The Pyrenees
In the village of St-Girons, a massive market spreads along the riverbank every Saturday throughout the year. If you're in the area, it's well worth…
Must-see shopping in Southwest France
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La Rochelle
Vinyl collectibles and beautiful objects for the home, many handcrafted in the region, fill this small concept store. Design posters inspired by local…
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Bordeaux
Romantic and youthful, this delightful 'cabinet de convivialité' inspires bags of instant feel-good factor. After several years in Paris, Claire…
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Bordeaux
Follow local gourmets to this exquisite, oh-so-bourgeois chocolate shop, run by the same family since 1893. Fourth-generation chocolate-maker Thierry…
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Bordeaux
Vintage designer fashion for men and women is the mainstay of Mathilde Milande's exquisitely arranged boutique, peppered from head to toe with an…
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Nantes
A young Jules Verne was awed by this beautiful chocolate shop's chandeliers, marble floors and circular velvet banquette where Nantais have lingered amid…
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Bordeaux
Not only does the wine sold at this fantastically well-stocked cellar cover the whole range of prices (read: €2.50 to €5000 a bottle), bottles are also…
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Bordeaux
Welcome to what must be the grandest wine shop in the whole of France. A magnificent central staircase spiralling up five floors is surrounded by…
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Bordeaux
Gaëlle and Maxime are the creative duo behind this inspiring concept store stocking fashionable tote bags, t-shirts, fashion accessories and homewares…
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Nantes
Pedestal statues represent traditional Nantais industries inside this ornate, three-tiered shopping arcade. It was built in 1843 to link the then–stock…
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St-Jean de Luz
This renowned shop, selling delicious Basque-style macarons (melt-in-the-mouth biscuit-like delicacies), hams and other regional foods, has been trading…
Bordeaux
A classic Bordeaux experience is a Saturday morning spent slurping oysters and white wine from a seafood stand in the city's legendary covered food market…
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Bordeaux
An old-fashioned cherry-red bicycle with worn leather seat and wicker basket, casually propped up outside, beckons gourmets and romantics into this…
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Bordeaux
'Made in Bordeaux' and 'Made in France' is the essence of this small, beautifully arranged concept store selling lifestyle items, homewares, clothing,…
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Bayonne
The window displays at this renowned chocolate shop are practically an art-form. Inside there are 12 grades of plaquettes (chocolate bars) to try, each…
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Bordeaux
Queues to pay are a constant feature at this vast maze of a private bookshop, founded in 1896 and always packed with Bordelais browsing books in several…
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Bordeaux
Only in Bordeaux, a city known for its rampant bicycle culture, could a shop come up with such an inspired invention: clip-on umbrella stands for bikes,…
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Bordeaux
This artisan fromager and crémier is a sheer delight for local foodies who shop here for boutique cheeses and creamy yellow butter hand-moulded in fat…
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Bordeaux
Originally from Lyon, Elodie Deruelle is the female prowess behind this exceptional cheese shop and épicerie (grocery). The choice of artisan dairy…
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La Rochelle
Sylvie Jaquen crafts casual, French-chic bags in all shapes, sizes and colours from the same tough acrylic cloth used to make boat sails at this eye…
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Bordeaux
Old vinyls plaster the walls, retro dial-up telephones provide a decorative touch and the opening hours are scrawled on a vintage TV set at this Pandora's…
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Bayonne
Founded in Bayonne in 1890, this premium chocolatier sells its chocolate bars in an irresistible variety of flavours: plain and milk, of course, but also…
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The Pyrenees
After browsing the boutiques of nearby rue Serviez, stop by BricOTruc, which has a delightful assortment of recycled jewellery, picture frames, toys,…
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Bordeaux
The playful and oftentimes clever prints and posters incorporating letters and words by graphic designer Célestin Forestier make a beautiful souvenir-with…
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Bordeaux
This upmarket fromagerie and affineur (cheesemonger and ripener), open since 1983, stocks over 150 raw-milk and farm cheeses. Check the blackboard for the…
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Bordeaux
Duck into the city's flagship department store, at home in an elegant Art Nouveau building from the 1900s, for a one-stop shop for women and children's…
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Bordeaux
A lifestyle space dedicated to l'art de vivre (the art of living well) is the essence of this beautiful concept store and casual eatery in St-Michel. Its…
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Bordeaux
Rev up taste buds in this gourmet boutique selling local and regional food and drink specialities. Be tempted by local cheese, canalés (sandcastle-shaped…
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St-Émilion
Local artists and artisans quietly showcase their arts and crafts in a handful of galleries in La Cour des Arts, a fountain-pierced courtyard studded with…
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Bordeaux
Shop for prêt à porter fashion for women and children, shoes, accessories and homewares – all 100% made in France – in this stylish new concept store…
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Nantes
When the urge for something sweet strikes, indulge in an outrageously creamy and decadent cake from this chic chandelier-lit shop evocative of late-18th…
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Bordeaux
Sunday morning is the time to browse market stalls for antiques, vintage curiosities and a mind-boggling array of unexpected bric-a-brac on the adjoining…
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Toulouse
Haul a smorgasbord of French goodies home with a little help from this old-style sweets shop. Standout sugar highs include teardrop-shaped calissons d'Aix…
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Nantes
Nantes' self-proclaimed 'agitateur de papilles' (taste-bud agitator) lures locals into his flamboyant violet-coloured boutique with silky-smooth chocolate…
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Bordeaux
Exquisite boxes of jellied fruits, chocolates and pralines tempt at this historic chocolaterie with an original interior of marble counters and gilded…
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Bordeaux
'Slow design' is the driver behind this Pandora's Box of a boutique, packed to the rafters with innovative design objects, homewares, clothing, knick…
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Bordeaux
Its claim to be an 'incubateur de tendances' (trend incubator) might be a tad exaggerated, but rummaging through the stalls of some 20 secondhand dealers…
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Bordeaux
Beautifully crafted hair bands and bows, scarves, pencil cases, cosmetic bags, mini rucksacks etc – all in a rainbow of different floral and patterned…
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Bayonne
This is the address to buy Bayonne's celebrated jambon – traditionally served wafer thin, and claimed by locals to be every bit as good as pata negra or…
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Bordeaux
This concept store dedicated to all things paper – stationery, sculptures, books and toys – is wonderful to browse. Its weekend crafting workshops for…
