Christmas in Paris 2011

At Printemps, shoppers can find special offerings from Chanel.

Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com.

It’s holiday time again in Paris and the city is decked way out beyond the halls with boughs of holly. Blazing light displays, Christmas markets and fairs, ice skating rinks, and special holiday concerts are just a few of the joyous activities happening around the city. Here is a selection of the best and brightest for the month of December and beginning of January.

Galeries Lafayette offers rock-and-roll themed displays.

Holiday Store Windows

Galeries Lafayette is mad about rock music and this season the theme is called Noël Rock ‘n’ Mode. Animated dolls designed by New York artist Alexander Wang are fashionably dressed in rock n roll garb and strum away on their guitars and beat their drums furiously. Next door at Printemps it’s all about the eponymous fashion house Chanel. Noel Reves d'Evasion (Dreams of Escape) pays homage to Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel, and the windows have miniature Karl dolls prancing about with his camera and alternate windows show Chanel’s global locales Moscow, Los Angeles and Tokyo with clever and imaginative sets and animated dolls. On the Faubourg St. Honoré, Hermés just drips with over the top luxury with a Moroccan inspired theme including crocodile Kelly bags, ostrich motorcycle helmets, and a set of shiny gold boxing gloves.

Galeries Lafayette
40 Blvd. Haussmann, 75009

Printemps
64 Blvd. Haussmann, 75009

Hermés
24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008

Ice Skating

Sharpen those blades and put on those skates so you can cut up the ice with your fierce figure eights in the rinks of Paris. Every winter The Hotel de Ville/City Hall offers free skating on the plaza. Nothing could match the sensation of ice-skating high above the city in the Eiffel Tower with the breathtaking views. 

Hotel de Ville Rink –Till February 27
Open Monday to Friday 12PM to 10PM, Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays 9AM to 10PM
Admission free, skate rentals 5 euros

Eiffel Tower Rink- Till January 2
11AM to 9PM daily
Free for tower visitors

Holiday displays at the Place Vendome

Christmas Markets and Fairs

Shop, shop, shop till you drop and eat, eat, eat, till your tummy hurts at the fabulous Paris Christmas markets. Starting at the base of Place de la Concorde, the Champs Elysees has the largest market in the city brimming with great gifts, hot wine, Christmas ornaments, cotton candy, and much more. Inside the Grand Palais is a grand fair, Jours de Fetes, much like an old fashioned amusement park with a giant Ferris wheel, games of chance, and a carousel.

Champs Elysees Christmas Market till January 2
Jours de Fetes till January 2

Holiday Concerts

No Christmas holiday in Paris would be complete without classical music pouring out of the famed churches.
 
At Notre Dame
Tuesday, December 20, 8:30PM, Admission free - Christmas concert with organist Olivier Latry
Thursday, December 29, 8:30PM, Gregorian Chants Tickets 18 euros

At Saint Chapelle
December 17 to December 30, concerts at 6PM & 8PM
Various performances including Christmas Carols, Bach, Vivaldi, and Schubert

At Saint Sulpice
Thursday, December 29, 8:45PM –Mozart Requiem
http://www.classictic.com/en/Search/France/Paris/2011-12-15/0,0,0/page1.html

On Site: Rail Europe Trip— Day Three, Lugano

The Swiss Pass may well be one of the cooler inventions to come along for tourism since the GDS. When a client has one of these passes, they can ride almost any public transportation in all of Switzerland for free, or at a greatly reduced rate. They can also get free or discounted access to museums and attractions all over the country. Please tell me—why we don’t have this in New York? Ride the subway for free and get into MoMA as a bonus! Seriously, it’s a great deal, and helps visitors explore more of the country and what it has to offer. Book it for your clients at www.raileurope.com, and tell them to hold onto it while they travel. They’ll need to show it often.

See more of Switzerland's cities in the video below.

With Swiss passes firmly in hand, our little group departed Milan at the crack of dawn to head across the border to Switzerland. Just a few miles from the border is Lugano, a town on a lake of the same name, surrounded by the Alps and some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of Switzerland. (The Italian town of Como is just a few miles away. We looked for George Clooney, but didn’t see him. Alas.)

