Shopping in France

Shopping in France is a pursuit of taste in its purest form. The country sets the global standard for fashion, perfume, wine, and food, and shopping here means gathering the products of traditions refined over centuries. To shop in France is to move from a Paris fashion house to a Provençal market stacked with lavender and herbs, from a Champagne cellar to an antiques fair in a country town. The goods carry the unmistakable stamp of French craft and flavor, whether luxurious or rustic.

The specialties run deep. Paris reigns over haute couture and the grand department stores, while the perfume town of Grasse in the south distills the scents the world's great houses use. Provence sells its lavender, soaps, and herbs in open-air markets, the wine regions offer their bottles at the source, and the country's brocante fairs spill antiques across village squares. Limoges produces fine porcelain, and the cheese, wine, and produce of every region fill the markets. Shopping in France spans the couture house and the country market with equal flair.

Today the experience suits every taste. The best shopping in France runs from Paris fashion and the perfume of Grasse to Provençal markets, wine cellars, and antique fairs. Visitors searching France shopping tours or top shopping experiences will find styling sessions, market walks, and wine and perfume tastings. Among the leisurely things to do in France, a morning at a Provençal market gathering herbs and lavender is the country at its most fragrant. France does not simply sell goods. It sells the taste the rest of the world tries to copy.