10 places to experience old-school Paris shopping

Evidence of a wave of young creatives opening coffee shops and concept stores that challenge Parisian traditions — and some would say rejuvenate the city criticized for being stagnant and stuffy in recent years — on Instagram as of late Is. But among matcha lattes and vegan bakes, businesses that have done the same thing for centuries can still be found. The city’s oldest shops reveal their history – from the art supplier who invented oil pastels for Picasso to the pâtisserie that made pastries for Louis XV – and let you take a piece of it home with you.

pre 1887

Gustave Sennelier sold custom-made colors to painters, including Cézanne, at his art supply store directly across the Seine from the Louvre, and a few blocks from the city’s most prestigious art school, the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. His son Henri invented oil pastels for Picasso during his tenure, and the baton has now been passed to his grandson Dominique, whose painter daughter Sophie also works in the shop – the fourth generation in his family to do so.

pre 1820

This culinary equipment store has been serving Parisian chefs and Cordon Bleu students (including Julia Child) copperware for nearly 200 years. The shop was ideally located next to the city’s main wholesale food market in Les Halles, but despite the fact that the traders were moved to suburban Rungis in 1969, E. Dehillerin’s cavern of floor-to-ceiling shelves remains in every Equipped with fancy utensils. ,

pre 1898

Paris’ oldest honey shop has been in business since 1898 and has been located in its current home on Rue Vignon since 1905 – as does the mosaic queen bee, surrounded by her staff, who greet you from the tiled floor when you step inside welcomes you , The shop sells more than 40 types of honey from all over France and around the world – from lavender to sunflower, eucalyptus to thyme – as well as honey made from its own hives on the roofs of nearby department store Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, le. Mile des Tits de Paris (“Honey from the Rooftops of Paris”).

pre 1745

In his own words: “The Maison Antoine didn’t come down in the last shower.” Mr. and Mrs. Antoine, the founders of the city’s oldest umbrella store, first set up shop at either end of the Pont Neuf with the idea of ​​renting umbrellas to bridge-crossers. Their success in 1760 saw them move to another strategic location in the Palais Royal, a popular location for a promenade, and they have been in the present premises around the corner of the avenue de l’Opera since 1885.

pre 1730

When Louis XV married the Polish princess Marie Leszczynska, his personal pastry chef Nicolas Stohrer accompanied him to Paris and opened a shop on rue Montorgueil, providing pastries to the French court and public alike. Nearly 300 years later the patisserie is still there, now one of the oldest in Paris, producing babas au rum, salted caramel eclairs and chocolates fit for a princess.

pre 1761

Pierre Jean Bernard opened a grocery store in 1761, which became a sweet shop when his son-in-law’s second wife – Marie-Adelaide Bridault, “la Mère de Famille” – took over the business in 1807. Stocking more than 1,200 French favorites from every region and every era, the company now has 12 branches throughout Paris, but the first shop in Rue du Faubourg Montmartre is, of course, the most picturesque. With its original tiled floor, wooden counters, and pendant lights, it was declared a historic monument in 1984.

pre 1700

The oldest bookstore in Paris, Delmain, first opened 318 years ago under the arcades of the Comédie-Française and moved across the street to its current premises in 1906, where it sells over a million titles. Paris also has the oldest English-language bookshop in continental Europe. Galignani Bookstore, which opened in 1801 and is currently run by the sixth generation of the Galignani family to do so. The family has an equally illustrious history in publishing books – Simone Galignani opened a Venice publishing house in 1520 and Gutenberg was one of the first to use a mechanical printing press.

pre 1838

Never mind the world’s first shirt shop, the first in Paris; The term “chemisier” (shirtmaker) was actually coined to describe Charvet. Established in 1838, it has been on the Place Vendôme since 1877, and in its current location since 1982. The seven floors hold 6,000 fabrics, including 400 white ones in 104 different colours. Founder Christophe Charvet’s father was “wardrobe curator” for Napoleon Bonaparte, and the list of his son’s shirt-wearers is no less impressive, including Zola, Baudelaire, Monet, Matisse, Oscar Wilde, Hemingway, Proust, Winston Churchill, JFK , Are included. Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent – and, most recently, Barack Obama.

pre 1831

A self-described “Paris cabinet of curiosities,” Derol was founded by passionate entomologist Jean-Baptiste Derol, but insects aren’t the only creatures found inside this temple of taxidermy, where lions and tigers and bears (and zebras and emus and antelope) greet you at every turn. For something a little simpler than an elk to take home on the Eurostar, vintage natural history posters – detailing everything from shells to snakes to sugar production – make excellent souvenirs.

pre 1947

The story of Repetto began when Italian shoemaker Rose Repetto created the perfect pair of pointe shoes for her son, the legendary choreographer Roland Petit. After his friend Rudolf Nureyev requested a pairing, dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet began coming to Repetto’s workshop. She opened shop in 1959 right down the street from the Palais Garnier, home of the ballet company, and Repetto is its official shoe supplier today. If you’re not planning on going en pointe anytime soon, you can opt for a pair of ballet flats; Repetto created them for Brigitte Bardot in 1956 when the actress, who trained in classical ballet, asked for a version of the ballet slippers she could wear on the street.