The train ride—not even a high-speed one—was all of an hour, and crossing the border was effortless. We arrived at the station and went to our hotel to drop off our bags. The Hotel du Lac is technically in the town of Paradiso, and the gorgeous area lives up to its name. The lake is a brilliant turquoise blue, and a low mist made the mountains seem unapproachable and mysterious. (The hotel is right on the lake, and guests can swim in its waters or in the pool.) Our guide, Eliana Richina (e.franchini@bluewin.ch) got us first on a boat across the lake (lovely views of the villages along the shores) and then on a cogwheel train up Monte Generoso. Both trips were free with the Swiss Pass—the former took maybe 40 minutes, and the latter about an hour to reach the top of the mountain.

From there, we hiked a few yards to the peak for some spectacular views. Tell your clients to bring solid walking shoes that they don’t mind getting a bit dirty—the goats that graze on the side of the mountain are awfully cute, but they make the path very messy. Afterwards, we had a late lunch of local cuisine (ricotta-and-spinach ravioli, cheese-covered vegetables) at the peak’s restaurant, and relaxed for the ride back down the mountain.

Eliana took us on a walking tour of the town, where we could see the Cathedral and one of the major churches. The first dates back to the year 818 (it’s been restored and renovated a few times since), and the second—St. Mary of the Angels Church—has some original frescoes by Bernardino Luini, a student of Leonardo da Vinci’s. (The artwork in the church was covered for years, and is in a remarkable state of preservation. Some drawings on the walls look like sculpture and statuary—a perfect trompe-l'œil. Send your art-aficionado clients to check the church out.

See more of how to get around in Switzerland in the video below.

We then wandered through the old part of the city (built onto a hillside—tell your clients to bring good walking shoes!), passing little boutique stores and luxury retailers. (The former Palace of Justice, a building from 1425, now houses a Cartier store.) Suggest your shopaholic clients spend a few hours just wandering the town and going from store to store—if they get tired, there are plenty of gelaterias for them to recharge their batteries.

We were going to have an alfresco dinner at The Spaghetti Store, but the amazingly rude staff drove us out of there and over to Pizzeria Mary’s, a very nice restaurant with a patio that catches cooling breezes off the lake. Try the spinach gnocchi…or the tagliatelle Bolognese…or any of their different risottos. Really, it was all delicious, and light enough to be enjoyed outdoors on a warm night. (They also had a very tasty white Merlot, something I’d never tried before. It went beautifully with the pastas.)

On Site: Rail Europe Trip— Day One in Milan

I can’t believe it’s been less than a day since we arrived in Milan. It feels like three, at least.

We landed about an hour behind schedule at 9 a.m. local time (thanks, Delta!) and headed into heart of the city, to the Hilton Milan, a perfectly nice hotel that’s walking distance to the train station—and since trains are at the heart of this trip, it’s quite apropos that we’re so nearby. For our first day, we got around the city via bus and on foot—more of the latter than the former—and explored as many highlights as could be crammed into 10 hours.

Of course, this is Italy, so we had to start off with some food. The concierge at the hotel recommended the Bar New York for lunch, and we all raised our eyebrows with concern. Fearing a deli or some kitschy pseudo-New-Yorker kind of place, we went around the corner and were delighted to find a genuine Italian luncheonette with some very tasty salads and pastas. The buffalo mozzarella was tangy and warm and very fresh, and my gnocchi Bolognese was delicious.

After lunch, we used our passes for a hop-on/hop-off bus tour of the city, heading down the Corso Venezia—this fashion-forward city’s most famous shopping street—and passing such iconic stores as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Vivienne Westwood and plenty more.

