 2014. This shop is unique in the sense that Allerme adamantly did not want to sell her jewelry from behind a counter, so all the pieces are artfully laid around her living room; complete with a coffee table and sofa. Elegantly laid out ‘high fashion’ jewellery in bright colours are everywhere, in a style that’s both feminine and rock’n’roll. Prices are around €90 for a bracelet (100% Made in France, always plated in 24 carat gold or platinum), as well as necklaces and earrings there are produced by other designers.

Petit Pan

There is nothing more fun than shopping for someone else; therefore kids boutiques in Paris are gaining in popularity, and fast. Petit Pan is among the most known for its oriental and eclectic style. The fruit of a partnership between Chinese kite designer Pan Gang and Belgian artist Myriam De Loor, this brand catering for children and the home opened in 2003 and specializes in Chinese prints. Nothing here has been left to chance, not even the decoration of the space, which is a mine of ideas. On the shelves you’ll find all sort of fabrics and woven goods with floral patterns, glitter, even pearls. There are accessories for babies (baby sleeping bags, comforters, animal-print flannels) and you’ll also find a multitude of decorative objects as eccentric as they are colorful, from frog kites to silk paper hippopotamus decorations.

Mi-Prix

What is a shopping trip to Paris without buying shoes? You don’t come to Mi-Prix for the décor – you enter via its faded yellow shopfront with its post-war neon sign to stock up on discounted designer brand shoes. It’s an address well-known to Parisian fashionistas, and for good reason. You can find beautiful pairs of shoes from €50 to €200, and you can even ring in advance to find out about the latest stock.

Bric-à-brac Emmaüs

The Emmaüs bric-a-brac store is hidden in the heart of the 104 cultural centre, a great little address where you can mix with hip-hop dancers and cultural performers to bargain hunt in a boutique done up like someone’s apartment. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the stuff on offer more or less well organized. At the back of the main room there’s a little library with books, CDs and vinyl, on top of endless rails of clothes, shoes, furniture and other bits and pieces. Everything is dirt cheap: books for €1, around €10 for a jumper. The opening hours are pretty random and it can get rammed, but you never leave empty-handed.

La Cave de l’Insolite

To save the best for last: Wine. The Cave de l’Insolite (Cellar of the Unusual) is on Rue de la Folie Méricourt (‘Mad Mericourt Street’), but the Baraquin brothers (Arnaud and Axel, who used to work for Thierry Faucher at Cave de l’Os à Moelle and Thierry Blanqui at ‘Beurre Noisette’, respectively) aren’t crazy, except for good food and wine. Since it opened in 2011, this welcoming restaurant/winery has quickly become a favourite in the Oberkampf district. In the large neo-rustic room, you choose your food from the blackboard menu, and choose your wine directly from the well-stocked shelves, with over 120 reasonably priced vintages. Favourites include a Sainte Epine from the Ardèche produced by Hervé Souhaut, Le Pressoir de Saint Pierre by Renaud Guettier in Touraine, a Terre des Chardons ‘Bien Luné’ from Nîmes. All these wines come from hand-harvested grapes from small vineyards of not more than 6 hectares