Still as lovely as ever…read more In summer 2010, I found myself leaving Jardin du Luxembourg with my classmates. My umbrella wound up inverting itself and then breaking apart, so I was left without an umbrella in the unexpected rain. Upon walking, we stumbled upon Parapluies Simon and it was a serendipitous event. A few of us bought umbrellas there. I bought one there myself, a Guy de Jean with purple polka dots on a black background. It was expensive, and when converting to USD, nearly $100. I bought it out of sheer necessity and because I couldn't for the life of me figure out where else to find an umbrella. This must've happened within my first week in Paris. Anyway, cue over a decade later and I can tell you that that umbrella began my umbrella collection. While I no longer have the original umbrella as it died several years ago, I did buy another one just like it and have even had other Guy de Jean umbrellas shipped to me. When I knew I was returning to Paris, I was determined to find this shop. Luckily a Google search led me there and so I made sure to visit to confirm. Well, I visited and confirmed. The shop while somewhat smaller or perhaps less decorated than I remember is it, and well, you guessed it - I bought another umbrella! This new umbrella wasn't nearly as expensive as my first one. The exchange rate was in my favor this time and it was around $50 USD. I wound up buying the first umbrella that I saw that caught my eye. It was a dark blue umbrella with white cats. That said, the shopkeeper was a very pleasant man and showed me many umbrellas. Still, when you know you know. I just had to have the umbrella I bought. That, and well, the shopkeeper and I had a nice chat about my memories in the shop from 2010. He was happy I was patronizing the business again and he even gave me a logo pen. The entire experience was surreal and honestly this was probably one of my favorite parts of my most recent trip to Paris.

Fun shop with good selection of umbrellas in a wide price range from 20 euros or so to 200 euros…read more On the high end, they may not have as many choices as some other shops but still quite a selection with some excellent French brands. I bought 3 (25 euros, 45 euros, and 87 euros). And they packed one nicely which was easy to carry and I got a vat refund.

I was lucky enough to stumble on this shop during my most recent visit to Paris. Just open 2…read moremonths, Georges & Co pays homage to the written word by stocking some of the most beautiful fountain pens, stationery, journals and ooh la la inks! This place is a must for all you fountain pen/ink snobs/stationery lovers. It's a gorgeous shop with a state of the art ink bar. When you walk in, your eyes become riveted to the ink bar on the left, filled with colors that you can't find in cartridges or regular pens. The "bar" is actually made up of liquor dispensers, what you might find in airport lounges dispensing gin or vodka. Here, they are filled with unique colored inks. You can select among several bottle sizes but the square glass 6€ one is my favorite. The shopkeepers puts the bottle up to the nozzle and voila! Owner Delphine Mercier told me that she named the shop after her grandfather, George, who loved to write and write with beautiful things. The shop boasts that it is the "ultimate writing experience" and I am a believer. The shop has pretty and funky journals made by French manufacturers so you don't have the feeling you will find the same thing when you go back home. Upstairs is the kids area which has French story books and crayons and stationery. This place is so magnificent that I went back twice to stock up on the unique inks poured directly from the bar. I have gone to many different stationery stores written up in Paris guidebooks but I always left feeling disappointed. The hardest part for me at George & Co was choosing from the myriad of ink colors and then trying to figure out how to pack all the glass bottles so they wouldn't break. Answer: stuff a bottle in a sock, wrap the inks in several plastic bags, put the dirty laundry/cheap clothes in with the inks so if there is a leakage issue, no worries! I think you could find a gift for just about anyone here. There's also a nice array of amazing French briefcases and leather goods by Mignon. An alligator skin satchel with silver handles caught my eye. Perhaps when the economy gets better...

Galeries Lafayette Paris is absolutely breathtaking!…read more The gorgeous glass dome and ceilings are a showstopper all by themselves. Almost every designer you can think of is here, making this a must-see and a must-shop when visiting Paris. And it doesn't stop inside Galeries Lafayette--the entire surrounding area has stores for days! Lights, glitz, glamour, luxury, and fashion everywhere you turn. It reminded me of an upscale New York City 42nd Street, but with that beautiful Parisian elegance. Even if you're not planning to shop, go for the experience. There's so much to see, you could spend hours just walking around and taking it all in. Definitely one of my Paris must-visits!

My husband and I were talking to our good friend who's been living in Paris for the last five…read moreyears, and she told us e-commerce is less dominant there because people seem to prefer shopping in physical stores. While malls die all over America, retail still thrives in Paris. Exhibit A: Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. I've been to this department store a number of times over the years, and I both enjoy it and fear how completely it can suck up precious vacation hours. It's a fantastic place to shop, with a ton of well curated inventory spread out across multiple floors in multiple buildings. The main building features that beautiful domed ceiling, which manages to catch me by surprise every time I walk in. I haven't had the opportunity to shop for my own clothes here in a long time, but I've gotten some really great stuff on the children's floor, and discovered the souvenir section on my last visit, where I picked up some cool Paris Metro toy trains and magnets. We did somehow get stuck at Galeries Lafayette for over two hours and ended up skipping Notre-Dame, which might have been a better place to spend our last afternoon in Paris. But it was sale season, and my kids look super cute in their heavily discounted Petit Bateau. Galeries Lafayette is busy and sometimes overwhelming, but it's a wonderful department store. I wish we had something like it back home. I'd much rather shop there than fall for targeted ads on Instagram.

This is a great corner for a beer on people watching. A…read moreblock from the showa musee. Time to decompress after all we witnessed today. 2 nice beers in ice.

Stopped here for a quick espresso before checking out Marais. We ended up staying for oh, maybe…read morehour and a half or two hours, 2 or 3 espressos and cappuccinos for me, 2 or 3 kir royales for my wife, and some terrific croissants and dessert items. Sat outside and was one of the highlights of our trip to all of France (and possibly life). Go and have yourself some of that joie da vivre!

Quality/Quantity - Flag ship store; make an appointment if possible. Otherwise you will have to…read morewait in the long line. BTW - We also visited LV Dream; another must visit. Hotel coming soon. If you are following, you know that this is not really my brand, but that did not stop me from over buying... I needed a belt, but ended up buying... And I guess I/we have expensive taste, as we ended up buying the most expensive belt out of the 4 choices I liked. I might go back tomorrow for a shirt. And of course, my wife got some shopping done also. When in France... See pictures. Ambiance - Decent size location, I mean this is the flag ship location. The men's section was one of the largest I have seen with this brand, so this is where I spent the majority of my time. Service - The team is so professional and experienced. Gave us soda and juice while we shopped. Too early for champagne. Price - Expensive. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1854 and with all your acquisitions. I have not been a customer for a while, but when in France... Don't worry, my wife and daughter are loyal customers! Service always improves when they discover we are loyal customers, lol.

Viva la France ! I finally made it back to where my LVMH…read morecareer started and what an amazing day it was to dine at the LV cafe, get VIP service and purchase a few beautiful pieces from the new summer collection. we shopped pieces from the summer collection and got my mini a few travel pieces and a matching handbag. We added the customization to each of our pieces and stamped our LV passport holders. We may have to come back before our summer holiday in Europe ends.

From the owner: De l'accompagnement shopping au relooking en passant par une séance de make-up et un service de…read moreconciergerie, nous nous occupons de tout pour vos achats mode !