Exterior shot of the Duomo

We hopped off (as one does on these bus tours) in front of the Duomo, reportedly the fourth-largest church in the world. The piazza in front of the massive building is a hub of activity, and is great for people-watching. Warn your clients to be careful of the panhandlers and any possible pickpockets. (People were selling handfuls of corn for the pigeons, and literally put their hands less than an inch in front of my nose. Not the most effective of all marketing methods, I must say…)

Another thing to bear in mind: The cathedral does not allow bare shoulders or backs (at least for women—I didn’t notice if they let men wearing tank-tops in). If your clients plan to go inside in summer, remind them to bring a jacket or shawl.

Interior shot of the Duomo

Inside, the cathedral is simply awe-inspiring in its size, beauty and design. Dark and solemn, it still radiates an opulence of a bygone era, and the attention to detail is breathtaking. It was surprisingly crowded for the middle of a Monday afternoon, but all the visitors were quiet and respectful, and the experience was lovely, if far too short. Suggest your clients spend at least an hour—preferably more—exploring the cathedral.

See more of what you can tour in Italy in the video below.

Rather than return to the bus, we opted to wander around the narrow streets by the Duomo and find the Teatro alla Scala—more popularly known as La Scala. On the way, we ducked into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, looking to find something cold to drink. At the four corners where the two parts of the arcade meet, there is a silver shop, a Prada, a Louis Vuitton…and a McDonalds. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. (We avoided Mickey D’s and went to Savini for some gelato—the perfect thing for a hot day.)

Outside the Galleria, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele has lots of great shopping for the junior set. (Nothing as fancy as Prada or Louis Vuitton, but we found some great deals in a Zara.)

Oh, yes, and after wandering for quite a while, we did find La Scala. And yes, it’s beautiful.

For dinner, our concierge (whose word we will never doubt again) sent us to Ristorante da Berti, which has a gorgeous outdoor garden for alfresco dining. The patio is completely enclosed by topiary (well, almost completely—we could see the lawn where the outdoor grill was cooking the restaurant’s meats), making it hard to remember that one is dining in the middle of a bustling city. The food was magnificent—all of the pasta is made in-house, and everything was rich and delicious, from the prosciutto and melon to the risotto alla Milanese to the Ossobuco…The menus are not available in English, but the very friendly staff can communicate perfectly well with non-Italian speakers (the patio was a modern-day Babel), and can help diners choose the perfect meal.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to fall into a deep food coma.

South Africa, Day Two: World Cup, Durban & Indaba

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa addresses the audience at Indaba

Jena Tesse Fox is on location at the Indaba trade show in Durban. Read about her flight experience on South African Airlines.

In the United States, we have "casual Fridays." In South Africa, they have "football Fridays," when everyone wears soccer jerseys. It makes for a pretty great visual.(And for the benefit of our North American readers, I’ll use the word “soccer” from here on in, unless I’m quoting someone directly. Seriously, though, why do we use the word “football” for a game where players barely touch the ball with their feet? But I digress…)

With the FIFA World Cup just over a month away, all of South Africa is caught up in soccer fever, and this Indaba conference could practically be called World Cup Indaba. Everyone is excited about not only the World Cup, but about the attention the world will be paying to South Africa as a nation, and Africa itself as a continent.

It only makes sense: The audience for the World Cup, both live and on worldwide TV, “gives brand awareness, and is an opportunity you can’t pay for,” said Roshene Singh, CMO of the conference, on its first day. The exhibits at Indaba cover a range of industries, covering accommodations, tour operators, car rentals, airlines, other products and nine provinces as destinations, as well as other Southern African countries and Kenya. By the end of the show, she expects over 13,000 attendees, between visitors and exhibitors, and they had to turn exhibitors away due to space constraints. (For the record, the entire campus stretches out over 60,000 square meters.)

But, she added, “the real legacy of the World Cup will be how much tourism continues afterwards.” Many new hotels have been built across the host cities; the roads and public transportation services have been improved; and employees have undergone training to accommodate the influx of guests that is expected in the next two months. “We are on a path where we can only improve where we are,” Singh said. And the influx they are getting for Indaba is a great dress rehearsal for the World Cup.

