After the places of worship, the museums and the unusual food concepts of the City of Light, this time we present another facet of Paris off the beaten track. Since Paris is also the capital of shopping, this time we’ve put together a selection of unusual stores and boutiques. With their decoration, history or simply their speciality, they have all the makings of a singular address!
Miyakodori
If you’re lucky, a stroll through the heart of Paris is bound to bring you across the Miyakadori storefront. In this small, unassuming store, Japanese craftsmanship is well represented. Decoration, typical objects, tableware: hundreds of items have been assembled to transport you directly to the Land of the Rising Sun. But the real specialty of the house is the maneki neko, the famous little cat with the raised paw that brings good luck!
Miayakadori – 1, impasse Guéménée, 75001
L’Avant-Gardiste
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Defining itself as a trendy bazaar, L’Avant-Gardiste is an absolute dream come true for anyone short on gift ideas. Thousands of items fill the shelves of this store on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. The credo is to bring visitors the most unusual objects, from clever ideas to innovative concepts. With the festive season just around the corner, it might be worth a visit!
L’Avant-Gardiste – 59, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75004
Frédéric Malle Boutique
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Right in the heart of the Marais, and more precisely in the rue des Francs-Bourgeois, lies an astonishing shop. Somewhere between enchantment and tradition, perfumer Frédéric Malle’s boutique, a little architectural gem, is hidden in an old building and catches the eye of anyone passing by. Inside,wood carvings are reflected in a splendid set of polished metal mirrors, giving the place an almost mystical quality. It’s yours for the taking!
Frédéric Malle Boutique – 13, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75004
Lulu Berlu
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A veritable institution since its creation in 1996, Lulu Berlu is the Parisian benchmark for collectible toys, games and figurines. Recently featured in season 2 of bref., the store boasts no fewer than 60,000 items representing over 1,200 themes. A symbol of pop culture, it retraces over 60 years of film, video and literary history. With a touch of nostalgia, the store transports us into the world of cult films, comic books and TV series of recent decades. A real goldmine to be discovered as soon as possible!
Lulu Berlu – 2, rue du Grand Prieuré, 75011
Maison Deyrolle
Part museum, part store, part laboratory, Maison Deyrolle ticks all the boxes for an unusual address. Almost two hundred years old, it’s what you might call a veritable cabinet of curiosities. The word takes on its full meaning when we take a closer look at the speciality of the rue du Bac store: Maison Deyrolle specializes in taxidermy and entomology. On its two floors, you’ll find dozens of stuffed animals – all dead, of course – from beetles to giraffes. A visit to this lair promises to be a most unusual experience in Paris!
Maison Deyrolle – 46, rue du Bac, 75007
Monastic crafts store
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Highly unusual, the Monastic Crafts store is so by design. Here, only products made by religious communities from France and Europe are sold. No fewer than 3,000 products are on sale, including abbey beers, delicatessen items, leather goods and home decor. A wonderful initiative, even rewarded with an apostolic blessing from Pope Benedict XVI!
Boutique de l’artisanat monastique – 68bis, avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014
Au Plat d’Étain
To round off this selection, we’d like to suggest another store that could easily be described as ancestral. Au Plat d’Étain has been on the rue Guisarde since 1775! That’s right, almost 250 years of history have passed between the walls of this store with its bright red front. Inside, you’ll find antique toys, lead soldiers and, above all, countless collectible figurines: the perfect way to recreate the greatest episodes in French history.
Au Plat d’Étain – 16, rue Guisarde, 75006