Browsing the Marais's Homeware Shops

After the picnic, head to the Marais, a famous district you can't skip in Paris. "Marais" means marsh, and the name is said to come from the days when this area was swampland. It was once a settlement for Paris's Jewish community, and shops and historic sites that reflect that past remain. Galleries abound too: since the Picasso Museum opened in 1985, many museums have followed, so culture is never far away. It's also the heart of Paris's LGBTQ community, and you'll notice rainbow-colored crosswalks. Well-known fashion brands such as Merci, A.P.C., Acne, Maison Kitsuné and Repetto, sit alongside beauty names like Diptyque, L'Occitane and Caudalie, so it's a great place to shop, and cafés and restaurants are everywhere. Place des Vosges, a favorite of your guide's, is a lovely spot to rest.

Many people think of the concept store Merci first when they hear "Marais," but today's route is a bit farther from Merci. We start at BHV, a department store; the other shops are clustered along a single street, which makes browsing easy. BHV sits directly across from the city hall. In English you'd say "B-H-V"; in French, "bay-ash-vay." It used to be run by the same group as the big Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette. Your guide skips cosmetics and clothes in favor of kitchenware, dishes, stationery and paper goods, and home-improvement supplies. In France, anything done by hand is expensive, and home repairs especially are priced at whatever the contractor says, so many people do their own, and shops selling such supplies are everywhere. BHV sells them in the basement, with plenty of fine, curious items, so a quick look is fun. She spends most of her time among the dishes, on the French third floor (the fourth floor if you count the ground floor as the first). If you like tableware or kitchen goods, she recommends it.

When you're done with BHV, head to Fleux, a homeware shop. Along with Merci, it's your guide's favorite, and where she bought the most items for her guesthouse, Montheb. The brand has five or six stores on one street, each with a different concept, so if you're short on time, don't visit them all: glance in from outside and pick the concept that suits you. It's a concept store with brands from many countries, so the range and styles vary widely, and guests she's recommended it to have been very happy with it. On the same street, the large Italian food emporium Eataly recently opened. On opening day, Parisians queued up in long lines, and she visited recently as well. There's an in-house restaurant, a cheese shop, a wine shop, a bakery and more, plus plenty of unusual foods; she came away with a long wish list. You needn't make a special trip, but if you aren't going to Italy, it's worth dropping in if you pass by. She has a few more favorite shops, but a list of store descriptions can get dull, so they're provided separately in text. Happy hunting!