On The Trade Show Floor

While the main buzz from the officials in Durban may be about soccer, there was a greater variety of conversation on the floor. Among the 2,000 exhibitors, I spoke to:

*    Jewel Africa, a small chain of high-end jewelry stores (and by “small” I mean the company only has two outlets) in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The goldsmiths will create bespoke pieces, marketing manager Kim Miller told me, and they offer private shopping events.
*    For those not satisfied with just shopping for gold, the Gold of Africa Museum in Cape Town celebrates the history of gold in South Africa, and (so I was told) inspires modern gold design. (Check out their late-night tours, which include a glass of wine sprinkled with gold dust.)
*    For a more sobering museum experience, the Apartheid Museum recognizes South Africa’s more painful history, but also celebrates how a political prisoner became president.
*    South Africa’s wines have become increasingly popular, and some wineries are now doubling as chic getaways with luxe hotels. Mont Rochelle Hotel & Mountain Vineyards is a boutique property in the Franschhoek valley with 22 rooms (six of them suites) named for different varietals of grapes grown on the property (Shiraz, Merlot, etc. The Reserve Suite looks particularly nice, with a private Zen garden and Jacuzzi.) Cool touch: To guarantee that every room has a view of the valley, some of the rooms are built into the hillside, reachable by underground hallways. Since the rooms below blend into the landscape, guests in the upper rooms have unobstructed views. With 17 hectacres of vineyards, guests can go picnicking or even enjoy a wine-tasting on horseback. Agents should contact Marika Kok (011-27-21-876-2770, sales@montrochelle.co.za).
*    Drifters Adventours offers custom-built tour busses and several game lodges in Kruger National Park and Uganda. For a more active experience, guests take part in setting up and breaking camps, cooking, and other aspects of a tour.
*    Wilderness Safaris are game lodges in seven Southern African countries (and the Seychelles) that focus on sustainability and responsibility in the wild. The brand’s Premiere Camps and Classic Camps are the most luxe, Carli Saxby told me, but all of their properties are three-star or above. The property in the Seychelles, for example, is the only hotel on North Island, and was recently renovated, while the Little Ongava has just three rooms that Saxby calls “palatial.” (It also overlooks a water hole where animals come to drink, and includes a blind in the brush where guests can watch the animals up close.) And each camp is unique: One camp, Abu, rehabilitates former circus elephants to help return them to the wild. The camp at Kafue offers a deal in which guests staying three nights are treated to a hot-air balloon ride—which, being largely silent, doesn’t scare away the animals below, offering a perfect chance to see wildlife at its peak.

Opening Ceremonies

I’m usually pretty cynical about ceremonies and speeches, but even I was quite impressed by the production put on to officially open Indaba (this was after several hours of conferences, meetings and the trade show being open, of course). Naturally, there was a soccer theme, but it all fit in quite nicely. Dr. Zweli Mkhize, premiere of KwaZulu-Natal, pointed out that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, and that this year is a celebration of “the efforts of the African people to free themselves.” Dr. Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, earned cheers when he declared simply, “Yes, we are ready. Yes, this World Cup will happen.”

Even remarkable performances by a drumming group and the Drakensburg Mountain Boys Choir couldn’t top the cheers for the President of South Africa himself, Jacob Zuma. “The stadiums are ready. The host cities are ready. South Africa is ready. The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place,” he said. He called the five new stadiums that have been built for the World Cup the “crown jewels” of the country, but warned that a soccer game is only 90 minutes, and that the games were only the beginning of a new era for South Africa. All South Africans, he added, “would deliver a memorable event by being good hosts.”

London Museums, Shopping and The Eye

Shopping at Carnaby Street

Why has America never picked up on the simple, pure, perfect creation that is beans on toast? I mean, it’s baked beans on toast! What’s not to love? We’d be a much, much happier country if we started our mornings with beans on toast for breakfast. Just trust me on this.

