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Paris is world-renowned for its perfume, wine, cheese, chocolate, haute couture, fine jewelry and antiques. But visitors should also be aware that the city offers some excellent, high-end crafts, including Limoges porcelain, Lalique crystal, enamel, handblown glass and cookware.
From the sophisticated St. Honore area to the funky and eclectic Marais, Paris has a shopping district to suit everyone's taste. In an era of malls, this city still offers thousands of intimate specialty shops, as well as large department stores.
For haute couture, head for the 8th arrondissement, particularly the Avenue Montaigne (Dior, Ungaro, Nina Ricci) or the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore (Lanvin, Louis Ferraud, Hermes). Many shops on the 8th arrondissement's Rue Royale specialize in high-quality jewelry. The Place Vendome is home to more fine jewelers, including Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels.
In the Marais (the 3rd and 4th arrondissements), chic boutiques, kosher butcheries and traditional bakeries thrive side by side along winding medieval streets. Start with the Rue des Francs Bourgeois, and plan for a fascinating afternoon (Sunday, when many shops remain open, would be a good day to visit).
If at all possible, plan to spend at least half a day at Paris' famed markets. The Marche aux Puces (Market of Fleas) has more than 3,000 sidewalk stands and permanent stalls where, each weekend, tens of thousands of Parisians browse and buy.
More fascinating markets: the outdoor food markets held each week in every arrondissement, the flower markets on Ile de la Cite (among others) and the stalls of old books, prints and maps along both banks of the Seine. (Look especially on the Quai du Louvre and the Quai de la Megisserie on the Right Bank, and the Quai des Grands Augustins and Quai Malaquais on the Left Bank).
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Our selection
Hotel Bassano.
4 star hotel near the Champs Elysees
Hotel Tilsitt Champs Elysees
3 star hotel near Arc de Triomphe
Hotel Louvre Marsollier Opera.
3 star hotel near Louvre, Department stores and Opera.
Jolly Hotel Lotti
4 star hotel between Opera House and the Louvre
Hotel Regencia.
4 star design hotel near the Champs Elysees
Hotel Bretagne Montparnasse.
3 star hotel in the famous area of Montparnasse
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