Shopping in France, hours chains and general guidance (2024)

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Across-Europestudy recently showed prices in French shops tobe amongthe lowest in Europe; and perhaps, if you are buying a cross-section ofeveryday goods, they are. But tourists do not shop like locals, so theprice advantage of France may not be so obvious to visitors. Besides,shops selling to tourists are notorious worldwide for high prices, andFrance is no exception.

With the exchange rate standing at around1.19 USD to a Euro in Spring 2021, prices in France areattractivefor many international visitors. Prices are also attractive forvisitors from the UK, as Sterling has gained back about 5% since itslows before Brexit.
Shopping is a major part of the tourist experiencein France, specially in Paris, and eachyear millions of tourists visitFrance and make a point of heading for the shops at some time duringtheirstay. This page offers general and useful information for touristsintending to do some shopping while on holiday in France.

Pricesand sales tax (TVA) :

As is the custom throughout Europe, prices displayed in shopsinFrancealways include sales tax ("la TVA" - value added tax).Theprice you see on the label is the price you will be charged -which can be a pleasant surprise for American or Canadian visitors.

Sunday opening

Traditionallyspeaking, shops do not openin France on Sundays; however the rules have changed in recent years,and now across France you will find supermarkets, DIY and gardeningshops open on Sunday morning. In tourist areas the rules are moreflexible, and all sorts of shops can now stay open all day. In Parisfor instance, the big department stores and shops in the main shoppingareas and malls now stay open all day on Sunday, though sometimes withshorter opening hours.
Even more shops are open on Sundays during the Christmasshoppingweekends, andSunday has become one of the busyshopping days

Monday shopping in France:

In small towns, and even in cities, many shops may be closed on Mondaymorning; some small shops may be closed all day Monday. However it isunusual for out-of-town shopping malls and supermarkets to be closed onMondays

24-houropening in France:

Don't expect to find this. The idea runs contrary to the Frenchtradition, and there are very few shops indeed that remain open roundthe clock, except some pharmacies (see below).

Bakeries

Bakeries often stay open at the start of the midday break, and closetypicallyfrom 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., though there is no rule, and each bakery is freeto decided its own opening times. similarly, many bakeries stay openlater in the evening, specially in towns, and if they have bread leftto sell. See the guide to French bread.

Pharmacies(chemists)

Luminous green sign outside a pharmacy

Pharmacies open and close like other small shops; however, intownsthere is usually a "pharmacie de garde" or two open each Sunday too,and sometimes even at night. In towns with several pharmacies, a rotasystem usually operates, and it is easy to see a pharmacy which isopen, as its green cross will be lit.; but in small towns, where thereare perhaps just one or two pharmacies, it may be necessary to ring thebell for service, particularly in the event of a night-time emergency.In large towns, there are always some pharmacies open 24/24 : to seewhere they are on a given date, consult local media for rotas or trygoogling for "pharmacie de garde + name of town"

Chain stores:supermarkets(supermarchés) and superstores (hypermarchés)

The main national chains:

• The giants:Carrefour, Auchan, E.Leclerc,GéantCasino. These storessell virtually everything useful for everyday living.
• Supermarketsor neighbourhood "hypers":Super-U, Carrefour Market, Simply, Cora, Casino,Intermarché,Ecomarché
• City-centresupermarkets / department stores:Monoprix , GaleriesLafayette
• Hard Discount:Leader Price, Ed, Aldi, Lidl,Netto

All foodsupermarkets and hypermarkets- with the exception of some hard discount stores - carry a full rangeof food, including masses of fresh vegetables, a big selection of winesand spirits, and local specialities. Though for fresh vegetables andfruit, the shopping experience is much more enjoyable in real markets,which can be found in all towns and cities, though not necessarilyevery day.

Specialist stores

Main nationalchains other than food, found in out-of-town shoppingmalls (this is by no means a complete list):
Sportswear: Decathlon, Sport 2000, Intersport
Computer equipment: Boulanger
Furniture, white goods: Darty, But, Conforama, Maisons du Monde
Clothing: Kiabi, la Halle aux Vêtements, Orchestra
DIY : Castorama, Leroy Merlin, Brico Dépot, MonsieurBricolage, Weldom.

Frenchfashion

Thetop French fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent, Chanel or Diorhave their own boutiques in Paris (see ChampsElysées): they also retail through major department stores in Paris and throughtheir boutiques in other main cities and up market resorts likeCourchevel or Saint Tropez.
For those looking for affordableFrench fashion stores, for young or old, France has plenty of choicethrough a range of brands available in main department stores, orthrough fashion boutique chains present in most city centres and manyout-or-town shopping malls; these include Alain Manoukian, Jules, Mexx,Naf-naf, Kookaï, Pimkie, Brice, Petit Bateau, andplenty more.