After a much-needed night’s rest and a very fortifying full English breakfast, we set off for the Serpentine Gallery (tucked away in the greenery of Kensington Gardens), which is featuring an exhibit of Richard Hamilton’s politically themed artwork. Hamilton has been creating pop and multimedia art for well over 50 years, and the collection traces his reactions to global politics over the decades. Some of the most fascinating pieces include an installation that looks like the “therapy” from "A Clockwork Orange," but with the subject forced to watch video clips of Margaret Thatcher; various versions of Hamilton’s most famous work, "Swingeing London," which depicts Mick Jagger and art dealer Robert Fraser hiding from flashbulbs as they are led away in handcuffs; and his tribute to Israeli activist Mordechai Vanunu, photographed in a pose that eerily echoes "Swingeing London."

From the tiny, intimate Serpentine, we made our way past the Albert Memorial to the massive, elaborate Victoria and Albert Museum—one of the world's largest museums, which reportedly holds a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. We were given one hour to explore. (I know. We needed at least a week to take it all in.) A current special exhibit displays 250 pieces of artwork collected by Horace Walpole at his estate, Strawberry Hill, including paintings by Van Dyck and antique armor. I, on the other hand, got lost in a room of medieval artwork, and was particularly struck by a limestone effigy of a knight. While most of the limestone was a plain bleached white, some original color could be seen in places, giving an idea of what the original statue might have looked like.

Before Stendhal syndrome could set in, we walked down the street to a lovely little French restaurant, Racine, for lunch. My companions praised the bream and the skate; I highly recommend the duck confit or the daube de boeuf—beef so tender it doesn’t need a knife. Exquisite. There isn’t a bad seat in the restaurant.

From there, we had a little more than an hour to explore the city on our own. I caught the Underground (amazing how much easier these things are to navigate after a little practice) to Oxford Circus, where I met up with a wonderful guide who took me on a speedy tour of some of London’s best shopping districts: Mayfair and Soho. From chain stores to bespoke tailors, these two districts are a shopaholic’s dream come true (though as my guide pointed out, the stores here tend to cater to those with champagne tastes. Nothing wrong with that, of course.) While many of the stores could be found on Fifth Avenue in New York, some of the most intriguing and unique shops are located in “arcades”: narrow covered streets that look like something from a P.G. Wodehouse story.

We reunited at the iconic London Eye and, thanks to our hosts, were able to get a pod (or “capsule”) to ourselves. The Eye moves at a snail’s pace—30 minutes to make a complete rotation, in fact. This not only offers plenty of opportunities for pictures, it helps make reaching the extreme height (443 feet!) seem much less scary. You know that horrible dizzy feeling you get on a rickety ferris wheel at a fairground as it creaks up to the top and then begins to swing you down much too fast for comfort? There’s none of that at the Eye. Just amazing views for 25 miles, and all of London—quite literally—at your feet.

Paris Shopping Tips

One of the most joyous activities in Paris is shopping. Whether it’s the designer boutiques of rue St. Honore, the grand department stores Printemps or Galleries Lafayette, or some special trinket from a unique boutique, there is something for every one. 

Here are some insider shopping tips to make your experience even better. 

1. Store Hours & Closings
*    Most stores are open Monday to Saturday, closed on Sundays. Department stores, and shops in more commercial areas like the Opera are open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Areas like the Marais and St Germain des Pres, the individual boutiques are usually open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
*    Sundays – the only place where stores are open on Sunday is the Champs Elysees and the Marais. Stores are usually open 11-7 but some in the Marais open later, sometimes after 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. 
*    Food shops & gourmet stores- small neighborhood food shops like cheese stores, butchers, fish stores, chocolate shops, patisseries, etc. are open Tuesday through Saturday, and Sunday 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. Some fish shops, butchers, and cheese shops will close for an hour or two in the middle of the day for lunch. Store opening hours vary between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. till 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. 

2. VAT/tax refund- If you spend 175 euros or more in one shop, you are entitled to a tax refund. It usually varies between 10 and 15 percent, depending on the store’s administrative costs. It can be refunded to your credit card later on or given to you in cash, in whatever currency you prefer, at the airport. You must do this before you go through security. Also you must present your passport or have the number when making the purchase at the shop.

