Shopping in Paris, and the whole of France is quite different to what you are likely used to at home. And I appreciate that shopping in French may seem intimidating, especially for first time visitors. How to shop in France without embarrassment or anger is something every traveller can do, regardless of whether you speak French or not. It’s just a case of understanding how French stores and markets, and just as importantly, how French sales staff work.
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French etiquette for travelers in stores
When you are shopping in France it is OK to touch and pick up the stock in department stores. Sales staff will often greet you and want to assist you before you get to that point though.
In small shops and boutiques, the etiquette is a little different and you need to greet the salesperson on entering and say good-bye on leaving. If you are able to do this (a simple bonjour madame/monsieur is entirely sufficient) you will find you will get much better service should you want to look in more detail or buy something. You should also seek permission or have the sales assistant helping you before touching any merchandise at a boutique in France, particularly in more upmarket areas.
When shopping for food, unless you are in a self service French grocer or supermarket, do not pick up the produce or serve yourself. The shopkeeper will be delighted to serve you and find the perfect produce for you. In the supermarket, it is not usual for shopping bags to be provided. You either need to bring your own, or ask for un sac en plastique s’il vous plâit (un sack on plast-eek, sill voo play) which you will be charged for. In my experience French supermarket check out staff don’t usually speak English, so they will be very grateful for any attempt on your part to ask in French.
If you are buying fruit and vegetables in supermarkets and self service fruiterers you will need to bag any loose produce yourself, and you may need to weigh the goods and attach a sticker with the price. If you aren’t sure what to do, watch others or ask – you don’t want to be “that person” who holds up the check out queue.
If you are caught short without a shopping bag, Monoprix sells cute fold up shopping bags, often with French motif decorations, for a few Euros. In Paris, the food hall of Le Bon Marché (La Grande Epicerie) sells both linen and hessian shopping bags in various sizes, at very good prices.
France Travel Planning travel tip
Tips for shopping in designer boutiques
If you want to shop at any of the flagship stores, check if you can make an appointment, especially if you are travelling in peak tourist season. Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysées and the Chanel flagship store on rue Cambon are particularly popular, and queues to enter can be quite long, so do make an appointment for these stores, unless you arrive first thing in the morning.
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The big brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior have multiple stores across Paris, and in many French provincial cities (including high end resort towns such as St Tropez and Cannes), so you don’t have to shop at the flagship stores unless you want something very specific that has limited availability. The Left Bank boutiques can be surprisingly quiet, and unless it’s raining, the concession stores in Galeries Lafayettes and Le Bon Marché are normally much more relaxing to shop at.
If you do buy something in one of the high end designer shops – even if it is the cheapest thing in the store, expect much theatre. Your humble purchase will be whisked away and you will be left standing forlornly for what seems like an eternity before your salesperson will reappear and produce your chosen item, wrapped, ribboned and bagged with much deference. Only you and the salesperson will know your “trophy” is actually only a tiny bottle of cologne, a lipstick or keycase.
If you are planning on claiming your VAT refund when you leave Europe, remember to have your passport with you. It is normal in designer boutiques for your purchase, credit card and passport to be taken away out the back for your payment and the VAT paperwork to be processed.
How to shop in French markets
While many stallholders now accept credit cards, this is by no means universal, so do have some Euros, preferably in smaller denominations, as well as a shopping bag, at the ready.
In markets, you will often see people queuing to purchase. This is quite common at seafood, meat and cheese stalls. If you wish to purchase something, join the back of the queue and wait your turn. A queue at market food stalls is often a sign of good produce, so take the hint from locals.
Fruit and vegetables are normally sold loose, rather than prepacked and the stallholder will often ask you about what you want to eat and when, so they can sell you the best produce for your needs. I recall shopping for heirloom tomatoes of different colours and sizes, and the stallholder asked me exactly which individual tomatoes I wanted.
If you aren’t sure what something is, or how to cook it, just ask. Stallholders will happily explain their produce and how to enjoy it best.
It is completely permissible to buy very small quantities of things like cheeses and cured meats – unless they are obviously small, preformed cheeses or sausages. If you only want a sliver of cheese and two slices of ham, ask for that. The word for a slice is une tranche (oon tronsh). If you want to try something unfamiliar, most stallholders will happily cut a small piece to taste.
A Word About French Pharmacies
Medicines are only available in pharmacies and are not self service. While many, but not all skin care products are self service, much of what is on sale is behind the counter, so you will need to ask for what you want – un rhum (un room) is a cold, mal a l’estomac (mal u lesto-mac) an upset stomach, mal au coeur (mal oh koo-er) nausea and if you say diarrhoea you will be understood. Cough is une toux (oon too) – either seche (dry, pronounced sesh) or grasse (gruss) if it is productive.
Many visitors to France get confused about the names of over the counter medicines as, while the products are the same, the brand names can be different. American visitors can become confused about the pain relief they call Tylenol, which contains a slightly different medicine to the equivalent version in France. The French versions work in exactly the same way, so trust the pharmacist when you are purchasing pain relief.
How to shop in French
You will find the sales staff slightly more reserved than you may be used to at home. As they are everywhere in the world, most sales assistants are polite and helpful, but as they are everywhere in the world, there are unfortunately a few exceptions. If you meet an unhelpful or uninterested sales assistant, take your business elsewhere and don’t let it colour your opinion of shopping in France everywhere. In my own experience, being polite, smiling, attempting to speak a few words of French, and asking about the stock does wonders to break the ice and receive excellent service. In Paris, I find the staff in Galeries Lafayettes and Au Printemps more helpful and friendly than Le Bon Marché as a general observation.
While it is not essential to speak French, it is still definitely easier to shop in France if you know some key words.
Bonjour when you enter, merci during your shopping and au revoir when you leave are the minimum.
It is fine to browse in shops – je regarde seulement (zher regard sulle-mon) is I’m browsing, and window shopping in French is the rather quaint and evocative phrase leche vitrine (lesh vit-reen) – literally licking the window.
Other words that can be helpful include combien (kom-bee-an) – how many, une taille plus grande/petite (a bigger/smaller size “oon tie ploo grond/p’teet”) and un pacquet cadeau (un pakay kud-oh) for gift wrapped. The French acronym for VAT is TVA (tay vay ay).
Plan your French Shopping Adventure
If you are looking for quality mementos of your France trip, my souvenirs to buy in France post will give you some lovely ideas.
Not sure how to find quality shops in Paris? My Ultimate Paris Address book has the answers:
The Ultimate Paris Address Book includes 500 places to sleep, eat, shop and see. Arranged in a convenient arrondissement by arrondissement style, The Ultimate Paris Address Book is like a concierge on your phone.
Last update on 2026-10-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
