Galeries Lafayette

It is a very typical parisian experience to go to the Boulevard Haussmann and wonder in the two main french department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. You will find there the main fashion brands and all types of goods: perfumes, clothing, cosmetics, jewellery, toys, furniture, restaurants and Gourmet shops,...

Many toursits stop by, and on Saturdays and Discount periods, the stores are overcrowded. If you are french residing abroad, you can have a 10% discount with your Carte Consulaire. If you are foreign tourists, you can get a tax refund called Détaxe in France.

What I like about the Galeries Lafayette is the diversity of products and brands. You have basically everything there or almost. What I dislike is the crowd and the difficulty to have a salesperson in Peak periods or hours. If you really want to enjoy shopping there, go in the mornings of week days. They open from 9h30 to 20h00 from Monday to Saturday and until 21H00 on Thursdays.

Restaurants: You can also have lunch in one of the Galeries restaurants 10 cafés and restaurants disseminated in the different buildings. There are three who enjoy beautiful views: La terasse, at the top of the main building, with a wonderful view on the roofs of Paris (count 40-50 EUR /pers); La coupole, a café with sandwiches and salads with a beautiful view on the inside dome of the historic building, and the Lafayette Café which is a sort of Cantine/fast food with a beautiful view on Paris.

The flagship store of Galeries Lafayette in Paris is a 10-story department store. It is located at 40, boulevard Haussmann, in the IXe arrondissement.

For more information, you can visit the Galeries Lafayette Website as well as at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galeries_Lafayette
Pictures: Wikimedia (by Benh Lieu Song)Less