3. Sales- Unlike the United States, where there are sales all year round, sales in France are regulated by the government and happen twice a year during summer and winter. Winter sales usually start the first Wednesday in January and summer sales the last week of June and sales last about four to five weeks. Stores can be fined heavily for having sales at other times than the government allows. However, last year the government let shops have an extra two weeks out of the year to let them have additional sale days. Some of the upscale boutiques will have private or un announced sales about a month before the government sales, whereby when you are in the shop, the sales people will discreetly tell you there is a sale going on.

4. Store Etiquette-
*    When you walk into a shop, always say “Hello/Bonjour”
*    Don’t ask how much something is without saying “Hello/Bonjour”
*    Don’t go into a clothing or non-food shop eating or drinking
*    Don’t touch things in the window without asking
*    Ask the sales person if they speak English and don’t automatically assume they do.

5. Sizes- European clothing and shoe sizes are different than American sizes, so either know what size you are before you arrive, or have a size converter printed out from the internet or on your phone.

Bon shopping!

Christmas Magic in Paris

Christmas decor at Hermes in Paris

Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com. 

From the fabled Champs Elysees to the Grand Magasins to the white neon Ferris wheel towering over the Place de la Concorde, Paris holds numerous holiday delights for all the senses.

The department and luxury stores have pulled out all the stops this year with glittering, gorgeous, and glorious window displays. Printemps transports us to Russia and its windows conjure up Russian fairy tales with a folkloric ball with dancers and musicians, a ride inspired by a carousel, and a game of hide-and-seek with giant matryoshka dolls that open and close. Fashion windows use giant Faberge eggs to reveal mannequins wearing evening gowns and crystal headdresses inspired by the crowns of tsarinas.

Next-door at Galeries Lafayette, happy and busy animated teddy bears, dolls, and rabbits in outfits by top labels and designers Jean Paul Gaultier, Kenzo, Marc by Marc, Maje, Manoush and Zadig & Voltaire are preparing for Christmas.

BHV department store has tapped avant-garde designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to spice up their windows this year. He’s created a dramatic light show of fluorescent colored tubes changing colors second by second, along with the brightest neon sculptures.

Hermes never ceases to amaze us with its decadent, pure luxury. This season the windows are a tribute to Turkey with backgrounds of colorful ceramic tile walls from Isnik. The most sumptuous, print silk scarves, travel trunks made of ostrich, the famed Kelly bag in hot pink suede, and a tie made of crocodile are just some of the fabulous fashions adorning the voyage to Turkey.

An Eiffel Tower ice sculpture at Champs Elysees

The Champs Elysees tempts you with three special treats not to be missed. The largest outdoor Christmas market in Paris boasts over 150 festive stands with Christmas ornaments & decorations, gifts, ceramics, toys, jewelry, and hats, scarves, and gloves to keep you warm. You can indulge your appetite with hot mulled wine, home made donuts, cotton candy, and tartifllete, a most delicious French peasant dish of potatoes, cheese, and bacon. A very chilly exhibition Ice Magic has hand-carved ice sculptures of all the famous French monuments and icons including the Eiffel Tower, Rodin's Thinker, Notre Dame and its hunchback, Mona Lisa, the Hotel de Ville, Sacre Coeur, Django Reinhardt and of course, Santa Claus. Make sure you bundle up- it’s about 15 degrees inside.

Last but certainly not least is Le Grande Roue (the big wheel) covered in bright white lights, standing 197 feet above the Place de la Concorde. Climb on board for the ride of your life and see Paris from a whole new prospective.

The Le Grande Roue near Place de la Concorde

Printemps
64 Blvd. Haussmann,9th arr.
Metro: Havre Caumartin
Tel: 01 42 82 57 87
http://departmentstoreparis.printemps.com/index.aspx

Galeries Lafayette
40 Blvd. Haussmann, 9th arr.
Metro: Chaussée-d'Antin
Windows are lit from 9 a.m.-1 a.m. daily
www.galerieslafayette.com

Hermes
24 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, 8th arr.
Metro: Concorde
www.hermes.com

Paris Shoe Shops

Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com.  

