For All Things Food
Izraël has been a neighborhood institution for more than 80 years now. You can find the son and daughter or original owner there every day, and If you have joined us before, you will know that we simply cannot say anything but good things about this shop! They have spices from all over the world, but if you want something typically French, grab their '5 Baies' mix, it is a mix of five different peppers!
Le Grande Epicerie – another store that needs no introduction! This luxury supermarket has almost every imaginable French product in store, as well as high-quality products from around the world! They have an extensive butter selection for our French butter fans out there! Don't forget you can get them vacuum packed for travel!
G. Detou is always on our list of high-quality items for the food lover! You can find everything under the sun, particularly for the baking enthusiast in your life. It's no surprise that the name G. Detou phonetically sounds like 'I have everything'! And they really do! We love everything here, especially the vast mustard options and the high-quality vanilla.
Fauchon – Your go to for all kinds of high-quality ingredients, they even have premade coffrets
(gift boxes) with a variety of fabulous ingredients for the perfect apéro!
For our tea-drinking friends, we are always certain to pop into Mariage Frères. One of our favorite blends to pick up as a gift is ‘Paris Breakfast’, a delicious blend of black teas with hints of chocolate and citrus.
La Chambre aux Confitures is our top pick for jams in the city. The classic French breakfast includes une baguette, du beurre and de la confiture ! You will find their delicious combinations ranging from the classics to some unique combinations (green olive and almond anyone?) You will be sure to find a unique made in France gift here!
La Belle-Iloise was founded in 1932 and sells canned tunas, sardines, mackerel, and soups from Quiberon, Brittany. You’ll find the brand in many épiceries in Paris, but it also has its own shops with five locations across Paris. The shop at 53 Rue Montorgueil in the 2nd arrondissement has the added bonus of being on a picturesque pedestrian street full of other food shops, restaurants, and cafes. These products make great gifts, especially in boxed sets with charming packaging. The shops also sell everything else you need to host seafaring aperitif hours back home.
Folks We Love
For those looking for an eco-friendly shop without breaking the bank look no further than Landline! Their store, located in Paris’ 11th arrondissement, offers sustainable options while supporting French and European artisans who hold the Living Heritage Company label.
E. Dehillerin - The store that needs no introduction! Our (and the same for a lot of others out there) favorite Cooking equipment store in Paris. A must-visit in the historical Les Halles neighborhood!
A picture is worth a thousand words, so why not take back a gift for yourselves this season by booking a Paris photo session with Katie Donnelly? Their team will make sure that you leave with memories that will last a lifetime!
For Our Sweet-Toothed Friends
Edwart has only been open since 2014 but has quickly made a name for himself on the Paris chocolate scene and has recently been mentioned New York Times Style Magazine's Top 10 Best Chocolatiers in Paris. Be sure to sample the award-winning Taj Mahal, a gently spiced sensation that simply dazzles on the palate
Patrick Rogers' chocolate assortments are fantastic showstoppers. Arriving in his signature tin box, with enough exotic flavor combinations to turn your chocolate liker into the chocolate lover. His Demi-sphères (half sphere) collection makes every assortment look like a work of art!
Those of you who can’t make it to sunny Provence can still pick up some goodies from La Maison Puyricard! Another fabulous chocolate boutique just a stone's throw from our school, but what you can get here that you can’t find everywhere is the Calisson. One of Provence's 13 traditional desserts, the Cailsson, is traditionally made with fruit paste from candied melon and ground almonds topped with royal icing.
If you are looking for a confectionery shop that has withstood the test of time, look no further than Maison Boissier it was in 1827 when Bélisaire Boissier created and sold his own unique candied chestnut recipe, it became such a huge success that he opened three more locations around Paris. From there, his notoriety continued when he designed the now-famous “bonbon Boule”: these smooth, fruit-filled marbles are now part of Boissier’s legacy. For the cherry on top, they also have adorable packaging for those with a sweet tooth in your life!
If Haute Couture and biscuits had a baby, you would get the fabulous high-quality mini works of art that So BANG offers! Her adorable advent calendar comes with 22 mini and 2 standard biscuits and hand-drawn holiday cards!
If you are visiting the Marché Bastille (and if you have time, you very well should!) be on the lookout for Michel's stall - he has a lot of fun gift ideas that we can rave about, but our favorite is his Caramel de Bretagne, a salted caramel made with Crème Fraiche and Fleur de Sel!
For Fabulous French Scents
Those looking to take a scent back to their loved ones Diptyque is a Parisian brand that started making candles in the early 60’s but expanded into the perfume market and has been a long-standing French institution. Pick up a unique scent from here, for yourselves or for your home - our favorite candle this season is the Sapin (Pine Tree) candle with Siberian pine, resin, cedar and patchouli, the perfect addition to put under your own sapin de noel (Christmas tree).
If you are looking for more classic French scent brands, Trudon makes Diptyque look like the new kid on the block - they have been in the candle-making business since the 1600s and are considered by most to be the world’s oldest candle-making company. You will find them sold in all of the major department stores as well as in their boutiques in the 4th or 6th arrondissements.
For Stationary Stars
Mélodies Graphiques has close to 15,000 calligraphy nibs, and plenty of accessories to accompany them. The boutique comes in two parts. Just adjacent to one another, this local institution is your haven for all things writing. From beautiful wax seals to lovely ornate stamps, you will find anything and everything for the writer in your life!
For classic notebooks look no further than Louise Carmen, they have perfected the art of the classic leather-covered notebooks. We love their organizer that comes with 1 refillable notebook and plenty of storage space for your bank cards, business cards, passport and documents. It comes in 16 different colors and can personalized in a variety of ways including a monogram!
RATP has partnered with Papier Tigre, to create a Paris Metro-inspired notebook collection! Perfect for the metro lover in your life, and a unique piece of Paris to take home with you!