Factoryoutlet malls in France

Francehas a couple of dozen factory outlet malls, mostly in northernFrance. Of particular interest to holidaymakers from the UKorBenelux are the Usine Côte d'Opale factory outletcentre atCoquelles next to the Channel tunnel exit, two factory outlet centresat Troyes, near the A26motorway from Calais to the south of France (fashion, householdappliances), or the La Seguiniere Factory Outlet at Cholet, in theLoire Valley close to Vendée. For more details andaddresses, visit MarquesAvenue.com

Whereto shop in Paris:

CentralParis:
RuedeRivoli (runningfrom the Place de la Concorde, past the Louvre, to central Paris) andthe central end of Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, one blockto thenorth. This the area with the most chic shops in Paris.
TheChamps Elysées:These days most of the shops on the Champs Elysées areflagship outletsfor large international chains, from Hugo Boss to Disney to Zara, andthe inevitable McDonalds - plus a few very chic shops, but beware ofthe prices. With the a few exceptions such as Lacoste, Sephora, Cartierand Louis Vuitton, French stores have been pushed out; the major Frenchfashion stores and perfumehouses however are not far away, many of them on AvenueMontaigne (Dior, Chanel etc.). Avenue Montaigne meets the ChampsElysées at the level of Franklin D Roosevelt metro station.
On or near the BoulevardHaussmann,near the Opéra. This is the main boulevard for the bigdepartmentstores, including Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, la Samaritaine, C& A.
LeftBank (Boulevard St. Michel): book stores, includingGilbert, the biggest in Paris.
LesHalles / le Maraisandthe lower end of the Rue de Rivoli; fashionable French andinternational chainstores, and trendy outlets. The "Forum des Halles",a large urban shopping mall, has outlets for virtually all theoff-the-peg fashion retailers present in France, both French such asKookaï, Camaïeu, Comtoir des Cotonniers, Naf-Naf,Esprit or Jules, andinternational including Benetton, Gap and Quiksilver.

Shoppingin other French towns and cities.

Provincialtowns and cities:town centres remain among the principal shopping areas, with the moreselect boutiques and shops, including up-market and mid-market nationalchains and franchises. Out-of-town shopping malls offer the big hypers,as well as a range of small shops, mostly mid-market popular chains, inall fields from clothing, footwear and music, to opticians andaccessories. Many out of town hypermarkets are open until 9 p.m.
Calais,Cité Europe shoppingcentre: the Carrefour and Tesco outlets in this large shopping centrenext to the Channel tunnel terminal have long opening hours, 8.30 a.mto 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.
Grasse,Alpes Maritimes, Provence. Capital of the Frenchperfume industry. Buy top quality perfumes direct from theproducers.

Shoppingin rural France.

While supermarkets and hypermarkets are the main retail outlets foreveryday shopping throughout France, small traditional groceries, evencompletely independent mom-and-pop stores, still survive in old townsand particularly in small country towns. It is still possible, here andthere, to come across a traditional grocers shop, a relic of byegonedays, where the proprietor serves you from a range of essentialsupplies stacked up on old wooden shelves or small refrigerated units.For some it can be a completely novel experience, for others a tripdown memory lane; and for most visitors, it will certainly be journeythrough time and a memorable moment .

Payingfor things in France :

Paying withplastic:virtually all but the very smallest shops, such as neighbourhoodconvenience stores, accept credit cards and debit cards, notably Visaand Mastercard. In virtually all cases, foreign cards, including UKcards, areaccepted in France as long as they are of the moremodern chip and pin variety; old-fashioned swipe cards may not beaccepted. Contactless cards can be used for small purchases,generally limited to 20€ or 30€.
Other meansof payment
Largedepartment stores in cities may take travellers' cheques, otherwisemost shops accept French cheques as long as the customer has ID. Allshops accept cash (euros) - which can be obtained from any French ATMas long as you have a valid card from one of the main internationaloperators (Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus, etc.)

Markets:See the markets of Francepage.

Essentialshopping vocabulary:

Here are theFrench words for common types of shop:

Supermarket:supermarché (soup-air-marsh-eh)
Grocery store: épicerie (eh-pee-siree)
Bakers: boulangerie (boo-lonje-euree)
Cake shop: patisserie (pat-ee-seurie)
Butchers: boucherie (boo-sheuree)
Chemists: pharmacie (farm-assee)
Cobblers, shoe repairer: cordonnerie (cordonn-eurie)
Tobacconists: un tabac (ta-back)
Bookshop : librairie (lee-brair-ree)
DIY store: magasin de bricolage (mag-a-zannde bree-co-large)
Clothes shop: magasin de vêtements (mag-a-zannde vet-mon)
Wine merchants: marchand de vins (mar-shonede van)
Estate agents: agence immobilière (a-zhonseee-mo-bee-leeair)
Newsagents: maison de la presse (may-zonde la press)

And someuseful shopping phrases .....
I'd like to...Je voudrais (Zhevoodray ... )
Pay by card : payer par carte (peh-yehpar cart)
Pay in cash: payer en liquide (peh-yehon lee-keed)
Can I try this on please... Est-ceque je peux l'essayer, s'il vous plait. (Eskerzhe per l'ess-say-yehsee voo play)
It's too big / small : C'est trop grand / petit (Saytro gron / petee)
It's for a gift : C'est à offrir (Saytar off rir)
Please can you wrap it up : pouvez vousl'emballer s'il vous plaît (poovayvoo l'om-balay see voo play)
Please can you gift wrap this: pouvez vous faire un emballage cadeau,s'il vous plaît (poo-vayvoo fair ern om-balarge cado see voo play)