We already know Paris is a great shopping mecca, with more stores per square mile than any other city in the world. But for shoe fanatics, it’s paradise. High fashion shoes for women prevail and the high heels match the high prices. Here are some of the top shops and areas to find the ultimate pair.

Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette has recently opened the worlds largest ladies shoe store. The gleaming new space is over 34,000 square feet and carries over 150 brands, with 75 of them exclusive to the store. Even hard-to-fit sizes have a great selection with American sizes from 3-12. Did you know that French women buy an average of 6 pairs of shoes a year? Watch out Imelda Marcos!

Galeries Lafayette
40 Blvd. Haussmann, 9th arr.
1 42 85 12 00
www.galerieslafayette.com

Rue de Grenelle

It’s the street of shoe dreams. No less than nine of the chicest shoe stores are crammed into a three-block radius on the rue de Grenelle in the upscale 6th arr. Christian Loubotin, with his glossy red soles worn by Catherine Deneuve and Princess Caroline of Monaco, Prada, Iris, Bruno Frissoni, and Sergio Rossi are just some of the super shoe shops to make even the most jaded shoe shopper drop a bundle.

Rue de Grenelle
6th arr. between rue de St. Peres & Blvd. Raspail

Mell

Not only does Mell stock some of the most hottest designer shoes in Paris, they also have a unique advantage: a foot massage and pedicure bar on the premises. So when you buy those killer heels from Martin Margiela, Alexander Mcqueen, Barbara Bui, and Nina Ricci you will have somewhere to get your tired tootsies worked on when you take them off. By the way, while the women are endlessly trying on shoes, their impatient husbands can relax with a special foot massage for men.

Mell
8 rue Royale, 1st. arr.
Tel. 01.40.20.01.33

Pierre Hardy

Pierre Hardy has designed shoes for Hermes, Dior, and Balenciaga, so he has had a lot or practice in the art of shoemaking. His own line Pierre Hardy was launched a few years ago and has been a constant hit with taste and style makers in the fashion industry ever since. The Palais Royal shop features his trademark architectural heels, boots, and handbags. His big news shoe this fall 2009 season is actually a limited edition high-top sneaker printed with a Escher-like black and white optical illusion pattern and velcro straps.

Pierre Hardy
156 galerie de Valois
Palais Royal, 1st. arr.
Tel. 01 42 60 59 75
www.pierrehardy.com

John Lobb at Hermes

We don’t want to forget the men, so we have saved the best for last. The best men’s shoes in France are actually made in England. Hermes bought the British cobbler John Lobb  a number of years ago and installed a shop inside its prestigious St. Honoré flagship shop. The beautifully hand-crafted shoes start at 600 euros a pair but their specialty is made to measure shoes, where after you order your first pair, they keep your last for future orders.

John Lobb at Hermes
24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 8th arr.
www.hermes.com

Shopping in Paris

Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com.

Paris is filled with high fashion designer shops and brands, which are all over the world now, thus diminishing their strictly Parisian cache. But two original concept stores seem to stay on the cutting edge of fashion, bringing shoppers unique items they can’t get everywhere. Shopping is always high on the list of must things my tour clients want to do and these two shops are always a delightful, eye-opening stop.

Colette

Pioneered by a mother and daughter team, Colette is the original Paris concept store. When Colette and Sarah opened the trendsetting store 10 years ago on this off section of the rue St. Honore, little did they know it would become a style destination and other fashion shops would quickly follow them. It has been a magnet for fashionistas and, during fashion week, they crowd into the shop in droves, snapping up the latest designer duds and accessories, from a cheap chic Monoprix cotton top for 15 euros to a rhinestone encrusted cell phone for 3,000 euros.

