The Haussmann-Saint Lazare-Opéra district is one of the first commercial urban shopping neighborhoods in Europe.
The heart of the capital's shopping is home to several major department stores ("Grands Magasins"), and frequently new shops and window displays.
Les Galeries Lafayette
Founded in 1912, Galeries Lafayette showcases the latest fashion trends on it three floors, from big luxury brands to menswear (Lafayette Homme) and even childrens fashion.
Opposite the historic building is its home decor store, Lafayette Maison, selling tableware products, furniture, and household linens.
Under the same roof is Lafayette Gourmet, which hightlights French gastronomy through top brands like Petrossian (caviar), Fauchon, Ritz, Maxim's, and Comtesse du Barry.
Printemps
Further down the Boulevard Haussmann, the Printemps department store also puts the accent on luxury. It has numerous accessory and upscale fashion brands: Alexander McQueen, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Red Valentino, and more.
In 2012, the ground floor of Printemps menswear department opened a new high-end timepiece space featuring such famous brands as Bell & Ross, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, and so on.
A few steps away, the new shopping gallery, opened at the beginning of 2012 at the Saint-Lazare train station, houses numerous brands including Kickers shoes, the Petit Bateau and Guess brands and skincare and beauty brands Lush and L’Occitane. This is also where Muji has opened its new concept store, Muji to Go, devoted to travel.
The Passage du Havre
Across from the 8th arrondissement station, the Passage du Havre offers a lush indoor garden and relaxation space in the Terrasses du Passage.
Spread across two floors, in a comfortable atmosphere, you can find all the top names in ready-to-wear fashion and brand name stores, like Fnac, Bourjois, Sephora, Fossil, Nature et Découvertes, Zara, Gap, and H&M.
The Rue Scribe
The Rue Scribe is also an important shopping street for fashionistas, with the unisex
Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, the women’s wear shop Maje and, Eric Bompard, the specialist in jumpers and clothes in cashmere.