Even if you don't plan - or can't afford - to buy, browsing in Paris's shops and markets is one of the city's chief delights. Flair for style and design is as evident here asit is in other aspects of Paris life. Parisians' epicurean tendencies and fierce attachment to their small local traders have kept alive a wonderful variety of speciality shops, despite the pressures to concentrate consumption in gargantuan underground and multistorey complexes. One of the best shopping areas is the square kilometre around place St-Germain-des-Prés , packed with books, antiques, gorgeous garments, artworks and playthings. But in every quartier you'll find enticing displays of all manner of consumables. 

Opening hours
Most businesses open Monday to Saturday, often with two hours off at midday, and generally close at around 7pm. In addition, the larger department stores tend to stay open until 9pm or 10pm on Thursday nights. Almost all shops close on Sunday...
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Bookshops
The best areas for books are the narrow streets of the quartier Latin and along the Seine, where rows of stalls are perched against the river parapet. Here we've listed a few specialists and favourites. For books in English, head...
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Clothes
The haute couture shows may be well out-of-bounds, but there's nothing to prevent you trying on fabulously expensive creations by famous couturiers in rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, avenue François-1er and avenue Victor-Hugo - apart from the...
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Department stores
Au Bon Marché 38 rue de Sèvres, 7e. Mº Sèvres-Babylone. Mon-Fri 9.30am-7pm, Sat till 8pm. Paris's oldest department store, founded in 1852. Prices are lower on average than at the more upmarket Galeries Lafayette and Printemps....
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Food and drink
Sumptuous food stores are to be found all over Paris: the listings below are for the specialist places , many of them palaces of gluttony, with prices to match. Everyday food shopping is best done at the street markets or ...
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Music
New cassettes and CDs are not particularly cheap in Paris, but there are plenty of secondhand bargains, and you may come across selections that are novel enough to tempt you. Like the live music scene, there are albums of Brazilian, Caribbean,...
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Sport and outdoor pursuits
Le Ciel Est à Tout le Monde 10 rue Gay-Lussac, 5e. RER Luxembourg. Mon-Sat 10am-7pm; closed Mon in Aug. The best kite shop in Europe. It also sells frisbees, boomerangs, etc, plus books and traditional toys. Nomades ...
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Markets
Paris's markets , like its shops, are grand spectacles. Mouthwatering arrays of food from half the countries of the globe, captivating in colour, shape and smell, assail the senses in even the drabbest parts of town. In addition,...
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