Colette

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, it was recently renovated and now the main floor is a potpourri of coffee table books, CDs, electronic gadgets, perfume, and cosmetics, many exclusively made for them, along with a newly added special section for up to the minute skateboarder T-shirts and crazy, colorful sneakers. Upstairs is high fashion women’s and menswear including Prada, Miu Miu, Comme de Garcon, Marc Jacobs, Lanvin, Proenza Schouler, and Yves St. Laurent. If you are hungry and thirsty, go downstairs to the water bar, the canteen for the scene and be-seen crowd, which offers an array of over 50 bottled waters from around the globe plus a vegetarian friendly lunch menu. Ask any hip Parisian what’s the chicest boutique in Paris and the unanimous answer will be Colette.

Merci

New kid on the block, Merci, has recently given Colette a run for its money. Opened just in time for fashion week in March, it is the brainchild of Bernard and Marie Cohen, the duo behind the hugely successful children’s luxury clothing line Bonpoint. The Cohens wanted to give back something to the community but also offer a radical new fashion concept store. The massive shop (over 15,000 square feet) on the edge of the Marais is more like an old fashioned emporium but with the latest and greatest merchandise.

Merci

On three levels, the shop is a wonderful mix of used book shop and cozy café, designer vintage clothing shop, Annick Goutal perfume bar where you fill your own bottle with your favorite fragrance or create your own, fabric counter, kids clothing shop, furniture showroom with eclectic, one of a kind pieces, a basement filled with inventive and useful house wares, and clothing boutique with exclusive pieces by top designers at 40 percent off.

The cherry on the cake is that a portion of the proceeds is donated to a children’s charity in Madagascar, so you can shop till you drop and not feel guilty.

Two Unique Paris Boutiques

Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com. 

One of the great things about Paris, one of the best shopping capitals in the world, is that it is one of the few large cities that still has small, individually-owned boutiques where things are customized or handmade. Here are two unique boutiques tucked away on the cobble-stoned streets of the Marais, the most fashionable and trendsetting district in Paris.

Canzi Biocosmetique

Stefan Mottay, owner of the skincare boutique Canzi, has a fresh new concept for skincare: he mixes his own cosmetics, sometimes right in front of you. Whether it's a facial mask of red and green clay from Provence or a facial balm made with over 1,000 crushed rose petals from Turkey, the ingredients are the purest, most organic available. The special and rare ingredients from all over the globe include pure plant powders, rose petals, vegetable oil, olive oil, lavender, rosemary and calendula, to name a few.

When you walk into the shop, you are wonderfully intoxicated by the aromatherapy and the sleek, modern interior of white Formica counters with test tubes and chemical beakers gives it a laboratory feel. On one side of the shop is the full Canzi line of cleansers, masks, moisturizers, body scrubs, and perfumes and on the other is a carefully selected line of only the best organic cosmetics including Dr. Hauschka, Weleda, Phyts, and small luxury lines like Douces Angevines, Alma Carmel, and Jean Christophe. After Stefan finishes with you, you will smell like a rose and the rest of the herb and flower garden.

180 Grammes 

How many times have you found the perfect garment in a shop and have joked (or maybe some of you have been serious) and said "I'll take it in every color?" Well, at 180 Grammes you could walk away with over 100 of them. The new shop will custom color any garment they sell in over 100 different dyes. A slouchy cotton sweater in #11 blue lagoon, a linen blazer in #3 charcoal grey, a long silk scarf in #22 paradise pink, a t-shirt made of bamboo fiber in #61 amethyst purple… you get the idea.

Artist and designer Nicolas Chevallier, who also did a stint at L’Oreal as a graphic designer and designed action figures for Toy2r, created the brilliant concept store.

The spacious shop, with hardwood floors, black metal industrial furniture and rolling racks, is dotted with numbered glass jars of the brilliant pigments. The full line of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, accessories, customized furniture, and acrylic wall art is available.

Feeling blue can be a positive thing at 180 grammes.

Canzi Biocosmetique
2-4 rue Ferdinand Duval, 4th arr.
Tel. 01 42 78 09 37
Open Tuesday- Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

180 Grammes
15 rue des Tournelles, 4th arr.
Tel. 01 42 77 62 16
Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
www.180grammes.com