Le Bon Marché : chic and elegance

“Le Bon Marché” (= “The good deal”) is a department store located on the Left bank in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.

 

Actually, a huge luxury department store. Very upscale. Very pleasant to wander through. Grand and elegant. High-end products… with the matching prices. 

Fashion, beauty, a food hall…, several restaurants, cafes and tearooms, VIP services (Personal stylists, valet parking)…

A little History : It’s the  oldest Paris department store.  It was  founded by Aristide Boucicaut, in 1852. It sells a wide range of high-end goods and has a food department called “La grande Epicerie”. It was enlarged in 1872 with help from the firm of Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower (for part of its internal structure made of cast iron).

The central escalators were designed by Andrée Putman (1925-1973 – French interior and product designer – (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrée_Putman). It has an Art deco glass ceiling and a beautiful balustrade.

Le Bon Marché is divided into 2 parts : a building with fashion, beauty…etc and La Grande Epicerie (the food and all what’s linked to the home)

Fashion, beauty…etc

• Ground Floor :
  • Small boutiques selling the most prestigious brands : LV, Dior, Chanel…
  • Fashion accessories : scarves, jewelry, hats, bags, gloves, watches…
  • Beauty department : make-up, perfumes, 
• Lower ground-floor : the Men’s department
• 1st floor
  • fashion department (an excellent selection of well known designer labels : Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Roger Vivier, Claude Pierlot, Christian Dior, …)
  • an impressive lingerie department with the very best brands
• 2nd floor :
  • fashionBeauty department
  • furniture department
• 3rd floor :
  • Children’s department  : fashion, books, toys

  • 

    

    

La Grande Epicerie (= Le Bon Marché’s food hall) : A visual experience.

At the ground floor of La Grande Epicerie of Le Bon Marché : the freshest ingredients from the very best brands, a cave which is a must-see, a beautiful pastry counter, an amazing cheese counter, products from around the world : italian goods, American goods…, Lavender mustard, chestnuts in honey, more than 100 types of chocolate..

At the 1st floor : kitchen section, tableware, furniture collections…

 

 

Video : discover La Grande Epicerie

The restaurants and cafés of Le Bon Marché :

La Table : The new restaurant at the 1st floor of La Grande Epicerie (see below) – French cuisine – Du lundi au samedi, de 10h30 à 19h30. www.lebonmarche.com/media/pdf/carte_la-table_01-2015.pdf

Le Balthazar : 1st floor Mon-Sat 10.30am to 8pm

Sunless Howard : coffee shop – Mon-Sat 10am à 7pm

Rose Bakery tea room : a tea room – stay or take-away – 2nd floor – 10.30am to 6.30pm – 

Primo Piano : for a light lunch or a drink and/or a pastry. 2nd floor mon-frieday 10am to 7pm

Le Comptoir : light lunch Mon-friday 12am to 3pm

And 3 other places to have a meal…

Practical details : 

Address : 24, rue de Sèvres – Paris 7  www.lebonmarche.com 8.30am-9pm Mon-Sat

Metro stop : Sèvres Babylone – Line 10

Opening hours : 10am-8pm Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat // 10am-9pm Thurs-Fri

La Grande Epicerie (Le Bon Marché’s foodhall : www.lagrandeepicerie.fr, 8.30am-9pm Mon-Sat)

Reading : Emile Zola : “Au Bonheur des Dames” : the 11th novel in the Rougon-Macquart series : a novel about changes in society during the Second Empire and about the birth of modern retailing

 

 

My advice :

• Definitely, my favorite Paris department store
• In my opinion, the most user-friendly, much less crowded compare to Les galeries Lafayette or Le Printemps. The atmosphere is much more relaxed. A luxurious experience. A nice and efficient service; the staff is very helpful. The products are displayed in a much more tasteful manner. And it’s in a very nice neighborhood (nearby Saint Germain des Prés) and right next to a metro station (Sèvres Babylone)

• Worth the visit. Definitly the department store where I would go for shopping or browsing if  visiting Paris. A very pleasant experience even if you just look around and do not buy anything.Though, I would still go to Les Galeries Lafayette for its beautiful Art Nouveau architecture and to Le Printemps for its terrace and its view over Paris. 

• Don’t forget to bring your passport in order to have tax-free/duty-free shopping.
• Don’t miss the food hall. Street entrance. Amazing. 

 

YOUR Private walk, with Ann Jeanne in Paris, native Parisian

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