Paris Shopping
Bon Marché, Galeries Lafayettes, Samaritaine, Printemps, and Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BHV) are a few of the great department stores that are part of the history of Paris, offering a huge variety of items for sale. They have the usual amenities for tourists: shopping helpers, translators, currency exchanges, and tax-free shopping. Most have branches in major cities outside Paris.
Virgin Megastore and FNAC are chain stores that specialize in "cultural products" such as books, music, consumer electronics, and photography equipment. They are also ticket outlets for shows and travel services. Other chain stores specialize in cosmetics and perfumes (Séphora) and interior decoration (Habitat, Ikea).
Paris fashion
The boutiques of the major designers are mainly located on avenue Montaigne (Yves Saint-Laurent and Christian Dior, Faubourg Saint-Honoré (Hermès and Gucci), la place de la Madeleine, Saint-Sulpice, or Sèvres-Babylone areas, the area surrounded by rue de Grenelle, rue du Cherche-Midi, and rue des Saints-Pères (Versace, Sonia Rykiel). The younger set should visit the Halles neighborhood (Agnès B, Claudie Pierlot), la Place des Victoires, (Kenzo) or the boutiques of the Marais (Ventilo, Et Vous).