The Paris of Style, from the Passages to the Left Bank

In Paris, style is not only bought. It is observed: in the cut of a coat on a pavement of the 6th, in the window of an atelier in the Marais, in the light that falls through the glass roof of a passage. Those who come for fashion need two things: the right addresses, and a place to come back to with their bags, set them down, and head out again.

This guide crosses three neighbourhoods in the heart of Paris: the 2nd, the Upper Marais and Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

An aesthetic before a shopping trip

Paris is a city designed to be looked at. The pale stone façades, the wrought-iron balconies, the constant proportions of the boulevards: everything contributes to an elegance that has no need to raise its voice. It is the same discretion you find in the best boutiques, and in the way Parisians dress. Understanding this aesthetic is the first step towards shopping with taste.

The 2nd, under the glass roofs

The 2nd is the neighbourhood of the covered passages, born at the beginning of the nineteenth century as places to stroll under shelter. The Galerie Vivienne, with its mosaics and its rotunda, houses an antiquarian bookshop and small boutiques; the Passage des Panoramas has kept its stamp dealers. Here, shopping is discovery, not window display.

A little further north, beyond the Opéra, the department stores of boulevard Haussmann, the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, bring the great fashion houses together under their domes. From the 2nd you walk there, and you walk back.

The Marais of the makers

The Upper Marais is the neighbourhood of ateliers, contemporary art galleries and independent labels. You walk without an itinerary, from one door to the next. Merci, a concept store in a former industrial building, brings together fashion, homeware, books and a café: a good starting point for understanding the taste of the neighbourhood.

Saint-Germain, the elegance of the Left Bank

On the left bank, around Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, boutiques alternate with bookshops, galleries and publishers. The style is more classic; restraint is everything. Le Bon Marché, the department store of the Left Bank, is a few steps from the edge of the 6th. And between purchases, a pause at the Café de Flore or a macaron from Pierre Hermé on rue Bonaparte.

The great houses of rue Saint-Honoré and place Vendôme, a short walk from the 2nd, are places to visit, not to live.

Coming home

After a day of shopping, the return is what makes the difference: a living room to set the bags down in, a real wardrobe, a bedroom where everyone has their own space. Our apartments have two to four bedrooms, are all air-conditioned and have spaces designed for entertaining.

Live the city, not a hotel. The collection brings together our addresses, chosen across Paris; the neighbourhood guides help you choose the neighbourhood before the apartment, and those who also travel for the table will find our food guide.

The ACT 3 Team